Friendbuy Plan: Enterprise
Friendbuy Products: Loyalty Program Software, Referral Program Software
Integrations: Shopify, Klaviyo
Saalt emerged as a pioneer in providing reusable period care products after co-founder Cherie Hoeger encountered stories of severe period care product shortages in Venezuela, illuminating the urgent global need for sustainable alternatives. Today, Saalt is driven by its mission of empowering people worldwide to live simpler, more sustainable lives, while also making a social impact by donating 2% of their sales towards creating a world where everyone can experience a safe and dignified period.
Saalt's transformative products create a passionate customer base who are eager to share their experiences. They wanted to harness this enthusiasm and transform it into a powerful lever for growth.
As the Director of Customer Experience at Saalt, Bridget Laye regularly encountered effusive testimonials from customers whose lives had been changed by Saalt's products. They were eager to share their experiences with friends and family after trying Saalt’s menstrual cups, discs, or period underwear.
However, the potential of this word-of-mouth enthusiasm was being lost. Saalt's existing loyalty and referral programs weren't effectively incentivizing customers to participate and drive referral activity. They fell short in tracking new customer acquisition and repeat purchase rate.
“Our old program was very expensive for what we were getting. Our customers weren't really leveraging it and we weren’t getting referrals. It just couldn't grow and scale with us the way Friendbuy can.”
Despite their challenges, the Saalt team remained hopeful that with the right partner and technology, they could tap into the immense potential of their customer loyalty and referral channels. The search led them to Friendbuy.
“I've been really impressed with the Friendbuy team. They are super responsive, and it's just so nice having a partner with real people you can talk to. Friendbuy feels like a partner, not just a vendor.”
The switch to Friendbuy provided a dramatic shift in Saalt's experience with a loyalty and referral programs partner. Bridget describes their previous experience as a ‘black hole of support’ whenever questions or issues arose. But with Friendbuy, they found a team they can reach out to at any time to discuss strategies, campaign ideas and ways to maximize the potential of Friendbuy’s integrations.
From the outset, this partnership was more than just the simple implementation of an out-of-the-box solution. Saalt and Friendbuy worked collaboratively to design a loyalty and referral program that would optimize each channel independently.
Saalt’s previous loyalty provider was very rigid, which hampered their ability to design an effective, customer-centric program. For example, Saalt’s typical average order value (AOV) is well below $150, but their previous program required customers to spend at least $150 to earn a $5 discount. This structure prevented Saalt from rewarding the majority of customers on a first purchase, a crucial moment in fostering loyalty.
With Friendbuy, Saalt can fully customize the actions and the business rules that earn customers rewards. Saalt is now able to effectively incentivize their first-time purchasers after a $50 spend - a simple change that can significantly boost repeat purchase rates.
Beyond purchase incentives, Saalt is utilizing Friendbuy's flexibility to reward customer engagement. The company offers an on-site quiz designed to help customers find the products that best meet their period needs, and through Friendbuy's bi-directional integration with Klaviyo, Saalt rewards customers with 100 points for completing the quiz.
Saalt also rewards customers for joining their email and SMS subscriber lists, facilitated by the Friendbuy and Klaviyo integration. This strategic approach to designing earning events is now driving actions that are beneficial for both Saalt and their customers, demonstrating the value of a thoughtful, customizable rewards program.
“Finding high-intent email and SMS subscribers is like finding gold. By integrating your Friendbuy Referral and Loyalty Programs into your customer communication strategy, brands can make growing their lists, engaging customers, and driving more referrals a breeze.” - Ian Mahanes, Technology Partner Manager, Klaviyo
Most loyalty program providers view referrals as just another action for customers to earn rewards. But Friendbuy takes a different approach, drawing on over a decade of experience partnering with innovative brands to power referral programs that drive 5 - 15% of new customer acquisition.
At Friendbuy, we understand the unique roles of referral and loyalty programs. A referral program is a potent driver of new customer acquisition, demanding dedicated strategies to incentivize spontaneous referral behavior (impulse referrals). This includes smart placements of referral calls-to-action (CTAs) and referral widgets, automation within your tech-stack, and a tailored offer strategy. On the other hand, a loyalty program works to keep your customers engaged with your brand, increase repeat purchase rate and enhance customer lifetime value.
Since moving to Friendbuy, Saalt has embraced decoupling their referral program from their loyalty program, and have quickly seen an increase in word-of-mouth referrals as a result.
To increase referral program visibility and bolster awareness, Saalt has strategically placed referral CTAs across several customer touchpoints, like the one pictured here in their main navigation.
They’ve also implemented a dedicated referral landing page, which serves as a central hub to promote the referral program through email, SMS and social promotions. Finally, Saalt has optimized the buyer journey for referred friends with a dedicated friend welcome experience.
“If we get a new user in through a referral, they're shortcutting that long discovery phase. They're going straight into purchasing because there's trust and credibility there.”
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