Smaak Amsterdam is a Dutch leather goods brand that offers affordable craftsmanship without compromising on design.
Build
Build- UX/UI Design
- Web Development
- Klaviyo Automation
- Shopify Migration
Manage
Manage- Paid Advertising
- Retention & CDP
- Shopify Operations
- E-commerce Strategy
Grow
Grow- Analytics & Reporting
- Data & Intelligence
- Growth Strategy
- Marketplaces
Introduction
Its small and passionate team had done a great job of establishing the brand in its home country for the last decade, but they had more aspirations. Namely, expansion into the DACH market to explore wholesale opportunities. But how to reach the right audiences, attract and maintain their attention and turn them into a solid customer base? With the help of our Performance Marketing team, we managed all that and more for this steady client.
Challenges
Though a natural aspiration for an ambitious brand to have, expanding into new markets always raises a number of challenges. They saw the potential for new business, but remained unsure about how to achieve it.
When it comes to acquiring new customers to enable long-term sustained growth, you need to invest in acquiring these new customers to grow the customer base. These are the people who end up being returning customers and grow your brand through loyalty. This process is an investment of money, time and energy and can therefore be daunting when there isn’t a dedicated team or person in-house who knows how to best optimise it and drive the decisions forward.
Within the Smaak team – small, creative and very passionate – no one was solely responsible for this venture that requires a deep understanding of data and e-commerce. Luckily, our partnership in previously migrating them to Shopify and ongoing management of their e-commerce advertising meant that they knew they could trust us with steering the business to international success.
Solution & Results
In line with NSL values, the Performance Marketing team focussed on achieving long-term and sustained growth over quick wins. They applied this intentional approach across a number of performance marketing avenues, ensuring a cohesive strategy.
Together with the Smaak team, our specialists created a tailored strategy that focused on both their home market in the Netherlands and expanding into the DACH region. Through data analysis, the team identified the right audiences to target, primarily using social and Google advertising. They also strategically managed the media budget by finding a balance between the budget spent in each part of the acquisition funnel, including retargeting and prospecting. This layered approach meant that no potential new audience should fall through the cracks.
Next to this, the PM team also encouraged the client to make better visuals for their ads and webshop in order to excite both new and existing customers. With the PM team also managing Klaviyo and the e-mail marketing automation, a healthy inflow of new customers was secured as well as retaining existing customers.
Our philosophy of not going for quick wins rarely lets us down, and this case was no different. Since 2021, SMAAK has achieved sustainable growth YoY, with a 42% growth in revenue overall. The growth in the desired markets (DACH) was also significant: Germany saw a 70% growth in revenue and an increase in traffic by 155%. Plus, another example of Klaviyo serving the client when used correctly – 30% of revenue can be attributed to its marketing tools.
Further, this partnership has always been positive and collaborative. This has allowed for a good amount of trust and quick reactions to implement new strategies with ongoing e-commerce support and performance marketing. For example, during peak season the team used data insights to create better sales strategies, including early access, selecting sales durations, and creating sales artwork.
This level of collaboration and involvement is a prime example of how, if you find the right team when it comes to knowledge and expertise, you can benefit from outsourcing aspects of your brand and business. Our partnership with SMAAK has kept them in control while still letting our team guide in a successful direction.
