During the latest installment in our “How We Built This” series, we sat down with Dana Schwartz, VP of Global Direct to Consumer and Digital at KEEN Footwear and Abhi Sharma, VP of Product Management at Salesforce Commerce Cloud to discuss the essentials of building a successful eCommerce strategy and website — from tech stack to on-site experience, and more.
KEEN is not your typical shoe company. With a focus on consciously created footwear, the Portland-based brand encourages fans to connect with their core values of sustainability and doing-good by infusing their guiding principles into every touchpoint.
Partnering with Salesforce Commerce Cloud and Yotpo gave KEEN the tools to go beyond simply selling, with advanced capabilities for rich merchandising and creating personalized experiences that connect with their passionate fans while supporting scalability and expansion efforts.
Any brand looking to drive growth and craft an advanced personalization and omnichannel strategy can learn from KEEN’s example. Here are four key strategies:
1. Lead with your brand values
As a values and purpose-driven brand, KEEN infuses their site with their guiding principles, which resonates with shoppers and creates a connected and rewarding shopping experience.
This personal touch extends to the terminology KEEN uses to refer to customers, coining them “fans,” as they choose to engage with the brand and connect on a deeper level beyond the transactional.
From their unique storefronts, called “garages,” that are built entirely from upcycled materials, to their marketplace presence, to their website, all touchpoints are completely aligned with KEEN’s core values of sustainability, doing good, and social responsibility.
2. Build a tech stack that aligns with your goals
Building a strong tech stack that is aligned with their business requirements and goals has proven to be a major factor in KEEN’s overall success. By selecting category-leading solutions that easily integrate with one another and with the Salesforce Commerce Cloud platform, they’ve built a robust infrastructure that helps drive acquisition, boost retention, and extend lifetime value.
In addition to providing the scalability and functionalities they were looking for in their eCommerce platform, Salesforce Commerce Cloud also provides KEEN with a variety of rich capabilities that support their omnichannel business model. Integrating online and offline customer data, as well as commerce and service data, provides KEEN with invaluable insight that helps drive conversion across channels.
Being a fan-first brand is at the heart of KEEN’s mission and philosophy. The footwear brand leverages Yotpo’s Reviews solution to collect user-generated content that allows KEEN to gain deep insights into what shoppers are looking for and how they would like to experience the brand and its products, in addition to providing valuable info for customers looking to make a purchase and high-converting UGC for ads at the top of their acquisition funnel.
Centralizing fan reviews and insights through Yotpo has helped KEEN connect their customer community with their product and brand, helping KEEN get even closer to their fans.
3. Segmentation is key
From the utility work boot aficionado to the outdoor enthusiast, KEEN understands that no two fans are exactly alike. This deep knowledge of attributes, interests, and what drives each segment plays a major role in KEEN’s advanced personalization strategy.
Leveraging the Salesforce Commerce Cloud platform allows the footwear brand to create tailored journeys for each of their customer groups, with personalized messaging, offers, and value propositions that are designed to engage and convert.
4. Every customer is an omnichannel customer
Today’s buyer journey is becoming increasingly non-linear, with seemingly endless combinations of channels, devices, and touchpoints for product discovery and purchase.
To succeed in this ever-changing environment, brands must meet customers at the point of discovery, wherever that may be. By leveraging technology that helps connect these varied touchpoints across digital and physical channels, brands can take a holistic, 360-degree view of their customers and craft a consistent and personalized experience.
With a relatively small retail store footprint, KEEN makes it a priority to ensure that all of their channels and touchpoints, including Amazon, marketplaces, website, social channels, and even wholesale operations, offer a consistent experience. The Salesforce platform gives them the tools they need to integrate both offline and online data and holistically analyze all channels for a unified view.
By focusing on connecting with fans at every touchpoint through a values-led approach and powerful tech stack, KEEN has built a successful eCommerce website that is more than a transactional vehicle, but rather a platform to represent everything they stand for.
To watch the complete “How We Built This” session with Salesforce Commerce Cloud and KEEN Footwear.