“For an expenditure of €413, we obtained orders with a total value of €51,891, amounting to a X125 ROI“: this is the exciting result of Spoki’s integration into the marketing strategy of Sublime Shoes, a women’s footwear ecommerce that since 2019 has been profitably collaborating with Spoki’s official partner agency Secret Key – Digital Marketing Agency, which created the website and manages all Performance Marketing activities.
The Context
Introducing WhatsApp Marketing into digital strategies can offer numerous benefits for both ecommerce and online and traditional businesses. Here are the main benefits:
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- Direct and Personal Communication: WhatsApp enables direct and personal dialogue with customers, which can increase engagement and improve the customer-business relationship;
- High Open Rates: Messages sent via WhatsApp have an open rate of up to 98 percent. So significantly higher than other channels, such as email (20 percent average), thus ensuring higher visibility of the content sent;
- Automation and Efficiency: Using chatbots and automated messaging, companies can handle frequent requests efficiently, freeing up time to focus on more strategic tasks;
- Enhanced Customer Support: WhatsApp enables fast and interactive customer service, improving customer satisfaction and potentially increasing retention;
- Advanced Segmentation: By integrating WhatsApp with CRM systems and marketing automation tools, companies can segment audiences in advanced ways, personalizing communications and increasing conversions;
- Scalability of Communications: Marketing via WhatsApp allows you to reach a large number of customers at the same time, without losing message personalization;
- Reduced Costs: Compared to other digital marketing channels, WhatsApp can be cheaper and offer higher ROI (Return on Investment), especially for small and medium-sized businesses;
- Proactive Selling: Ecommerce stores can use WhatsApp to send abandoned cart notifications, special offers and product or service updates, stimulating proactive selling;
- Real-Time Feedback: Businesses can use WhatsApp to collect feedback and reviews quickly and directly, enabling them to improve products and services based on customer responses;
- Mobile-First Approach: With the increased use of smartphones for online shopping, WhatsApp is a perfect fit for a “mobile-first” strategy. By offering a mobile-optimized user experience, businesses can meet customers where they spend most of their time, facilitating fast and secure shopping processes directly from their mobile device.
Integrating WhatsApp into digital marketing strategies can therefore lead to a significant improvement in companies’ communication effectiveness, especially in areas such as ecommerce, where speed and personalization of communication are key to success.
The Sublime Shoes Case Study
The case study in question is precisely the result of the strategic and operational work of Secret Key, Spoki’s official partner.
The results obtained are exciting in terms of economic return and impact on the relationship created with customers thanks to WhatsApp with Spoki.
For an expenditure of €413, we obtained orders with a total value of €51,891, representing an X125 ROI.
The strategy that brought these results is outlined below.
Original Goals
Sublime Shoes had been using email marketing automation for several years to boost online sales performance, achieving excellent results through couponing, inspirational content, up sell and cross sell actions.
The email channel was being exploited at a tactical level both to improve new customer acquisition, and as a customer retention and CLTV maximization key.
Having noticed over the years a gradual decline in the open rate and revenue generated by the Email channel, in 2023 we decided to test the use of Whatsapp through Spoki, with the aim of understanding its potential at the level of increasing eCommerce revenue.
At the same time, however, we wanted to understand whether a conversational channel like Whatsapp could help improve the customer experience of the site by guiding and helping users to purchase, just as a salesperson supports customers in a shoe store.
Implementation and Integration
Integrating Spoki was very easy, as the tool already provided native integration with Active Campaign, the software used by Sublime Shoes for Email Marketing.
Even on the eCommerce platform side, all we had to do was download the appropriate plugin for WooCommerce, which we then linked to the Spoki PRO account.
The whole thing was done in less than 1 hour and without needing any programming side intervention.
This is one of the main reasons why we chose Spoki, which proved to be a quick and easy solution to implement Whatsapp within one’s Marketing Funnel.
How did Active Campaign help accelerate results?
The decision to integrate Active Campaign, a leading automation marketing tool, allowed Sublime Shoes to effectively synchronise existing email marketing campaigns with new strategies on WhatsApp, creating an integrated, immediate and powerful communication ecosystem.
In less than an hour, thanks to native compatibility with the WooCommerce plugin, Spoki and ActiveCampaign were seamlessly integrated. This enabled a smooth transition from email marketing to WhatsApp Marketing, maximising the effectiveness of campaigns without the need for complex programming.
Active Campaign played a crucial role in automating the customer journey, from the moment a product was added to the shopping cart to the post-purchase follow-up. With customised automations such as abandoned cart messages and special offers for new customers, Sublime Shoes was able to maintain a high level of engagement and conversion.
This approach not only increased sales but also significantly improved the user experience, offering support comparable to that of a salesperson in a physical shop.
Sales and communication flows
We have enabled two automations, one of Abandoned Cart that starts 30 minutes after a product is added to the cart and one aimed at First Time Customers, to stimulate new purchases 7 days after the first order through a special offer.
We structured the copy of the automated messages to be written directly by a real person and not a classic chatbot.
We knew that this choice would stimulate interaction with users and that as a result it would be necessary to manually manage many daily chats.
But we were aware that to make the most of Whatsapp’s potential, a real relationship with people had to be created.
The human aspect was decisive, in fact the increased support offered to users in terms of information and advice resulted in a significant increase in orders while also reducing the rate of returns.
Effects on the Customer Experience of Spoki with ActiveCampaign
1. Personalisation of Communication: The combined use of WhatsApp and Active Campaign allowed Sublime Shoes to send highly personalised messages that seemed to be written directly by a human and not by a chatbot. This approach stimulated user interaction, transforming standardised communication into a personalised dialogue that reinforced customer loyalty.
2. Proactive Customer Support: Communication through WhatsApp simulated the personalised support experience one might get in a physical shop. This level of interactive support, enabled by integration with Active Campaign, greatly enhanced the shopping experience, resulting in a significant increase in conversions and a reduction in returns.
Results achieved with Spoki’s WhatsApp Marketing and Spoki
Secret Key was well aware of the potential of Whatsapp, but we did not imagine that it could generate similar results.
For an expenditure of €413, we obtained orders with a total value of €51,891, representing an X125 ROI.
The strategy, copy and creative proved to be successful. Infact, the high message open rate and interactivity generated by Whatsapp proved to be significantly higher than the email channel.
Here are the data collected:
| WHATSAPP SPOKI | ||
| Shopping Cart Conversion Rate | 3,4% | 40,06% |
| Open Rate | 36,3% | 70,10% |
Below is the graph showing the increase in purchases at WhatsApp campaign mailings through Spoki.
Given the excellent results, we are considering together with the owners of Sublime Shoes, to implement additional customer care flows with Spoki, to make the pre- and post-purchase experience even more pleasant.
CREDITS
Agency: Secret Key – Digital Marketing Agency
Ceo & Marketing Specialist: Enrico Ferretti
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