Stop Sleeping On Incremental Sales: Flaunt x Slumberkins Shopify Loyalty Audit
We don’t mind sharing our secrets.
And that’s exactly what we did during our last live loyalty evaluation for our community of Shopify leaders.
Alright, Flaunt’s loyalty audits aren’t so much a ‘secret’ as they are the cornerstone of our best-in-class, fully managed loyalty program design. And while we’re not sharing secrets, we are giving up some crucial learnings that can be applied to just about any DTC brand in the Shopify ecosystem.
If you’ve never caught one of our live loyalty evaluations on video, they are public webinars designed to give DTC brand decision makers a firsthand look at what a professional loyalty audit entails and the kind of actionable insights it can provide for your brand. We choose a DTC brand we love–in this case, Slumberkins–and walk through the audit process for our viewers.
For our clients, this type of audit is always the first step in our relationship. It allows us to dive deep into your existing loyalty strategy (if you have one) and identify opportunities for growth and improvement.
Why Every DTC Brand Should Consider a Loyalty Audit
Before we dive into the specifics of our Slumberkins audit, let's explore why loyalty audits are crucial for DTC brands:
- Immediate Actionable Insights: A well-conducted audit doesn't just provide data—it offers immediately actionable recommendations tailored to your brand.
- Smarter Program Design: Whether you're refining an existing program or creating a new one, audit insights ensure your loyalty strategy is both profitable and differentiated.
- Clear, Measurable KPIs: With a deep understanding of your business, you can establish specific, relevant KPIs to track your program's success.
If you want to know more about our process, check out our step-by-step guide and the results of our recent work with Friday Beers.
Introducing Slumberkins: Cute Companions With A Purpose
Slumberkins is a children's brand that goes beyond typical stuffed animals. Each Slumberkins creature is designed to promote emotional learning and development in children, coming with its own storyline and affirmation board book.
Slumberkins are tools to help children develop important life skills like stress relief, self-esteem, family change, and conflict resolution. This unique approach has garnered Slumberkins a dedicated following among parents and educators alike, making them an ideal candidate for a loyalty program that truly resonates with their audience's values.
If you couldn’t already tell, we’re fans. So first we’ll explore…
What Slumberkins Is Doing Right
Before we dive into our recommendations for Slumberkins loyalty program, let's run through what they are already doing well.
A Diversified, Gamified Loyalty Experience
Slumberkins has smartly designed a program where members can earn points through a multitude of activities. The program delivers rewards for actions like following the brand on Instagram or joining their VIP Facebook group.
Offering varied ways to earn rewards allows customers to truly engage with your brand. They become not just consumers but fans and, hopefully, ambassadors.
These kinds of intentionally designed programs are what every Flaunt client can expect.
Strong Instagram Presence
Their Instagram shop is well-curated and engaging, with a clear path to their Shopify site. There’s no obvious friction here, just a smooth path to purchases.
Value-Driven CTAs
Instead of a generic "Sign up for emails," they offer a compelling "Save 15% on Social-Emotional Learning Tools." The CTA speaks to the overall value that the brand provides and almost demands an email–what caregiver could say no!
Flaunt’s Recommendations for Slumberkins
While there’s a whole lot that Slumberkins is doing really well, there’s always room for optimization. We created a list of actionable recommendations to take Slumberkins loyalty program to the next level.
1. Enhance Mobile UX and Program Visibility
While Slumberkins has a solid foundation, we’d make a few tweaks to the mobile user experience.
We found that there were pages within the Shopify loyalty experience that presented a scrollbar and some distracting elements that felt more organic to a desktop experience. With 70-80% of sessions on mobile, reducing scroll time and increasing focus is crucial.
2. Integrate Email and SMS Marketing Into “Achievements” Flow
Slumberkins has a fantastic "Achievements" feature, but it's not being leveraged to its full potential. Tightly integrated, automated email and SMS campaignsare absolutely crucial to driving sales. Our specific call-outs for the Slumberkins program were:
Implement Post-Purchase Email Flows
After a customer buys an item related to an achievement, send targeted emails highlighting the offer (e.g., "Buy two more products from the collection to earn a reward!").
Tell Us the 'Why' Behind Campaigns
Use these emails to reinforce brand storytelling and create compelling events around achievements.
Personalize Offers Based on Quiz Responses
Slumberkins has a product quiz as a part of its loyalty program, which is excellent for driving engagement and collecting valuable user data.
To get the most juice for the squeeze out of these quizzes, we’d recommend creating personalized offers and product recommendations tied to results.
For example: During our audit, our quiz recommended a specific Slumberkins product to fit our needs. A follow up email with a discount code could close that sale, plus build interest and loyalty with customers.
3. Refine the UX Focus
The current program has many features–that’s great! It can also feel overwhelming. It’s easy for a customer to lose focus and context. It’s crucial that when offers and points are presented, customers understand how it all translates into something tangible (think discounts and dollars).
In other words, remind customers exactly what value they are getting from your program, especially when the program has many components.
4. Enhance the Customer Service Experience
With a feature-rich program, customer support becomes crucial. Ensure your team can handle inquiries about points, rewards, and program features. If you have a managed service loyalty provider, you might want to consider tapping them to help your CS team respond to loyalty program inquiries (like Flaunt does).
Wake Up To The Potential Of Your Loyalty Program
There’s a reason we start all of our relationships with a loyalty audit: There is always something to optimize.
Only by getting to know your brand, your customer and understanding the full 360 customer experience can we then begin to craft your program. We design and manage loyalty programs that drive real results. Set it and forget it doesn’t work for us (and, in reality, it doesn’t work for anyone).
We kind of can’t imagine doing it any other way.
If you're looking to take your Shopify loyalty program to the next level or create a program from scratch, get in touch.
Book your office hours with us today, and let's get to work making your loyalty program into the profit center it should be.
