36.8x
Total SMS ROI
18%
Loyalty programme participation
100%
Higher AOV for Gold Tier members
17%
Increase in returning customers
Introduction
Black Bananas has become a staple brand in the wardrobes of the Dutch youth. Taking inspiration from sportswear and giving it a streetstyle edge is what they do best. But more importantly, they’re a purpose driven brand which works to educate, inspire and motivate future generations to achieve their dreams. They place a big focus on community-driven content which they share on their blog, social channels and celebrate their loyal fans openly.
For over a year, we’ve been their partner in taking them to the next level. Our 360 approach has built, managed and stimulated growth for the brand, resulting in a more cohesive and successful online presence. In this case study, we’ll dive into how we combined their values and growth ambitions to create an omnichannel strategy focused on customer retention.
Challenges: Retaining loyal customers & encouraging repeat purchases
Like many brands, Black Bananas grappled with the challenge of retaining loyal customers and encouraging repeat purchases. And while our Performance Marketing team had already implemented a top-funnel strategy that stimulated new buyers, the importance of sustained growth through CLV (Customer Lifetime Value) and customer engagement is vital to any brand wanting to grow.
While Black Bananas occasionally organised community events and offered gifts with orders on their webshop, these isolated touch-points increased the workload for site operations and development, whilst not yet fitting into a cohesive strategy.
E-mail marketing and automation through Klaviyo was also an existing channel delivering great results. However, Black Bananas wondered if a portion of their customers preferred another type of communication over e-mail marketing.
Therefore, it was time to explore new channels by combining SMS and email marketing to target a broader audience. That’s when the addition of Yotpo’s SMS and Loyalty features presented an opportunity to bolster customer loyalty by diversifying channels and implementing a retention strategy across them all.
Solution
To address the customer retention challenge head-on, we created an omnichannel strategy for Black Bananas in collaboration with Yotpo.
1. Loyalty Program via Yotpo: we introduced a tiered VIP loyalty program entitled ‘BB MEMBERS CLUB’ with 3 tiers: Bronze, Silver and Gold. The BB Points earned can be easily redeemed by members for a discount at the checkout. In the Gold tier, their most loyal customers can redeem exclusive rewards such as raffles for festival invitations and invites to brand activations.
2. SMS via Yotpo: customers are able to choose their preferred channel, by opting in for SMS and/or e-mail marketing. This enables Black Bananas to run targeted campaigns, including personalised flows tailored to each subscriber's communication channel preference. The SMS channel also plays an important role in notifying members about their loyalty points and rewards.
3. Integration with Klaviyo: nine automated flows were created with the Yotpo x Klaviyo integration, covering reminders, confirmations, and updates. In newsletters, a dynamic variable showcases subscribers' loyalty points, encouraging members to engage more.
Results
The SMS campaigns, including automated flows and special Sales moments, brought in powerful results:
- Total SMS ROI of 36.8X
- SMS Flows with ROI of 101.87X
The Gold Tier is intentionally harder to attain, which leverages exclusivity at its best. It has made the brand's most dedicated customers feel genuinely exclusive, further solidifying their loyalty:
- Loyalty participation rate of 18%
- AOV of the customers in the Gold tier is 100% higher than that of non-members
Black Bananas' journey to retention has demonstrated the power of strategies that combine a brand’s varied tech stack, instead of approaching each channel and solution separately:
- Increase of 17% in Returning customers rate since the strategy launched
These results show how expertise utilised the full potential of the best-in-class solutions provided by our partners Yotpo, Klaviyo, and Shopify Plus.
