Dear Sam Faillace, Vice President of Marketing and Partnerships at Sunbasket,
I’m writing to you because on July 14th 2021, we at PostFunnel – a publication dedicated to everything relationship marketing – analyzed your brand’s site experience according to the “7 commandments for basic CRM”. These are the basic principles brands should follow today to improve their chances of building meaningful customer relationships.
You can read more about the method at the bottom of this page.
Since we ran the CRM analysis on your brand a while ago, we wanted to revisit it today to see what has changed. After all, we know these things are dynamic.
You can find the original analysis here.
Back then, we gave your brand a score of 41/70, or a 58.5%, which put you in 46th place out of 49 brands. Today, after analyzing 70 brands, Sunbasket ranks 63rd on the list.
Now, let’s re-evaluate those scores, shall we?
Transparency 9/10 (old score: 4/10)
Initially, we graded Sunbasket quite low based on the lack of accessible information found both via the online site and through internet search. Today, we see tons of resources on their site that highlights the brands’ values, where products are sourced, as well as a page showcasing their mentions in popular news. Additionally, we were met with photos of the owners of Sunbasket right on the home page – a nice addition that puts a face to the brand.
We’d previously mentioned that we wanted to see more about the brand and it’s employees, so these resources are invaluable to customers who want to know who they’re buying from and where the products come from.
Be Relevant 10/10 (old score: 10/10)
Since we last visited Sunbasket’s site, the homepage was hyper-focused on Covid-19 protocol and even included FAQ page on pandemic protocol. Now, the homepage is more focused on the product itself. Although we still live amongst Covid-19, it is no longer as relevant to the brands’ mission as it was pre-vaccine. The homepage now reflects an “at-a-glance” message of their product that is further investigated in other pages on the site.
They also offer a variety of dietary options, which pushes the agenda for food brands to be more inclusive (and let’s be honest, any brand that isn’t pushing personalization or customization is going to be left in the dust). Sunbasket also hones in on the concept of “meal planning”, an increasingly popular way to prepare healthy food for those with busy lifestyles.
Be Helpful 5/10 (old score: 0/10)
Things have certainly changed in the “helpful” department since we last visited Sunbasket. Back in July 2021, we at PostFunnel scored them 0/10 when we couldn’t find any resources about community service, Covid-19 relief, or charitable action on behalf of the company. After just a quick Google search, we were able to find their lifestyle page that provides tips and resources for living a sustainable and community-oriented lifestyle regardless of where you live.
We did not offer a higher score for Sunbasket only because this page was not easy to find on the main website, limiting our ability to bump up the rating. Regardless, it is a significant improvement from our original calculation.
Realtime Personalization 6/10 (old score: 4/10)
When we initially went to order a kit from Sunbasket, we were only asked 3 basic questions about our needs. Now, there are a variety of questions ranging from dietary restrictions to basic taste preferences to ideal preparation time. The best part? The answers to the following questions are adjusted in real time as we check off different options – for example, when “Vegetarian” is selected, the following question knew to check “Avoid Meat” as a preference.
The reason we did not rate Sunbasket any higher is because as mentioned in our previous analysis, we were not met with any further suggestions after abandoning our cart. This was a perfect opportunity to upsell and cross sell CRM marketing practices. So although they have improved their real-time personalization skills, they still fell short here.
Master UX 10/10 (old score: 10/10)
No surprises here – Sunbasket still has an incredibly short, simple, and user-friendly checkout process. The brands’ identity is apparent in all corners of the site and all need-to-know information is easily accessible for the customer.
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Overall, Sunbasket’s new-and-improved score is a 53/70 which translates to an impressive 76% – overall a 17% improvement. With this new score, Sunbasket could have been ranked 32nd out of 70 – and major improvement on the brand’s current rank of 63 out of 70. As a brand with an opportunity to hone in on key personalization features, Sunbasket has clearly taken initiative to improve the user experience by showing they understand what the customer cares about in real time.
About the 7 Commandments for Basic CRM Tactics in a Post-Coronavirus World:
We have a saying here at PostFunnel: All marketing is relationship marketing. Why? Because every touchpoint with a potential customer impacts your future relationship with them. It’s a bit like going on a blind date: what you hear about him/her/they beforehand can determine the date’s success.
In recent years, it meant that the ways brands support global, social, environmental, and even political causes have become increasingly critical to their relationships with customers.
Then, 2020 happened. With its global pandemic, economic downturn, and historical social and political turmoil – people turned their eyes to brands almost as much as they have to governments. As a result, brand expectations in times of trouble became even more crucial to a company’s CRM success.
When the internet got flooded with articles advising marketing and CRM leaders on making sure their brand is suited for this new reality, we decided to take action. We combed dozens of them – and came up with a list of 7 staples that appeared in most of those articles.
The seven most essential commandments a brand must follow these days to make sure they put themselves in the best position possible to develop long, meaningful relationships with their customers. To learn more about how you and Sunbasket can take full advantage of all the latest, cutting-edge marketing personalization and customer segmentation practices, feel free to reach out to the folks at Optimove at any time. This happens to be their expertise!
The 7 Commandments:
1) Transparency. Show the human side of your brand
2) Give incentives and perks (that make sense)
3) Be relevant (with your language, offering)
4) Be helpful (improve your communities’ lives)
5) Personalize in realtime (cause, duh)
6) Master UX (slow, clunky websites are no longer an option)
7) Leverage social media (don’t just treat it as a sales channel)
Yup, that’s all. Your CRM efforts will struggle to achieve their full potential without being at least decent at all of these.
And, let’s be honest, it’s not too much to ask of a brand, right?
Yet, you’d be surprised how many well-known brands fall short too often when analyzed through these lenses.
Still, it makes some sense – these changes are happening fast, and not all brands can react and adapt quickly enough.
And we’re here to follow these reactions and adjustments as they happen.