Michael J. McBride
Founder & CEO, Atelier Commerce
Michael J. McBride
Founder & CEO, Atelier Commerce
We built Bully Sticks Direct's owned program to fetch repeat revenue, not just first orders. The proof is in the flows: the Autoship flow opens at 64.2%, subscription-grade engagement that signals durable repeat purchase; recovery flows reopen abandoned carts at ~47% open rates and convert browsers back to buyers at ~5–6% placed-order rates; SMS earns click rates near 17–18%; and a Smile loyalty layer, already a top-performing program with a 28.0% redemption rate versus a ~13.7% category average. This gives the whole thing a foundation worth building on.
We built Bully Sticks Direct's owned program to fetch repeat revenue, not just first orders. The proof is in the flows: the Autoship flow opens at 64.2%, subscription-grade engagement that signals durable repeat purchase; recovery flows reopen abandoned carts at ~47% open rates and convert browsers back to buyers at ~5–6% placed-order rates; SMS earns click rates near 17–18%; and a Smile loyalty layer, already a top-performing program with a 28.0% redemption rate versus a ~13.7% category average. This gives the whole thing a foundation worth building on.
Atelier brands succeed at a rate outpacing industry benchmarks.
Find out why.
Average CTR Improvement
Helping brands make their mark online.
Average CTR Improvement
Helping brands make their mark online.
Autonomous CRO Resolutions
Our designs engage millions globally.
Autonomous CRO Resolutions
Our designs engage millions globally.
Average client growth YOY
We build long-term partnerships through proven results.
Average client growth YOY
We build long-term partnerships through proven results.
Years of expertise
Decades of experience in delivering impactful digital solutions.
Years of expertise
Decades of experience in delivering impactful digital solutions.
Atelier brands succeed at a rate outpacing industry benchmarks.
Find out why.
Average CTR Improvement
Helping brands make their mark online.
Autonomous CRO Resolutions
Our designs engage millions globally.
Average client growth YOY
We build long-term partnerships through proven results.
Years of expertise
Decades of experience in delivering impactful digital solutions.
POWERING EXPERIENCES THAT PERFORM
POWERING EXPERIENCES THAT PERFORM
Winning a crowded, commodity-pressured market
The first challenge was the category itself. Natural dog chews are a fragmented, fiercely price-competitive space where it is easy to compete on discount and burn margin doing it. The only durable way to build profit in that environment is retention, turning a one-time treat buyer into a repeat, subscribing, point-earning regular. The whole program was framed around lifetime value, not first-order volume.
The second challenge was building repeat behavior on purpose. A dog owner who buys once and disappears is a loss in a thin-margin category. So the program leans hard on the flows that create a second, third, and tenth order. An Autoship subscription flow, post-purchase cross-sells matched to treat size, and a winback for lapsed buyers rather than relying on manual one-off sends. The third challenge was giving loyal customers a reason to keep coming back. The Smile loyalty program became a foundational lever: it was already flagged a top-performing program, and it gave email, SMS, and the app a concrete, point-earning reason to re-engage. It is the bedrock the lifecycle program builds on, with its own dedicated success story. The fourth challenge was meeting customers on every surface. A modern pet brand lives in the inbox, on the phone, and in an app. Bully Sticks Direct runs Klaviyo email and SMS, a JMango mobile app on BigCommerce with app-exclusive promos and push notifications, and a loyalty layer that ties them together. So a loyal customer is never more than a tap from their next reorder.
Winning a crowded, commodity-pressured market
The first challenge was the category itself. Natural dog chews are a fragmented, fiercely price-competitive space where it is easy to compete on discount and burn margin doing it. The only durable way to build profit in that environment is retention, turning a one-time treat buyer into a repeat, subscribing, point-earning regular. The whole program was framed around lifetime value, not first-order volume.
The second challenge was building repeat behavior on purpose. A dog owner who buys once and disappears is a loss in a thin-margin category. So the program leans hard on the flows that create a second, third, and tenth order. An Autoship subscription flow, post-purchase cross-sells matched to treat size, and a winback for lapsed buyers rather than relying on manual one-off sends. The third challenge was giving loyal customers a reason to keep coming back. The Smile loyalty program became a foundational lever: it was already flagged a top-performing program, and it gave email, SMS, and the app a concrete, point-earning reason to re-engage. It is the bedrock the lifecycle program builds on, with its own dedicated success story. The fourth challenge was meeting customers on every surface. A modern pet brand lives in the inbox, on the phone, and in an app. Bully Sticks Direct runs Klaviyo email and SMS, a JMango mobile app on BigCommerce with app-exclusive promos and push notifications, and a loyalty layer that ties them together. So a loyal customer is never more than a tap from their next reorder.
