TheIndustry.beauty LIVE! How to level up on customer loyalty and service

During TheIndustry.beauty LIVE! 'The trends to know that will future proof your beauty business for 2024 and beyond', a crowd of beauty industry professionals learnt about the trends brands and retailers should focus on to meet the demands of today's consumer and drive their business through 2024 and beyond.

For the third session of the day TheIndustry.beauty’s Editor In Chief, Lauretta Roberts, sat down with Annie Reardon Co-founder of Ludo, Mark Rushmore, Co-Founder of Suri and Gavin Murphy, CMO at Scurri to discuss the tools they implement to level up customer loyalty service.

Introducing the three panellists

Annie Reardon, the Co-founder of Ludo, is a software engineer by trade but found herself beauty-obsessed. She launched a beauty booking app called Glow, similar to Treatwell in the UK. They have since upgraded the company to Glow Labs – creating data-driven loyalty programs for independent beauty brands to drive customer retention and sales. Recently, the company was rebranded to 'Ludo', which translates to 'play' in Latin.

Mark Rushmore is the Co-Founder of Suri, which is an electric toothbrush company. It is currently the number 1 toothbrush on Trustpilot and has grown to an eight-figure company in its first 17 months.

Gavin Murphy is the CMO at Scurri, which is a delivery management software. It is an industry-leading delivery management platform that seamlessly connects retailers to over 1000+ carrier services.

How to utilize social media to create customer loyalty and grow brands

Reardon, from Ludo, explained that a digitally native Gen Z audience is interacting with a brand on four channels. Most brands don’t track and reward them. Reardon implemented a system to track customer loyalty across various platforms to reward customers and create loyalty.

Rushmore, from Suri, invests heavily in customer service from delivery to the unboxing experience. His team wanted to bring luxury customer experience to toothbrushes. Paid social and influencers are a huge growth engine for them. Despite investing in social channels and SEO etc,  he explained that "it's ultimately customer satisfaction that drives the brand’s growth". For example, Suri is rated 4.8 on Trustpilot.

Whether or not a company is investing in social media to grow its brand, "there comes a point when you’re scaling that you have to invest in technology", according to Scurri's Murphy. With post-purchase software, retailers can build customer loyalty through personalisation. Marketing emails and sales promotional emails have a 3% success rate, whereas delivery engagement emails receive over 50% engagement. It’s not just about acquiring a customer, which is becoming more and more expensive for brands via social media, but about creating loyalty.

Influencer power

The everyday person has so much power. Most people scroll down reviews from ordinary people to determine whether or not they should purchase a product. Turning passive customers, not necessarily high-profile influencers, into advocates for your brand is the biggest way you can generate growth.

However, many companies see a huge success with influencers. Suri, for example, is currently fundraising. Rushmore told the crowd of beauty insiders that "most investors are primarily interested in influencer-driven businesses and it has low cost to conversions". In addition, micro-influencers are particularly potent because they have a higher trust level.

Sustainability-driven customer loyalty

For Scurri, sustainability is one of the biggest drivers of customer loyalty. Gavin Murphy commented: "We are all part of the problem so we all must be part of the solution- from brands to production to carriers".

Scurri integrated Hived into its carrier options earlier this year. Hived is a delivery service that has green emissions. Customers want sustainable options but also transparent. For example, they want to know how their delivery's CO2 impact.

In a recent survey, the company discovered that despite wanting sustainable delivery options, the majority are not willing to pay over £5 for it. However, that doesn't diminish the increasing demand for sustainable change.

Adding to this, Rushmore from Suri explained how he built sustainability into his business, rather than making it optional for the customer. He believes, "sustainability shouldn't come as a compromise".

As far as deliveries are concerned, Suri uses Boden within its Shopify system. Boden is both a sustainable and quick delivery service. Though it costs £5, customers are willing to spend that to receive a product within the hour, the sustainable nature is just a bonus. But sustainability doesn't stop there, it's built into the Suri business model. The toothbrush offers high performance, a long battery, magnetic mirror mound and is sustainable. Suri offers free recycling and repairs on brushes. It’s built into the business.

How to support omnichannel growth

One way to support omnichannel growth is to have a range of delivery options available to the customer. The discussion noted how there is a lot of disconnect between in-store experiences and online. Scurri, for example, is asking 'How can you replicate an in-store purchase with an online journey?' One way they do so is by creating a transparent and trackable delivery service post-purchase.

Another way to support omnichannel growth is to offer customers not just discounts, but also rewards and VIP experiences. Ludo, for example, is redefining what customer loyalty means with a gamified experience. For example, when working with emerging beauty brands, Ludo offers customers to co-create its newest products.

A final top tip

Gavin Murphy's tip: Leverage technology through specialist services

Annie Reardon's tip: Have a cohesive omnichannel experience – data collection and creating loyalty programmes are key

Mark Rushmore's tip: To care about people and genuinely care about your customer's experience

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