We all know that acquiring new customers is getting more expensive. In fact, following Apple’s privacy changes back in 2021, the average cost of customer acquisition (CAC) surged 200% in six months last year.    

With rising CAC, brands are moving into retailers and other high-traffic channels to reach more customers. The only catch is, brands end up not knowing who these customers are and missing out on opportunities to turn them into repeat buyers.

In this landscape, driving retention with new and existing customers is critical for brands. One brand is doing just that with two innovative tools: subscriptions and QR codes. 

Remi, an online store for custom night guards and teeth whitening mouthpiece kits, has seen success in using Smartrr and Brij to acquire and retain its customers. In this piece, we’ll explore how Remi has grown since incorporating subscriptions and QR codes, and hear from Oscar Adelman, Founder and CEO of Remi.

Retain Subscribers With a Customized Subscription Program 

For consumable products meant to be used frequently and replenished regularly, whether that be health and beauty products or food and beverage brands, subscriptions are a perfect way to capture long-term customers. In Remi’s case, subscriptions are core to its business model with Remi Club, a subscription service that provides subscribers with new night guards every six months and whitening gel every three months. 

Remi has massively benefitted from switching to Smartrr, specifically because the out-of-the-box subscription programs and intuitive nature of their customer account portal have been crucial in offering a consistent brand experience. Since launching with Smartrr, Remi has seen active subscriptions up by 70%+ and subscription revenue up by 75%+, with a subscriber retention rate of 98%.

So, how did Remi do it? Overall, Smartrr has helped Remi retain its subscribers by creating a seamless customer experience through a curated subscription program. Remi subscribers have the ability to manage their own subscription journey in an intuitive account portal with flexible options to skip, swap, send now, and more, powered by Smartrr. 

In general, flexible, customizable features that let the customer choose the cadence in which they would like to receive the product and how much of it establishes trust between subscribers and the brand. For example, after customers purchase a teeth whitening kit, Remi suggests subscribing to receive new gel automatically delivered every 3 months. If a subscriber decides that they want to whiten their teeth less, Remi’s flexible subscription program ensures that subscribers feel comfortable making any necessary order adjustments, such as skipping a month when they need fewer products, versus fully unsubscribing.

With Smartrr, Remi has been able to increase average order value by placing certain accessories, such as night guard cleaning foam or teeth whitening gel, directly into the customer account portal as one-time add-ons. As a best practice, merchants are helping improve their average order value by placing strategic up-sells based on data that identified products commonly purchased together and top-performing products. Then, merchants are recommending these products directly in the customer account portal for a tailored customer experience.

Apart from standard customer account portal offerings, subscribers appreciate engaging, customer loyalty features like subscriber-only discounts and perks. At Remi, those who subscribe to Remi Club receive discounts on their subscription orders. In general, consumers enjoy when brands acknowledge their loyalty and reward them for their commitment to the brand, further solidifying a long-term relationship and building brand champions. In turn, recurring revenue from retaining the highest lifetime value customers, AKA subscribers, can be a great way to generate predictable, long-term income. 

Acquire Subscribers from Third Parties With QR Codes

As an omnichannel brand, Remi is able to reach potential subscribers in several sales channels. In addition to their online website, customers can find their products on Amazon, Walmart, and other 3rd parties. These marketplaces are great for driving traffic, but as many brands can relate to, they also drive up a data wall. 

To fill in the gaps and strengthen their omnichannel marketing strategy, Remi turned to Brij. Within months, they successfully brought these retail customers into their eCommerce experience and were able to grow their subscriber base significantly with QR codes.   

“Not only have we seen our monthly subscriber base more than double, but we have also been able to capture data from these customers from Amazon and other channels,” Oscar said.  

With Brij, Remi began deploying QR codes on their products linking to information explaining the benefits of joining the Remi Club. When customers scan the QR code, they are directed to a branded landing page that lets them easily subscribe, learn more about Remi, and explore the website all in one seamless experience.  

When selling through 3rd party retailers, brands are often limited in how much content they can share. There’s also only so much information brands can include on product packaging. By leveraging QR codes, Remi can educate customers on their awesome subscription service and direct them to their online website, offering customers a much more robust brand experience and directly impacting customer LTV.

What data can you track with QR codes?

With QR codes, brands are able to collect and track key metrics, such as:

• First-party data capture. When launching in retailers like Amazon, brands need to determine a strategy for how they are going to continue to connect with their customers post-purchase. With QR codes on their products, Remi can collect first-party customer data, including email, location, and what they are purchasing.
• Channel and Revenue Attribution. Remi is able to attribute 10% of their total subscribers through Brij. In general, using retailer-specific QR codes gives brands a way to attribute revenue, specifically direct revenue from the QR code experience plus indirect revenue post-QR code scan.
• Engagement with Experiences. Brands can track how customers are engaging in the post-scan experience. With Remi, they can see how many customers are clicking on certain pages from the QR code scan and update their experience based on the level of engagement. 

When brands have insight into how customers are engaging across channels, products, and even SKUs, they are able to make changes in real-time to improve engagement and deliver more personalized messaging that directly impacts AOV and customer LTV. 

Conclusion

Remi is a prime example of a brand that has seen success in leveraging subscriptions and QR codes to acquire and retain its customers. “Both of these tools have extremely easy-to-use platforms which make it super easy to update our experiences and maximize the benefit they offer to our customers,” Oscar says. 

With Brij, Remi is able to acquire subscribers from its 3rd party channels and engage them in a full brand experience. With Smartrr, Remi has retained its subscribers by creating a seamless customer experience through a curated subscription program with an intuitive account portal. 

All in all, subscriptions are an effective strategy to turn one-time purchasers into loyal brand advocates across all product types, increasing retention rates and minimizing customer acquisition costs. You can bring your customers into your subscription experience across all channels with QR codes and collect first-party data for actionable insights to improve your experiences.