How to stand out on Black Friday? Do Black Month instead, and get 1,000s of opt-ins and sales as early as October. This is how supplements brand BRAINEFFECT did it with WhatsApp and the charles platform.
The goal: stand out on Black Friday
Black Friday is now the biggest annual sales event for European brands. In 2023, BRAINEFFECT decided to spread it out to stand out.
"Messages are getting drowned in inboxes" says Elena Milosheska, CRM Manager, "Everyone can relate to that overwhelming feeling when Black Friday comes. You get a slight panic... So many deals! Should I buy anything??"
BRAINEFFECT is a German brain supplements company that advocates for a more peaceful headspace.
It didn't want to add to the Black Friday chaos, but ease the pressure for customers. To do this it decided to stretch out the event for the whole month.
An insight into BRAINEFFECT's decision to do Black Month instead of Black Friday
"This isn't just good for customer communications, it's good for us," says Elena. "Doing actions for a month stretches out the revenue period and catches attention earlier than our competitors."
BRAINEFFECT decided to focus on WhatsApp as the centerpiece of its Black Month actions because of its quick success in WhatsApp.
In the September sale, the company achieved a return per recipient (RPR) of €13.1, which is far above the current average across our clients of €1.88*. The conversion rate was an impressive 25%.
"These were amazing results for us. So for Black Friday, we wondered: how can we use charles to create a unique experience?"
The solution: 4 weeks of Black Friday actions
BRAINEFFECT created a "Black Month" campaign – spreading out its Black Friday actions over 4 weeks from October to November 24.
Every week centered around different offers, starting as early as Halloween. While this capitalized on another big event, it also meant BRAINEFFECT had time to test what did and didn't work – and could adjust the campaign as it evolved.
"1 week we had a free gift, the next we had no gift. We found that 1 campaign didn't work as well as we wanted, so quickly adapted it for the next campaigns. The flexibility of WhatsApp and charles was a big pro for Black Month."
Elena and her team created a 30-day long automated WhatsApp flow using charles Journeys feature. "This was a big and complicated flow," says Elena. "But it took no time to set up. The possibilities are almost endless."
A peek at the Black Month WhatsApp opt-in flow in charles Journeys in our recent webinar
To create FOMO and hype around a product, the team put together an exclusive VIP presale. "Right away this gathered more than 2,000 recipients into charles, which I was delighted about."
The results: €14.5 per RECIPIENT
BRAINEFFECT achieved excellent results with its WhatsApp Black Month campaign.
The total RPR from Black Month was €14.5 per conversation. BRAINEFFECT doubled its subscriber base and 1.2 thousand people went through the flow.
Elena says, "We reach a very high number of recipients extremely quickly. Our goal in starting to use WhatsApp was to increase our repurchasing rate. We've successfully done this and I’m very happy about results we’re having."
Why charles?
Why did BRAINEFFECT choose the charles WhatsApp marketing platform?
BRAINEFFECT was intrigued by the benchmarks, the presentation and the onboarding. And the fact that charles was aligned with the company's business goals to increase retention, gain a quicker way to communicate with customers, and increase conversion.
After a few weeks on the charles platform, BRAINEFFECT became the biggest user of the WhatsApp automation platform, Journeys.
Journeys is charles' automation feature – a simple way to set up interactive WhatsApp conversations on an easy-to-use, drag-and-drop canvas
"We went all in from the beginning, says Elena. "The Journeys feature especially struck our team. The creativity and possibilities seemed limitless. Plus it's the most intuitive software tool on the planet."
Klaviyo integration: how email and WhatsApp worked together
Key to BRAINEFFECT's success on WhatsApp is its integration with Klaviyo.
"The Klaviyo integration was a lifesaver for us."
Through the charles x Klaviyo integration, BRAINEFFECT uses the segments set up in Klaviyo in the charles platform for targeted WhatsApp campaigns – for example based on product bought, when it was bought and whether or not the customer is a VIP.
Scan to learn more about charles x Klaviyo integration use cases – self-guided in a special WhatsApp flow
The Klaviyo integration also helps email and WhatsApp work seamlessly: "We've seen that you get the most of the Klaviyo integration if you have mobile numbers and email. In our WhatsApp opt-in flow we always ask for people's email address."
See how the Klaviyo and charles (WhatsApp) integration works and the benefits for your business
Elena and her team are very enthusiastic about the possibilities of combining email and WhatsApp marketing communications: "This has opened a whole new ground of creativity for us. Even if you have a storefront, all the flows you can trigger from Klaviyo to WhatsApp, you just get so much creative scope."
How BRAINEFFECT ran "Black Month"
1. 4 weeks of events
Different themes for each week to keep engagement high, including team messages, because customers love hearing product recommendations and tips from the team.
2. Build audience
Exit popups on mobile went to WhatsApp. Plus Instagram ads and influencer promotions.
3. Optimize to improve performance
Constantly A/B testing and learning from results over the 4 weeks, so by the last week, the knowledge was there to maximize revenue for the big Black Friday campaign.
What's next?
1. A Christmas raffle, exclusively on WhatsApp with charles. Customers can scan a code in the BRAINEFFECT office and have the chance to win a day in the brand's "Experience Center."
2. Extend ways of using charles, with actions like new products and influencer collabs.
3. Expand into the French market.
"We're so happy with our decision to start with WhatsApp and go with charles," says Elena.
"We love the tool, we're achieving our repurchasing goal and we're enjoying learning about how WhatsApp works as a marketing channel.
"There are also surprise benefits. Like it’s very easy to get customer information via WhatsApp compared to forms and email. In WhatsApp, it’s easy and interactive. People quickly go through the flow and provide their answers so you can tag them for future segmentation.
"We're excited to see what's next and aim to stay at the forefront of WhatsApp with charles, as it grows in Germany and Europe."
*€1.88 median customer RPR per month from Dec 23 to May 24 from all charles customers with enabled revenue tracking
