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Chat GPT Shopping, Striking a Balance with SMS & How We’d Build a Marketing Team from Day One

Marketing Operators · with Mike Manheimer · October 7, 2025 · 69 min

Summary

This episode uncovers how top ecommerce brands are leveraging advanced SMS strategies to gain customer insights, optimize messaging frequency, and integrate conversational commerce. It emphasizes the untapped value of SMS data for understanding customer intent and highlights Postscript’s AI product, Shopper, for identifying specific purchase objections. This is a must-listen for brands looking to refine their SMS marketing and unlock new growth avenues.

Key takeaways

Themes

email & smscustomer retentionai & automationanalytics & attribution

Topics covered

sms marketing best practicesconversational commercesms data analysisai in marketingrcs messagingsubscriber ltv benchmarksholdout testing

Episode description

First up today, we’re getting into OpenAI and ChatGPT shopping with the Shopify integration - including how we’re approaching GEO, why bigger brands might have the edge, and why we’re not going all in on optimization just yet.We also dig into SMS and email, where the real limit is on frequency, and the balance between driving conversions short-term vs unsubscribes vs retaining subscribers in the long-term.We share what we’ve tested, what the data shows about diminishing returns, and why most brands are probably leaving money on the table. We break down the difference between flows and campaigns, why flows can handle more volume, and how post-purchase upsells fit into this, from one-click add-ons to holding orders “double dash” style.We also check in on how podcast ads are performing at Jones Road - what the early results look like, why standard tracking under-attributes, and how we’re thinking about picking winners to scale. To finish up, we talk through the first three marketing hires we’d make if we were building a brand from scratch today.If you have a question for the MOperators Hotline, click the link to be in with a chance of it being discussed on the show: https://forms.gle/1W7nKoNK5Zakm1Xv6Chapters:00:00:00 - Introduction00:10:22 - Our Approach to ChatGPT Shopping & GEO00:27:13 - Finding the Real Limit on SMS & Email Frequency00:38:37 - Post-Purchase Upsells: One-Click vs. "Double Dash" Style00:51:51 - Podcast Ads: Jones Road's Early Results & Attribution01:01:18 - Drafting Your First 3 Marketing HiresPowered by:Motion.⁠⁠⁠https://motionapp.com/pricing?utm_source=marketing-operators-podcast&utm_medium=paidsponsor&utm_campaign=march-2024-ad-reads⁠⁠⁠https://motionapp.com/creative-trendsPrescient AI.⁠⁠⁠https://www.prescientai.com/operatorsRichpanel.⁠⁠⁠https://www.richpanel.com/?utm_source=MO&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=ytdescAftersell.https://www.after

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Frequently asked about this episode

What does this episode say about email & sms?
Brands should shift their SMS strategy from simple broadcasting to conversational commerce, leveraging it as a key customer insight tool.
What does this episode say about customer retention?
Optimize SMS messaging frequency by analyzing customer data rather than relying on generic best practices to avoid audience exhaustion.
What does this episode say about ai & automation?
Implement holdout testing within SMS programs to accurately measure incrementality and subscriber LTV.
What does this episode say about analytics & attribution?
Explore AI-powered tools like Postscript’s Shopper to identify and address specific customer objections that are quietly blocking purchases via SMS.
What does this episode say about email & sms?
Consider the organizational structure's impact on SMS performance; align teams to support a cohesive and data-driven mobile messaging strategy.

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