CONNECTED TO CONVERSION & EXPERIENCE
CONNECTED TO CONVERSION & EXPERIENCE
Automation built for the second order
A durable program in a commodity category earns its keep on reorders, and Bully Sticks Direct's flow library is built to fetch them. The standout is the Autoship flow, opening at 64.2%, subscription-grade engagement, far above typical email benchmarks, and the clearest possible signal that the program is built around repeat purchase rather than one-and-done buying. When your best-opened flow is the one that turns a customer into a subscriber, you are building exactly the kind of recurring revenue a crowded market rewards.
The recovery flows do the unglamorous, profitable work of saving sales that were about to walk. The Abandoned Transaction flow opens at 46.7% and converts at a 5.98% placed-order rate; the Abandoned Cart flow opens at 47.4% and converts at 5.23%; and the Welcome Series brings new customers in at scale, driving the highest order count of any flow in the program. Cross-sell flows tuned to treat sizes small, medium, and large and keep the average order growing after that first purchase, with the Small Treat Lovers flow opening at 51.1%.
Automation built for the second order
A durable program in a commodity category earns its keep on reorders, and Bully Sticks Direct's flow library is built to fetch them. The standout is the Autoship flow, opening at 64.2%, subscription-grade engagement, far above typical email benchmarks, and the clearest possible signal that the program is built around repeat purchase rather than one-and-done buying. When your best-opened flow is the one that turns a customer into a subscriber, you are building exactly the kind of recurring revenue a crowded market rewards.
The recovery flows do the unglamorous, profitable work of saving sales that were about to walk. The Abandoned Transaction flow opens at 46.7% and converts at a 5.98% placed-order rate; the Abandoned Cart flow opens at 47.4% and converts at 5.23%; and the Welcome Series brings new customers in at scale, driving the highest order count of any flow in the program. Cross-sell flows tuned to treat sizes small, medium, and large and keep the average order growing after that first purchase, with the Small Treat Lovers flow opening at 51.1%.
supporting growth marketing
supporting growth marketing
Automation built for the second order
A durable program in a commodity category earns its keep on reorders, and Bully Sticks Direct's flow library is built to fetch them. The standout is the Autoship flow, opening at 64.2%, subscription-grade engagement, far above typical email benchmarks, and the clearest possible signal that the program is built around repeat purchase rather than one-and-done buying. When your best-opened flow is the one that turns a customer into a subscriber, you are building exactly the kind of recurring revenue a crowded market rewards.
Automation built for the second order
A durable program in a commodity category earns its keep on reorders, and Bully Sticks Direct's flow library is built to fetch them. The standout is the Autoship flow, opening at 64.2%, subscription-grade engagement, far above typical email benchmarks, and the clearest possible signal that the program is built around repeat purchase rather than one-and-done buying. When your best-opened flow is the one that turns a customer into a subscriber, you are building exactly the kind of recurring revenue a crowded market rewards.
Latest projects
Social Media Marketing
Alicia Adams Alpaca: 90% First Impressions from Organic Social
Alicia Adams Alpaca runs organic social as top-of-funnel discovery, not bottom-funnel conversion. Nearly 90% of visitors it sends are first-timers, the brand's highest new-visitor rate of any channel, arriving curious after seeing a styled throw or editorial content, ready to look closer.
Social Media Marketing
Alicia Adams Alpaca: 90% First Impressions from Organic Social
Alicia Adams Alpaca runs organic social as top-of-funnel discovery, not bottom-funnel conversion. Nearly 90% of visitors it sends are first-timers, the brand's highest new-visitor rate of any channel, arriving curious after seeing a styled throw or editorial content, ready to look closer.
Moonglow Jewelry: SEO & AEO, One Data Layer, Three Surfaces
We cleaned up a sprawling Shopify Plus catalog and enriched the product data behind it, structured for search engines and answer engines alike. The result: the blue link, the star-rating rich result, a seat in the AI Overview. Same data. Built to be found. Built to be cited.
Moonglow Jewelry: SEO & AEO, One Data Layer, Three Surfaces
We cleaned up a sprawling Shopify Plus catalog and enriched the product data behind it, structured for search engines and answer engines alike. The result: the blue link, the star-rating rich result, a seat in the AI Overview. Same data. Built to be found. Built to be cited.
Latest projects
Social Media Marketing
Alicia Adams Alpaca: 90% First Impressions from Organic Social
Alicia Adams Alpaca runs organic social as top-of-funnel discovery, not bottom-funnel conversion. Nearly 90% of visitors it sends are first-timers, the brand's highest new-visitor rate of any channel, arriving curious after seeing a styled throw or editorial content, ready to look closer.
Moonglow Jewelry: SEO & AEO, One Data Layer, Three Surfaces
We cleaned up a sprawling Shopify Plus catalog and enriched the product data behind it, structured for search engines and answer engines alike. The result: the blue link, the star-rating rich result, a seat in the AI Overview. Same data. Built to be found. Built to be cited.
