3 ways to achieve post-purchase cut-through
Customer acquisition costs have skyrocketed by 222% over the last eight years, jumping from £9 per customer in 2017 to a staggering £29 in 2022. This sharp uptick, combined with the escalating costs of goods and the discounts necessary to attract new customers, has made it challenging for brands to break even. As a result, it’s more crucial than ever to shift our focus to customer retention.
When a customer makes a repeat purchase, their lifetime value (LTV) snowballs, eventually offsetting the original acquisition cost. Moreover, if they become loyal to your brand, the potential for additional revenue is substantial.
It’s the small but loyal 21% of your customer base that generates a hefty 44% of your overall revenue. This brings us to a critical question: what really drives customer loyalty today?
According to 86% of customers, the post-purchase experience is the main influencing factor. But customer’s inboxes are increasingly crowded, and only 18% of post-purchase emails are being seen.
This means that now, more than ever, brands need to go above and beyond to cut through the competition and drive that all-important repeat revenue from the post-purchase moment.
In this blog post, we’ll share three strategies that, when combined, set you up with a winning recipe for post-purchase success.
1️⃣ Unboxing reinvented: Be one of the first to unleash hyper-personalised inserts
Creating a truly personalised unboxing experience is crucial for engaging customers. Think about it – every package has a 100% open rate. It’s the moment your customers first hold your product and when you have their total undivided attention. This means the most powerful moment to drive customers to take action and immediately re-convert. Yet many ecommerce brands fail to see this as a moment where they can make their post-purchase moments stand out. Too often they send generic inserts not tailored to their customers’ purchasing behaviour, stage in the customer journey or preferences.
And the proof is in the pudding. When brands personalise their inserts they see average conversion rates of 2.3%. That’s 4x higher than personalised emails. By treating your personalised inserts as another marketing channel, you can send tailored messages to customers every single time they shop with you. A welcome note from the founder for a first-time buyer? A targeted product recommendation for a repeat customer who loves your product? That’s engagement gold!
DTC brands leading with personalised inserts
Bird & Blend Tea Co., a loose-leaf tea company, brewed up a winning strategy. They use Penny Black to automate sending different personalised inserts wherever shoppers are in the customer journey. New customers get a warm welcome from the founders alongside an invitation to join their community. Returning customers get personalised suggestions for new tea blends, keeping their taste buds intrigued and increasing SKU variation. When customers become loyal, Bird & Blend sends them referral and review requests.
Another great example is Zooki, a supplement brand. While their hero product attracts many customers, they wanted to motivate first-time buyers to try other products in their range, encouraging them to become repeat purchasers.
They personalise their inserts by addressing customers by their first names, sharing educational information about the benefits of their products, and including a 50% discount on a box of collagen to encourage cross-selling. This approach generated significant engagement, resulting in a 3.5% conversion rate and an additional £9,000 monthly revenue.
2️⃣ Consistency is key: Create connected post-purchase communications
Our second tactic to achieve post-purchase cut-through is to drive consistent post-purchase communications across every touchpoint. This is essential to keep your brand top of mind and make customers feel valued – especially when they seek reliability and trust from the brands they shop with.
With Penny Black, you can send personalised inserts that connect your messaging across your physical unboxing experience and digital post-purchase communications. Meaning you can create a seamless customer journey from start to finish.
DTC brands creating consistent post-purchase experiences
SURI, a sustainable toothbrush brand, beautifully connects their digital and physical customer experiences. Around Earth Day, they leveraged the post-purchase moment to motivate customers to refer friends and embrace a greener lifestyle. Here’s how they did it:
- Unboxing moment: Their IRL inserts highlighted Earth Day and included a personalised referral code for easy sharing right from the unboxing moment
- Klaviyo emails: They followed up with an Earth Day email promoting sustainable habits and encouraging customers to tell their loved ones about the eco-friendly benefits of switching to SURI
- Final touchpoint: A final Klaviyo email served as a gentle reminder to make the most of their advocates, motivating them to spread the word about the brand
This connected story seamlessly connected from the physical unboxing experience to the digital touchpoints, ultimately driving more referrals.
Another brand that does this well is Dr Sam’s Skincare. Dr. Sam’s understands the power of connecting the physical and digital worlds to build customer loyalty.
Using Penny Black, they include personalised inserts in the unboxing moment that invite customers to try their skincare routine finder quiz in exchange for loyalty points. This strategy allows Dr. Sam’s to collect more first-party data points on their customers that they can use to send personalised content, while the customers have a reason to return and spend again with the loyalty points.
Then, customers receive a Klaviyo email prompting them to leave a review in exchange for additional loyalty points. This incentivises engagement while generating valuable customer feedback, and is another great example of a flow that builds loyalty from the physical experience through to the digital.
Penny Black’s integration with Klaviyo makes it easier than ever for brands to achieve this 360 post-purchase experience.
Learn more about our Klaviyo integration here3️⃣ Friends for life: Build community and advocacy
In today’s ecommerce landscape, fostering a strong brand community and customer advocacy is no longer optional — it’s a key part of the marketing funnel. Covid created a boom within ecommerce where we all wanted to be a part of something bigger, and this appetite for brand communities is only growing. Why is this relevant? When a customer is a part of a community, they’re far more likely to advocate your brand and drive new customer acquisition.
Here’s where the unboxing moment shines. It’s a golden opportunity to draw customers into your community and get the benefits of the community seen in the post-purchase moment. They’re excited about their new purchase and are fully engaged with your brand. This is exactly when you want to extend an invitation!
DTC brands building community post-purchase
Let’s put the spotlight on Bird & Blend Tea Co. again. Their personalised inserts invite first-time customers to join their exclusive “Brew Society,” promising secret sales and birthday gifts when they sign up. These inserts received a massive 25% scan rate and contributed to a 600% uplift in the size of the community in just three months.
Bird & Blend Tea Co. also used personalised inserts to encourage existing members to refer their friends, enabling Bird & Blend to acquire new customers at a significantly lower cost. By fostering a sense of belonging and offering exclusive benefits, you create loyal brand advocates who drive sustainable growth long-term.
Using the unboxing moment to achieve post-purchase cut-through
Soaring acquisition costs don’t have to spell doom and gloom. By leveraging the unboxing moment to deliver personalised, consistent messages that build a thriving community, you can transform one-time buyers into loyal advocates who fuel sustainable business growth.
Ready to unbox a retention revolution? Get in touch to see how Penny Black can turn your inserts into a trackable, personalised scalable channel that fuels sustainable business growth.
