Customer Stories

How AMES Taping Tools Turned 100 Stores Into a Record-Setting Opt-In Machine with Prokeep

Erika M. Torres
Written by: Erika M. Torres
Date:Sep 21, 2026
Reading Time: 3 Minutes
How AMES Taping Tools Turned 100 Stores Into a Record-Setting Opt-In Machine with Prokeep featured image

Before Prokeep, AMES Taping Tools had a problem a lot of multi-location distributors know well: their best communication channel was running through the riskiest possible pipe. Store managers across the company's roughly 100 nationwide locations were texting customers from personal cell phones and building real relationships, but leaving AMES with zero visibility, zero control, and real compliance exposure.

 

"We had some store managers that were sending text messages from their personal cell phones, and we knew that was an issue, We just wanted to find a way that we could still allow them to have that personal communication with the customers, but also control that on the back end and have visibility to it." - Tabitha Weaver, Head of Marketing and Merchandising, AMES Taping Tools. 

A Record-Setting First Year

The phased rollout paid off fast. AMES drove more opt-ins in its first year on Prokeep than any other customer in company history: a fact Weaver said still surprises her.

"It's funny, we're pushing the stores because it feels like this should be going even faster," Weaver said. "It's such a simple thing, and I know how many times I've walked into a store and just been like, 'Yeah, I don't care, sign me up.'"

To keep the momentum going, AMES stores use scan-to-win promotions tied to in-store events: customers scan a QR code and opt in to text messaging for a chance to win prizes. It's a small ask that's translated into outsized growth in the contact list.

 

 

From Personal Cell Phones to a Company-Wide System

AMES had just closed out a contract with a traditional advertising agency and was looking for less conventional ways to reach customers, including researching the compliance rules around business texting. Rather than strip store managers of the one-to-one texting relationships they'd already built, AMES rolled Prokeep out in phased waves: starting with pilot stores, then expanding across its five districts.

"Having it broken down, and having you guys be willing to work with us on a smaller scale, was a big deal for us. We made sure everybody understood the goal, and that it's not like this was being taken away from them. We were just making it more effective." - Tabitha Weaver, Head of Marketing and Merchandising, AMES Taping Tools. 

 

Reaching the Customers' Email Never Could

For AMES, the opt-in numbers aren't just a vanity metric; they represent access to a customer segment the company could rarely reach before. Roughly half of AMES' customer base pays in cash and historically shared little to no contact information with the company.

"They'll come in and share zero information with us," Weaver said. "For them to come in, scan the QR code, and sign up for text messages, we're reaching people we may not have reached previously."

Bigger Events, Better Turnout

Store-level event attendance has climbed noticeably since AMES rolled out Prokeep broadcasts. In a recent survey of store managers comparing this year's events to last year's, the same answer kept coming back.

"Overwhelmingly, we get more people saying their customers are coming in because they got the AMES text message," Weaver said. "That's great for you guys to hear, but it's also great for us. It tells us we're investing in the right thing for our stores."

Messages typically go out a week or two ahead of an event, with a same-day reminder scheduled for early morning. Store managers now proactively ask marketing when the next message is going out.

Broadcasts Plus a Personal Touch

Beyond broadcast messaging, AMES leans on Prokeep's task feature to give store managers a one-to-one touchpoint alongside company-wide blasts, letting reps follow up individually with top customers who haven't opted into broadcast messaging.

"That was one of my favorite tools we've ever built, because it was the first time we offered a way to get a broadcast and a one-to-one touch from your favorite salesperson at the same time."  - Tabitha Weaver, Head of Marketing and Merchandising, AMES Taping Tools. 

 

AMES marketing shares success stories from peer stores where a Prokeep message drove same-day foot traffic. "We can tell them, hey, you've got over a thousand tasks sitting in your inbox," Weaver said. "It's as simple as clicking send, and other stores are seeing real results."

 

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Why AMES Recommends Prokeep

Asked what she'd tell another distributor considering Prokeep, Weaver pointed to two things: how easy it is to use, and how much trust it builds with customers who'd otherwise stay anonymous.

"It's really simple to log in and figure out what to do, and if not, you send a message and get an answer fast," she said. "But the bigger thing is that we're reaching customers who wouldn't normally share information with us, and they're freely giving us their phone numbers."

That trust, she said, comes from how AMES uses the channel: not as a constant sales pitch, but as a genuine service tool for account updates and relevant product reminders.

"It's not like we're just sending a ton of messages saying, 'come buy things from us,'" Weaver said.

"Whenever they get a text, it's an instant notification, not sitting in a junk folder like an email would. They're giving us permission to be in that sphere with them, and that's huge. Cell phones are so personal these days; letting us in shows how much they trust us." - Tabitha Weaver, Head of Marketing and Merchandising, AMES Taping Tools. 

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Equipment

Key Highlights

  • 10+ Increase
    in Net Loyalty Scores (NLS)
  • 770 Increase
    in threads claimed