James came to us after his recent acquisition of Balls. Not being from the marketing world but understanding the importance of email & sms, he was looking for a partner who could do the heavy lifting when it came to things like strategy, writing, designing, reporting; in general, the fulfillment. His goal was to hand it off to a partner that needed very little from him & didn’t take a lot of headspace to train or manage but would be proactive in growing the channel - a vital source of not just revenue but contribution margin.
From 11% to 31% of Owned Revenue In 30 Days
How we took Balls from underperforming to a shining star in just 30 days (but the fun doesn’t stop there).
Book a Call
2Xing
Open rates, ctr’s, and fixing deliverability in 30 days.
6-8
Campaigns per month, up from 1 - massively increasing revenue
200%
Increase in attributed flow revenue by reducing complexity & active flows.
About the brand
Balls is a brand dedicated to men's grooming, specifically focusing on providing high-quality trimmers designed for personal care and hygiene. Their mission is to offer products that are both effective and comfortable, helping men look and feel their best with confidence.
The Challenge
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Our Work
Campaigns
Balls was sending virtually no campaigns. All revenue previously being generated was coming through flows. They would send maybe 1 per month during a big sale but it was slapped together with no real consistency. We knew this would be a huge opportunity for us. We had also identified deliverability issues prior to getting started.
Whenever we first approach a brand that’s experiencing deliverability issues & also hasn’t been sending consistently, we take a slow approach. Our first goal is to establish segments that are more strict & relax them over time, as we see good engagement and improve our reputation with ESP’s.
We saw strong traction almost immediately. We were finding the pockets of subscribers that were resonating, engaging, and most importantly, purchasing. While it took time, campaigns started contributing 30-40% of email revenue in month 1 & 2 respectively.
Flows
When we did an audit of Balls email account, we found that flows were performing OK - they were the sole source of email revenue. However we noticed that the structure of the flows was extremely complicated & convoluted. There were 22 flows live - most not functioning properly, overlapping each other, and generally not well constructed. This can happen when brands overcomplicate the strategy - especially when people add things on as they go without a clear strategy.
Our goal was to actually reduce what was being done in the account. We removed the excess with a scalpel - we wanted to keep what was working, remove the fat, and create a cohesive strategy. We also overhauled old flows that weren’t working properly - things like abandon carts that weren’t triggering, welcome flows with convoluted structures & messaging, etc.
The first months results were slow but by month 2, we were seeing revenue up 200%, open rates up 200%, CTR’s up 200%. Across the board, we were seeing the strategy start to take shape.
Deliverability
As previously mentioned, Balls had deliverability issues. While they weren’t sending many campaigns, flows were getting between 10-20% open rates - well below industry standards and indicating an issue. While open rates are not something to obsess over, very depressed rates can indicate issues & be a directional metric. If people aren’t seeing the emails, they can’t buy.
Through deliverability testing, we identified a few core issues & attacked them. This was our priority number one when we started together - being that the results of our other efforts would lift based on fixing this.
As discussed in the flow section, in the first 30 days, we saw this playing out. Open rates, CTR’s, unique clicks, and revenue per recipient were all improving dramatically. This coupled with the segmentation strategy we were using in campaigns had a “rising tide lifts all boats” effect.
The Results
Our comprehensive approach led to impressive results for Balls. Within the first 30 days, email revenue jumped from 11% to 31% of total revenue. Campaign performance soared, contributing 30-40% of email revenue in the first two months, while the overhaul of email flows resulted in a 200% increase in revenue, open rates, and CTRs. These efforts significantly enhanced deliverability and engagement, firmly establishing email as a critical revenue driver for Balls.
Our Work
Before
After
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