Wooden Wooden Toys is a Canadian-based wooden-toy retailer that sells handpicked Montessori-inspired toys. Caretakers from all around the world buy the toys from the corporate which was based by a mother and pa who have been on the lookout for toys for their very own little one.
Earlier than the pandemic hit, enterprise on the online-only toy store was modest however regular. However COVID-19 impacted the demand for academic toys and adjusted how they have been bought. Caregivers weren’t in a position to view toys at brick-and-mortar retailers and wanted to have the ability to belief a completely digital model to offer toys they’d by no means performed with or touched. The surprising surge in demand supercharged Wooden Wooden’s enterprise. Now, co-owner Rennie Wooden and his spouse, Melody plan to make their ecommerce facet gig their sole focus.
However with the intention to try this, they wanted to make some upgrades to their tech stack and their buyer expertise.
Implementing Shopify Inbox to handle buyer conversations enabled Wooden Wooden Toys to:
- Win a sale eight out of 10 instances after they have the chance to talk with a consumer
- Fulfill each order inside 24 hours
- Differentiate their enterprise by offering a quick, private buyer expertise
- Purchase new prospects as current prospects age out
The problem
Because the pandemic boosted on-line gross sales and brick-and-mortar retailers suffered from retailer closures, Wooden Wooden Toys obtained numerous the additional site visitors. Gross sales boomed. However Rennie and Melody each nonetheless had a nine-to-five job to juggle whereas staying on high of their rising on-line enterprise.
Add to that the necessity to prioritize buyer acquisition.
For its first three to 4 years in enterprise, Wooden Wooden Toys had a strong base of repeat prospects. However as their prospects’ kids began to age out, there was a renewed deal with buyer acquisition.
The one factor we are able to management is our buyer expertise and the message and persona of our communication.
That is the place they realized buyer expertise is likely one of the greatest alternatives for differentiation, particularly when Amazon is thrown into the combo. “We now have to take care of a few of these similar traces being bought by third events or fulfilled by Amazon resellers,” says Rennie. “So though it isn’t popping out of Amazon, it is nonetheless within the Amazon market. The one factor we are able to management is our buyer expertise and the message and persona of our communication.”
However with an rising variety of messages to watch and reply to, buyer conversations develop into labor- and time-intensive. Wooden Wooden Toys wanted a device that would not solely seize all of the conversations but additionally streamline message administration on the similar time.
The answer
Rennie knew he wanted a solution to handle buyer conversations whereas enhancing the client expertise, which might in the end assist the model’s buyer acquisition aims. So he set some targets.
To create a buyer expertise that stood out, his aim was to “be hyper responsive, fulfill orders inside 24 hours, and add a private contact,” he says.
And whereas this degree of responsiveness fueled the corporate’s development, Rennie knew it wasn’t sustainable to take care of that customary. So he turned to his tech stack and regarded for some Shopify apps to assist.
Having had expertise with clunky plug-ins on Wooden Wooden’s earlier WordPress web site, Rennie was keen to search out one thing easy.
“I type of helped myself to the ‘Made by Shopify’ apps. And virtually from day one, that was a part of it,” he says. Now, the model makes use of Shopify Inbox to streamline buyer conversations. “I [didn’t] need to take care of some third-party developer and plug in any code.”
With Shopify Inbox, Wooden Wooden Toys is ready to promptly reply buyer queries, slicing down on all of the forwards and backwards that comes with e-mail communication. This interplay is vital in driving gross sales, because it permits the model to get to the client whereas they’re in consideration mode, reply their questions, and instill confidence to make the acquisition. “With Shopify Inbox, we are able to ship an excellent buyer expertise, and reply buyers’ questions precisely, extra typically, and quicker,” Rennie says.
The outcomes
Chat has develop into a beneficial gross sales device for Wooden Wooden Toys. And Shopify Inbox has streamlined the best way it manages every chat dialog, in addition to buyer conversations from different channels. It’s additionally enabled it to simply prioritize crucial conversations—those with high-intent buyers which have the potential to impression the underside line.
Shopify Inbox is a robust device… It helps me rescue gross sales after spending time, cash, and vitality getting a buyer to that time. It pays large dividends.
“Folks ship emails, folks Instagram us, folks ship us Fb messages,” Rennie says. “The communication is available in from numerous channels, however having [chat] on the shop is good as a result of I do know they’re really taking a look at merchandise. We are able to do a greater job of guiding that procuring expertise after they’re on the positioning somewhat than if it’s occurring on an Instagram or a Fb DM.” And with cart occasions, Wooden Wooden Toys can provide top-notch assist through chat.
Cart occasions present context on what objects buyers have of their cart—or have eliminated—so you possibly can anticipate potential questions and supply personalised suggestions.
Although Shopify Inbox is highly effective and full of options, it’s not too cumbersome for the small-business proprietor. “However at the least for us, as a really small operation, it’s often simply me answering the chats,” Rennie says. “[Shopify Inbox] is easy and efficient.”
Wooden Wooden Toys makes use of Shopify Inbox in a wide range of methods, however two key approaches stand out:
Mimicking the in-store procuring expertise via personalised suggestions. Wooden Wooden Toys makes use of chat as a spot to have an actual two-way dialog, not only a place to reply questions. One of the best chats begin with a dialogue about what the consumer is on the lookout for, so Rennie can information them to search out the proper product. “With Shopify Inbox, we are able to have a textual content model of that nice in-store expertise, ask them questions, construct rapport, make some considerate recommendations, and create a bundle,” he says. “That’s the perfect type of scenario.”
Saving the sale and answering questions at checkout. Many patrons flip to talk after they have points finalizing their buy resolution—these messages from high-intent browsers are tremendous necessary and a very good conversion alternative. Perhaps they’ve questions on stock availability or their e-mail isn’t working or they didn’t obtain the low cost code they have been anticipating. “With Shopify Inbox, I can save these gross sales that would have been misplaced as a result of the client discovered some type of communication barrier,” says Rennie.
Having chat accessible on Wooden Wooden Toys’ on-line retailer helps create belief. So even when a consumer doesn’t have an instantaneous query, they really feel extra assured shopping for realizing that assist is simply a message away. “Having that delicate pop-up that reveals that we’re accessible, I believe that that drives conversion as a result of [it inspires] folks to be extra assured, to construct an even bigger basket, and to belief that we’re going to ship them what we are saying we are going to.”
Finally, Shopify Inbox helps Wooden Wooden Toys in its rising enterprise and empowers them to ship a buyer expertise that drives each retention and acquisition in a sustainable approach. “Folks that use chat are high-intent prospects that are inclined to make purchases,” Rennie says. “I don’t know if I can put a quantity on it, however I do know that if any individual reaches out with an issue, I wager eight instances out of 10 we are able to resolve it and win the sale.”