Five times higher conversion through targeted campaigns

Scandinavian Outdoor is a retailer that specialises in outdoor and hiking gear. They offer a wide range of products, such as clothing, footwear, camping equipment, and accessories for outdoor activities. The company is known for its focus on quality, functionality, and sustainability in its products. Scandinavian Outdoor caters to outdoor enthusiasts and adventurers who are passionate about exploring nature and the great outdoors.

Starting in 1970 as a shop selling scout badges, Scandinavian Outdoor nowadays has six brick-and-mortar stores in Finland and localised online stores in Finnish, Swedish, English, German and French, delivering to more than 60 countries all over the world.

Defining and targeting customer profiles is a proven, commercially effective strategy

The driving force behind Scandinavian Outdoor’s decision to implement the Custobar Customer Data Platform can be attributed to two key aspects. Firstly, they recognised the importance of consolidating customer data from offline and online sales channels. By doing so, they aimed to gain a comprehensive understanding of their customer base and enhance their marketing strategies. Secondly, Scandinavian Outdoor acknowledged the significance of utilising this data to target campaigns effectively, ensuring they reach the right audiences through the most suitable channels. With a diverse range of approximately 10,000 items on offer, it became evident that selling hiking gear to Alpine skiing enthusiasts would yield little success. Instead, by accurately targeting the right products to the right people, Scandinavian Outdoor can optimise its profitability and cater to the specific needs of its varied customer base.

Since we do business online and at our stores and outlets, it’s been important for us to be able
to utilise all customer data, including the data available from our physical locations. Targeting
has also been important from the start. Defining and then targeting customer profiles has been a
proven commercially effective strategy.

 

Kuutti Haapanen

Head of Ecommerce and Marketing

Scandinavian Outdoor

Scandinavian Outdoor’s strategic steps with Custobar

Here’s what Scandinavian Outdoor started doing immediately after gathering and analysing their customer data in Custobar. They followed a strategic approach consisting of several key steps:

1. Creating custom audiences

By segmenting its customer base and identifying specific groups, Scandinavian Outdoor could tailor its marketing efforts to reach the right people with the right messages.

2. Testing those out to see how targeted campaigns work on a small scale

They performed small-scale tests to gauge the effectiveness of their targeted campaigns. This allowed them to fine-tune their strategies before implementing them on a larger scale.

3. Applying results to a larger scale

Once they were satisfied with the results of their small-scale tests, Scandinavian Outdoor confidently expanded their efforts to a larger audience. They scaled up their campaigns, ensuring maximum reach and impact.

4. Implementing learnings to other segments

With valuable insights from their initial campaigns, Scandinavian Outdoor applied these learnings to other customer segments. This enabled them to optimise their marketing strategies across different segments.

Five times higher conversion through targeted campaigns

Customer segmentation is a crucial step towards personalising customer communications. However, effectively leveraging those insights is another aspect that Scandinavian Outdoor undoubtedly excels at. Here are three of their most successful targeted campaigns.

1. Cross-selling campaign with a discount code

An automated campaign was launched targeting customers who recently purchased winter jackets. The headline read, "Complete Your Winter Look: Stay Warm with Beanies and Gloves!" providing a clear call to action.

In the newsletter, Scandinavian Outdoor expressed delight in the customers' purchase choice while emphasising the importance of completing their style and staying warm with the right accessories. To sweeten the deal, a 15% discount code for beanies and mittens was included, along with convenient links to the relevant product categories.

The results were truly remarkable. The campaign achieved an outstanding open rate of 47%, coupled with a conversion rate of 10.6%. These figures are particularly striking as they were obtained from customers who had previously made a purchase and had no immediate intention of making further purchases.

