Each week, we're chatting to an expert in the eCommerce space to share their wisdom on building a resilient DTC brand in 2022 and beyond.
This week we're handing the mic to Georgie Carter, CEO & Founder of lifecycle marketing agency Pepped. Pepped specialise in building waterwight email & SMS journeys for DTC brands that build revenue and scale.
Take it away Georgie...
I’m the Founder of Pepped, half of my role is all about ensuring my team has what they need to succeed and the other half is focussed on business development.
Customer retention should be any DTC brand’s big focus right now. During an economic crisis, customers become more cautious when planning to buy products or services from businesses. The brands that will thrive will be those that focus on building strong relationships with their customers and provide them with a seamless customer experience that delivers true value for money.
We all know that it’s much more expensive to acquire a new customer versus selling to an existing customer and that’s never been more true than it is now. DTC brands that focus their attention on encouraging their existing customers to come back time and time again will sail through the next few months. Whereas those that are only focussed on acquisition run the risk of stagnating with a whole load of one time buyers and very few repeat purchasers.
If your engagement rates have plummeted, you might have slipped right into the dreaded junk folder. We’d recommend scooping yourself back out by checking some basics in order to get back on track.
We recently worked with a well-known organic food brand, based in London. When we initially started working with them they had little clarity on their overall email and SMS marketing strategy. The brand wasn’t segmenting their database effectively and customers were slipping through the cracks due to the limited personalisation and relevancy of their messaging.
The first thing we did was to overhaul their existing strategy and implement a watertight customer journey. This allowed them to break out of their current situation and move forward with a detailed and structured roadmap.
Within 4 months we had helped the team implement a much tighter, more personalised customer journey resulting in;
We’ve also been working with a DTC sleep tech brand, based in the US. When they first approached us they had a vastly over complicated Klaviyo set up, leaving them in a muddle as to what was performing well. There were also significant gaps in their customer journey which resulted in reduced revenue and a lack of clarity and confidence in their current lifecycle marketing strategy.
We worked with the client to deliver a clear and actionable Strategic Roadmap which clearly identified where there were areas of opportunity and revenue being left on the table. We then worked with the client to overhaul their Abandoned Cart Flow and Welcome Series, before moving on to their Lapsed and Post Purchase strategy, resulting in;
One of the biggest trends we’re seeing at the moment is a huge rush towards SMS marketing and we’re here for it! The dramatic shift in how we communicate has made SMS one of the best ways to reach customers. SMS is a great way to send time-sensitive messages, reminders, and notifications, as well as have personalised conversations, and cultivate relationships with engaged customers. If you’re not already leveraging SMS, I’d strongly recommend you explore it as another great way to keep in touch with your customers.
That’s an easy one, the mistake we see DTC brands making the most is not segmenting their databases enough (or at all!). Segmentation is the single most important lever that you can pull when it comes to lifecycle marketing. Brands often forget that each of their customers are at different stages of the customer journey which is why a blanket all approach to communication is ineffective.
As a DTC brand it’s your responsibility to educate your customers about the value your brand provides and then translate that value into a message that’s appropriate based on where the customer is in their journey with you. Personalisation has now become a base case customer expectation which is why it’s hugely important to ensure your comms are timely and relevant throughout the entire customer journey.
Focus their efforts on customer retention by growing strong customer relationships and building long term brand loyalty.
Jaye Cowle at Launch.
Nathan Lomax at QuickFire Digital.
Adam Pearce at Blend Commerce.
You can find out more about Pepped at our website, or follow me on Linkedin directly here.
