Søstrene Grene: Hyper-personal customer experiences through 1st party data

Søstrene Grene’s approach to first-party data is centred on getting close to its customers through methodical analysis and a robust technical infrastructure, but most importantly, with a primary focus on long-term strategy. After winning the award for ‘Best use of first-party data’ at Rambukken in 2023, Søstrene Grene has focused on being even more innovative in its use of first-party data for further personalisation and scalability. New initiatives centre around understanding customers' preferences and behaviour through a centralised customer data platform (CDP) that ensures compliance and data ethics. There has also been an increased focus on capturing offline data with the aim of more advanced segmentation based on preferred channels and the ability to build future omnichannel customers using innovative technologies such as AI.

By gathering and activating first-party data, transactional data, survey data and on-site behavioural data, Søstrene Grene gains valuable insights into the target audience. This data is then utilised to deliver hyper-personalised experiences across various touchpoints driven by a smart setup combining Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Relewise’s recommendation engine and a newly established in-house AI engine. By feeding the AI engine with first-party data, Søstrene Grene can create tailored, unique and personalised email and app push content for each individual subscriber. Almost every interaction is personalised, and some are even individualised with GenAI content.

The new CDP is the backbone and key enabler, fueling the entire digital ecosystem with first-party data and integrating all digital platforms handling customer data such as the web shop, app and Salesforce Marketing Cloud. This allows to unify all customer data and manage customers as single-user profiles across various digital platforms, while ensuring agility in the evolving legal landscape of cookies and algorithms across platforms.

Søstrene Grene’s deep customer insights enable engaging and targeted communication, where all content is not locked into predefined target groups, but rather focused on delivering tailored experiences.

Søstrene Grene uses mParticle to feed high-quality data into ad platforms like Google and Meta, enhancing their algorithms for better segmentation. This approach relies on the platforms' algorithms to identify, for example, in-market audiences while using mParticle data for hyper-personalisation in 1-1 communication channels – all enabled by the rich data stored in the CDP.

To maintain this large-scale personalised outreach, continuously working on lead intake is essential. Søstrene Grene collects data from potential leads, using interactive elements like gamification and app-based customer flows.

One of the latest initiatives is an increased focus on capturing offline data in physical stores, bridging the gap between online and in-person shopping experiences. This enables even more nuanced segmentation of customers, distinguishing between single, multi and omnichannel shopping behaviours, moving beyond just purchase history to incorporate customer behaviours, attitudes and contextual information.

The solution employs AI-based send time optimisation, strategically determining the most effective timing for each customer. By considering "oversaturated signals" from Salesforce Marketing Cloud, we optimise the dosage of communications, preventing overexposure and ensuring a balanced approach.

For behaviour-based communications, we have established automated hierarchical rules to avoid excessive messaging and overcommunication. This ensures that customers receive relevant and timely emails without feeling overwhelmed.

To maintain customer engagement and keep them inspired, we schedule segmented emails daily. This consistent and thoughtful communication strategy ensures that customers remain connected with Anna & Clara's universe, without overflowing them with excessive content.

The maturity of the CDP and increased user base empower Søstrene Grene with more in-depth data, further enhancing targeting and dosage strategies. A prime example optimised dosage and timing, is Søstrene Grene’s 2023 Christmas campaign, which has been the most successful ever, with an online sales index of 143 and a traffic index of 127 compared to 2022. This is a direct result of the advanced data setup, ongoing data harvesting and activation, implementation of technological solutions and the numerous improvements that have been implemented over time.

Søstrene Grene has a strong principle of never using traditional marketing tactics like discounts and sales. Instead, Søstrene Grene seeks to build lasting, meaningful relationships with customers by delivering hyper-personalised “experiences like no other” based on first-party data.

The first-party data strategy can be divided into three pillars: control, insights and performance.

Søstrene Grene is dedicated to controlling and owning its own customer data – all centralised in the CDP. This ensures both compliance with legislation regarding consent and permissions as well as meeting best practices for data ethics. It also ensures independence from the big tech companies when it comes to changes in e.g. tracking prevention, algorithms and so on.

By gathering detailed insights about its customers’ preferences for categories, products and content, Søstrene Grene can deliver context-specific and hyper-personalised content across relevant media, enhancing the customer experiences across all touchpoints.

The quality of data is crucial to achieve high performance – not just on owned media but also on paid. Powered by first-party data from its CDP, Søstrene Grene can allocate and adjust marketing budgets and campaign content based on performance on different channels at any given time. When building awareness and attracting new customers through channels outside of its direct control, Søstrene Grene relies on the algorithms and best practices of each advertising platform, making use of the in-platform segmentation capabilities that these platforms offer. In contrast, when it comes to owned channels and direct marketing efforts, Søstrene Grene delivers tailored content and product offerings to individual preferences based on its rich wealth of first-party data.

This setup clearly shows the business value utilising and activating first-party data across channels yield. By leveraging data in personalised, direct-to-customer interactions, Søstrene Grene has successfully enhanced Customer Lifetime Value, increased purchase frequency and boosted the number of repeat customers.

The results speak for themselves:

2523% increase in online revenue (from 6,700.943 DKK in March 2021 to 175.780.000 DKK in March 2024) from customers with active email permissions
127% increase in subscribers’ Customer Lifetime Value (from 397 DKK in March 2021 to 900 DKK in March 2024).
Average number of purchases went from 1.3 per subscriber in 2021 to 2.4 in 2024.
196% increase in returning customers (from 30.871 customers in March 2021 to 89.388 customers in March 2024).
Average number of purchases from returning customers went from 2.3 per subscriber in 2021 to 4 purchases per subscriber in 2024.
441% increase in new customers with email permission (from 19.543 customers in March 2021 to 105.819 customers in March 2024).

Subscribers vs. avg. online customer

900 DKK CLV for customers with email permission vs. 591 DKK for the avg. online customer – and the CLV for customers with both email and app push permissions is 1,487 DKK.
Days between purchase: 53 days vs. 135 days.
Avg. number of purchases: 2.4 vs. 1.6
Re-purchase rate: 46% vs. 20%
Basket size: 376 DKK vs. 362 DKK

CLV evolution for subscribers vs. avg. Online customer

2024: 900,48 DKK vs. 591,52 DKK
2023: 730,67 DKK vs. 551,31 DKK
2022: 567,70 DKK vs. 481,04 DKK
2021: 397,68 DKK vs. 379,90 DKK

Performance on AI-generated mail content that activates first-party data

Open rates increased with 13,81%
Click rates increased with 25,93%

Performance on manual product recommendations vs. personalised product recommendations:

Conversion rate: 4.53% vs. 9.46%

Increase in known customers and data points:

2023: 1.000.000 customers & 260.000.000 data points
2024: 1.500.000 customers & 380.000.000 data points