With the emergence of flash sale sites like Groupon, LivingSocial and Gilt Groupe all accruing sky-high valuations in the past years, it seemed as though new deals sites began popping up daily. But recently, we’ve seen a rise and fall of the biggest players in the space, leaving many marketers pondering the sustainability of the model.

While the flash model has potential to be highly profitable, any brand in the flash retail or discount market can face high rates of disengagement, low purchase frequency and high customer churn. The secret behind a highly profitable flash brand’s’ success is the ability to shift from investing solely in short-term conversion programs to reach revenue potential, according to Forrester.

But where do you begin? First and foremost, flash retail and discount organizations must move away from batch-and-blast marketing and adopt modern approaches to email, web and mobile that foster customer retention. This is exactly what Discount Vouchers, a UK-based company providing exclusive discounts and deals to consumers for the some of most popular international brands, set out to do with Marigold Engage by Sailthru.

Discount Vouchers + Sailthru

Discount Vouchers’ affiliate model allows the company to consistently acquire new customers, but had difficulty keeping customers engaged and profitable for the long haul. They knew they had to move away from their batch-and-blast marketing approach and begin to leverage interest data to drive loyalty for their own brand–not just the brands that customers were buying discounts for. That’s where Sailthru came in.

The goal? Personalizing experiences across email and web with a laser focus on customer retention.

The Personalization Solution

With a renewed focus, Discount Vouchers worked with the Sailthru team on a marketing program that enabled them to:

  • Gain a single view of their two million shopper database and understand individual behaviors and interests based on email and website data in addition to preference center data
  • Introduce personalized email newsletters and optimize email marketing campaigns based on individual level response data
  • Establish the lifetime value of each shopper — ensuring ROI on acquisition on a channel-by-channel basis
  • Measure the downstream impact of marketing programs through cohort analysis to increase the value of retained customers

Kathryn Wright, Managing Director at Discount Vouchers, commented:

“Working with Marigold Engage by Sailthru has given us a clear view of our shoppers, what they like and dislike, so we can provide high-quality service and offers to every individual to continue to achieve meaningful, profitable growth. With Sailthru we’re able to automate marketing activity based on customer behaviors and find new ways to re-engage lapsed buyers. It’s the powerful combination of segmentation, one-to-one personalization and long-term measurement that makes Sailthru unique and why they are the partner we continue to choose when it comes to increasing value from retained customers.”

Success + ROI

Check out the full case study to discover more about how Discount Vouchers has seen a significant increase in customer engagement and activity both onsite and via email – including:

  • 28% increase in purchases
  • 22% increase in Revenue Per Thousand (RPM) from dynamically personalized email newsletters
  • 19% YOY increase in Revenue Per Thousand (RPM) on targeted solus emails
  • 10% decrease in email opt-outs

Read the Discount Vouchers case study now!

Elizabeth Trombino, Marketing Communications Coordinator