These days, Intuit Mailchimp focuses on solving cluster problems for our customers. Yes, it's a crustomer. Recipients of unsegmented email marketing campaigns that may or may not be relevant to them. A recent study with Edelman DXI found that customers are 87% more likely to click on an email if it is personalized to them, and 71% of customers will send a personalized email I found that I was more likely to buy from the company. But we often hear that the biggest pain marketers have when it comes to email is finding a way to get the right message to the right person.
Using Mailchimp and an ecosystem of integrations, our customer PERC Coffee can look at their customers and use their data to identify who needs a little extra help making a second purchase, and who needs a little extra help getting into the funnel from the beginning. We were able to identify individuals with different needs, such as those with different needs. Someone who has a sponsorship of their favorite YouTube channel and wants a customized message, or someone who definitely likes PERC's “Wild” coffee more than “Mild” coffee and might enjoy recommendations .
Now, Mailchimp has added SMS marketing to our offering, giving our customers a new channel to drive results through an integrated marketing strategy. But with great opportunity for engagement comes great responsibility, and PERC takes this very seriously when implementing its tactics. Here's what we learned from working with them:
Build your brand and increase sales
More than 7 in 10 customers say they're likely to have more trust in a company thanks to brand-building efforts, which shows it's worth playing the long game. Taking the time to understand your customers and what they care about, and acting in a genuine human manner, will go a long way in nurturing your relationships with your customers.
Since 2010, PERC has cemented its reputation as a trusted source for delicious, ethically sourced specialty coffee, a friendly and welcoming coffee shop that wants to help everyone find their perfect cup. We have put a lot of effort into building our brand personality as people. Between best-in-class customer service at our cafes in Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia, and approachable storytelling and education through digital channels like social media and email, PERC opens the door to communicate with our most loyal fans. I did. It's a more direct and personal method.
“If email marketing is used for people at the bottom of the marketing funnel, SMS for me is [used] even lower [in the funnel]'' said PERC co-owner Alan Fisher, a self-proclaimed “numbers guy.'' “We only want to use it not just for the people we already have as customers, but for those that are very loyal and will bring additional value to them in some way.”
And after PERC sent its first SMS campaign through Mailchimp, the company realized its earlier brand-building efforts were paying off. He advertised an SMS-only flash sale to get people to sign up, and within a few days over 100 people were added to his SMS opt-in list. When the company sent out flash sale messages, the click rate was 50%, and the conversion rate from those clicks was 91%.
Fisher pays close attention to maintaining relationships with customers at the bottom of the funnel. PERC's marketing priorities focus on increasing customer lifetime value, rather than basket size or order frequency. And consistently maintaining these long-term relationships requires an always-on approach, enabled in part with the help of Mailchimp's customer journey solutions.
Personalize your efforts with data and automation
Customers and marketers are more demanding than ever, and running and growing a business takes time and effort. Let our tools take care of some of the heavy lifting and leverage your e-commerce data to customize your messages to increase repeat business and increase customer retention.
PERC uses customer journeys to create touch points with customers when they need them, such as right after they purchase a coffee bag. To help customers understand the nuances of coffee and how to get the most out of each coffee, PERC created a “Brew Tips” campaign to send a follow-up after someone makes a purchase. Coffee delivered to your doorstep. And with open rates of 75% to 85% for these emails currently being sent across 11 types of coffee, it's clearly a hit.
To configure Brew Tips' journeys for this type of engagement, the company uses data from its Shopify store to automatically add tags to a customer's profile after they purchase a particular coffee. This creates another opportunity for more targeted marketing. If a company runs out of a particular product, the team can send out a highly targeted SMS campaign to inform past buyers about the last chance product.
“As I roasted the last batch of Colombian Sidra Genius Coffee and had 25 bags left, I sent an SMS message to only 14 people who had previously purchased from me. This is my journey with Brew Tips and SMS ,” Fisher said. “I'll just let you know that I roasted the last batch, because I think they'll want to know.”
Reward your most loyal customers
It's no surprise that personalized offers make a big difference in conversions. He found that 81% of marketers say it's very or very important to them to be able to target customers with discount codes as part of personalized campaigns. While offering discounts to a select few customers can increase loyalty and repeat purchases, offering discounts to everyone strengthens your relationship with your best customers by giving them an advantage. You can deepen it.
SMS plays a special role in how PERC does this. For example, PERC offers “The Big Deal,” a campaign that offers huge discounts on the 13th of every month. In some months, he might offer a set discount on bag coffee and send a text message to his subscribers an hour before the discount period ends. In another month, PERC may offer subscribers a special “Buzzer Beater Big Deal.” This is an early bird discount campaign where you can save the most on your coffee if you buy your coffee within the first hour.
This all goes back to what Fisher said about driving added value. PERC can alert customers to time-sensitive promotions in real-time, so they never miss a moment. SMS also allows you to deliver your message directly to the user's palm, resulting in higher open rates than email, increasing engagement, conversions, and overall brand loyalty. But fortunately, it doesn't have to be one or the other. For customers like PERC, email and SMS work together more effectively, effectively shaping a new era of influence marketing.
Jamal Miller is Senior Director of Product Marketing. Intuit Mail Chimpanzee. He has over 15 years of experience in product marketing, digital marketing, and lifecycle marketing roles, including work at Amazon (Kindle and Ring brands) and Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC). Miller received his bachelor's degree from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia and his MBA from the University of Maryland Smith School of Business.
