Companies are breaking their backs while trying to connect with their customers, with effort ranging from minimal (simply adding the “first_name” dynamic to a few emails) to extensive. Want to know how extensive? We at Blend are here to tell you that ‘extensive’ doesn’t mean time-consuming.
In the past, we’ve spoken a lot about how vital personalisation is, whether in email marketing or cross-selling. We’ve also talked about apps like Gorgias, where you can give your customer the best experience possible while also using that data to improve their customer journey in the future.
The truth is that these days everything is digital. Companies like Omniconvert have spoken about making a marketing impact, including after the customer has made a purchase. The deal doesn’t end once they hit “buy now”. After that, they enter a stage of regret, wondering if they should have made the purchase, how long it will take to arrive, and whether it will be as expected.
Businesses should genuinely hone in on this period to ensure they return, increase loyalty, and improve their overall repeat revenue. This will include collecting zero-party data from NPS scores with something like Explore, retaining them through Reveal, and creating an optimised post-purchase flow through Klaviyo.
But if you want to stand out as a brand, you’ll be interested in what we have to tell you about Penny Black.
What is Penny Black?
Penny Black enables merchants, like you, to implement a level-up of personal touch by adding personalised notes to the package. One of our favourite quotes mentioned by Aaron Orendorff from iconiContent was about how the package is the only 100% open rate you’ll have as a merchant; we chat more about it here.
While small businesses may have the time to hand-package and personalise each package, it’s tedious, not to mention if you have hundreds or thousands of packages heading out. Penny Black is here to make what seems impossible possible - fitting seamlessly into your packing process.
How Penny Black Works
It’s essentially a three-step plan from setup to go. And after that, it’s pretty much just… go. In three steps, you’ll be able to make an imprint in each of your customer's minds as they open their long (or short) awaited package.
Here you’ll be able to calm their mind in this stage of their customer journey, make them feel nurtured, and encourage them to purchase again by upselling or cross-selling based on their purchase - all in one swift move.
Step 1: Integrate with Shopify
It’s as simple as that. You’ll be able to integrate Penny Black with your Shopify store. Simply install the app, and they will connect it with your fulfilment centre through a configurable API - less development time needed. With the first step done, you can quickly move on.
Step 2: Get Creative
You can start pulling in all the data you need to personalise and segment these customers. Of course, the more information, the more you can personalise.
Upload the design you’ve created, and pinpoint which sections you’d like to personalise. You can personalise everything from their first name to the products they’ve purchased to the cross-sell products you want to be displayed.
And with a world of technology, we can’t forget the trusty QR code. Using the QR code ability, you’ll be able to direct customers to a campaign of their own and the products you recommend. You will also be able to track the performance with a complete insights report delivered from Penny Black.
Step 3: Penny Black Printing
Penny Black can print in various formats, providing high-quality inserts for the inside of the box or even stickers. They will then deliver them straight to your warehouse along with training and guides and lead the setup. Besides this, they provide visual aids and 24/7 support - what more could you ask for?
Using Penny Black in Your Email Marketing
The new integration between Penny Black and Klaviyo will allow you to create Penny Black campaigns. These can be hyper-personalised, enabling you to convert better and, most importantly, better retain and build relationships with your customers.
You can take your existing, high-performing Klaviyo segments and emails, print them, and put them straight into the box your customers receive, catching their attention and showing them some extra love.
These campaigns can include first-party data collected from Klaviyo across your entire tech stack, and you can unify all your marketing messages across email, SMS, and print. This way, you can ensure that customers engage with the same messaging throughout their post-purchase journey.
You’ll be able to bring customers back into the online journey by encouraging them to repeat purchases, engage with your brand, leave reviews, and refer your brand. You’ll be able to improve your overall retention rate and CLV by using all these tools together.
Penny Black dives into the details of using these in a Welcome Campaign, Loyalty Campaign, Email Sign-Up Campaign, and Subscription-Based Product Campaign right here.
Penny Black Demo
You may want to check out their demo if you're a visual learner. In this demo, they will tell you everything you need to know about using Penny Black when sending out those packages to deciphering the analytics you get from the app.
Implementing Penny Black
We are consistently looking for the most efficient systems for your Shopify store. Whether it be apps or services, we’re on top of it. If you’d like to know more about how Penny Black and Blend can make your store hit success, get in touch with us. As Shopify Plus Partners, we’re always in the know of what’s new at Shopify. If you’d also like to be in the know, get weekly updates by signing up for our newsletter.
Published: September 22 2022