2. Activating passive VIP clients

Scandinavian Outdoor implemented a targeted automated campaign to re-engage their VIP clients who had become inactive. This crucial strategy, perfected from the outset, revolves around a sophisticated targeting logic. The principle is straightforward: identify VIP clients—those critical to sales—who haven't made a purchase within a specific timeframe and then re-engage them. Winning back these clients is vital, as they represent the company's most valuable customers and contribute significantly to its revenue.

Scandinavian Outdoor excels at engaging inactive VIPs through a strategic sequence. How effective is this approach? On average, the open rates are between 40-60%, the click rate between 7-15%, and the conversion rate is almost 10%. Compared to bulk campaigns, the money per recipient is 42 (42x) times higher, and even compared to Scandinavian Outdoor's other clever automations, the money per recipient is five times higher.

A few critical points to highlight include exceptional copywriting. The messages do not push products or “sell sell sell” but brilliantly rekindle the connection that the client has with outdoor lifestyle with valuable content. Another noteworthy strategy is how Scandinavian Outdoor leverages their 1st party customer data across external advertising channels like Meta, Google and Sanoma, effectively re-engaging passive clients.

Intuitive and easy may not apply to everything. While some features require knowledge of
where and how to navigate, creating a single campaign is a breeze - quick and effortless.

 

Kuutti Haapanen

Head of Ecommerce and Marketing

Scandinavian Outdoor

3. Targeted campaigns tell the right story to the right client – tour skating example

One of the principles that Scandinavian Outdoor truly masters is segmenting customers based on their interests and approaching them with tailored campaigns and relevant information. Here is one example of their outstanding customer communication.

Anyone not interested in cross-country skiing but tour skating might not want to read about Fischer’s skis (even though they are truly amazing)! Instead, anything related to tour skating is down their alley. To address those clients precisely, Scandinavian Outdoor created a campaign targeted at clients who had been browsing related products and were obviously interested in that particular sport. The results of this campaign were outstanding: a 52% open rate, an 8% click-through rate, and a conversion rate of 2.9% culminating in a revenue per recipient that is eleven times higher than the average, at 4.2 €. These figures genuinely underscore the significant interest and potential within a niche.

Fully leveraging Custobar’s Customer Data Platform and Marketing Automation

The mentioned targeted campaigns are not the only ones in which Scandinavian Outdoor thrives. Here are more examples of how the company leverages Custobar’s features and functionality.

1. Product recommendations

Scandinavian Outdoor uses Custobar’s product recommendations in newsletters and automations. The recommendations are specified based on brands and product categories.

2. Welcome emails and nurturing sequences are tailored to customer preferences and interests

Scandinavian Outdoor automates multiple email nurture campaigns to enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty. Nurture emails include, for example, care instructions for purchased clothing and outdoor gear.

3. Customer service excels when armed with customer data

For Scandinavian Outdoor, integration with the Giosk live chat software and sales acceleration platform, along with Zendesk, is crucial. These integrations provide insights into customer interests and business performance, empowering customer service representatives.

4. Customer Loyalty Program

Scandinavian Outdoor greatly values its customer loyalty program, The Life Outdoors Club. Through nurturing emails, automations, and personalised customer service, they strive to enhance the customer experience and foster long-term loyalty. In just three years, Scandinavian Outdoor has successfully garnered over 200,000 club members, a testament to the program's exceptional value.

I'm excited about the possibilities that Custobar CDP offers. What sets it apart is the
exceptional customer service provided by its staff, along with the opportunity to contribute to
developing the CDP and Marketing Automation system. This commitment ensures that the
software aligns perfectly with my work life. Without a strong relationship and the ability to
influence the system's direction, it's easy to question the value of investing in such a platform.

Kuutti Haapanen

Head of Ecommerce and Marketing

Scandinavian Outdoor

Scandinavian Outdoor's success lies not in a hidden secret but in its adept use of customer data. They craft tailor-made, targeted marketing messages that cater to their customers' preferences. Their marketing strategy is balanced, combining newsletters and campaigns with customer-centric automations that elevate the overall experience and service.