Suomalainen Kirjakauppa knows their customer with the help of the right CDP

The Customer Is King, they say. For Suomalainen Kirjakauppa, the largest bookshop chain in Finland, this is true because they know their Customers. After all, marketers who champion the customer’s experience are the ones who improve their brand’s bottom line.

At the heart of Suomalainen Kirjakauppa’s success is the Custobar Customer Data Platform (CDP). Chosen for its versatile features, scalability and the right price-quality ratio, the Custobar CDP plays a significant role and does what it is designed to do: all customer data is easily actionable and in one place.

Hitting the target of personalised customer experience

The reason for looking into Customer Data Platforms was the need to communicate with customers in a more personalised manner. Suomalainen Kirjakauppa wanted to make their marketing targeted and relevant, thus improving customer relationships and engagement. All key factors in today’s successful data-driven marketing.

"We get much higher conversion when we know what to market, to whom, and via what marketing channel", says Digital Marketing Manager Marianne Welling.

To Suomalainen Kirjakauppa, it’s all about targeting: being relevant and providing substance for the customer.

Don’t market everything to everyone; it doesn’t work. Having access to detailed customer behaviour has a direct impact on the bottom line. The results show in sales. - Marianne Welling, Digital Marketing Manager, Suomalainen Kirjakauppa

Heidi Alha, Suomalainen Kirjakauppa’s Customer Marketing Manager, agrees with Welling: "With targeting and customer segmentation, our marketing messages have become more interesting to our customers. We have learned that that’s the way to grow our business."

According to Alha, customer feedback comes in the form of their behaviour. Our click-through rate is higher, and people don’t opt-out of email marketing. Their clicks, purchases, and other behaviour gives us all the feedback we need.

A marketing technology tool that is easy and rewarding to use

Alha and Welling applaud the low threshold of starting to use the Customer Data Platform. All basic functions are easily executed. Drafting and then sending a message is simple. Getting things done without much effort is one reward in using the Custobar CDP.

"Custobar’s basic functions are super easy and agile to use. The CDP shapes itself into many needs and features. It is also easy to learn and to teach to our staff", Welling says.

"The advanced features take a little more effort to dive into", Alha adds. - "It takes some practice before you master some of the more complex functions."

Fortunately, using the Custobar CDP is highly motivating.

"This tool is invaluable in teaching us what works and what doesn’t. It is very rewarding to do A/B and other testing and get the feedback", Welling says.

The Custobar CDP is an everyday piece of marketing technology for Welling, Alha, and the customer service center.

Custobar is very important to our customer service center staff. It is handy to take care of the customer when you can access their full customer journey with the 360° customer view. - Heidi Alha, Customer Marketing Manager

Knowing the customer behind the data is “the how” of customer loyalty

Suomalainen Kirjakauppa’s customer loyalty program is called Pöllöklubi. There are more than 700 000 active members, which is epic for a country with a population of just over 5,5 million. Custobar helps Suomalainen Kirjakauppa to manage other customer segments as well, such as the audiobook service Suomalainen Plus subscribers.

Creating customer segments is key to data-driven marketing.

"Getting sales data is simple. However, we want to find out what kind of customers buy certain types of books. We also want to get data about the monetary value and frequency of purchases, etc. This data helps us segment our customers", Alha says.

This data’s marketing value is twofold:

"We don’t only use this data to determine which campaign to target to which customer segment. We also make marketing strategies and base our campaigns on our customer segments", - Heidi Alha, Customer Marketing Manager

Customer segments, audiences, can even be based on particular marketing channels. Suomalainen Kirjakauppa’s email marketing messages, for example, contain personalised content and customer-specific benefits based on loyalty levels.

"When the message is well targeted and the content relevant for the recipient, email and SMS marketing are effective marketing channels. - Heidi Alha, Customer Marketing Manager

"Our customers have been happy and grateful when we have informed them via text messages of the newest arrival from one of their favourite authors. The impact on sales is always immediate. We are also creating a valued customer experience and increasing customer loyalty and engagement, almost as by-products, Welling says.

Suomalainen Kirjakauppa was founded in 1912. In the 1990s it expanded to become Finland’s largest bookshop chain in the 1990s. The company compared many Customer Data Platforms before choosing one. The systems of many service providers were too heavy-duty and expensive for Suomalainen Kirjakauppa’s needs. With the Custobar CDP, you only buy the features you need and use.

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