CRM Talks #23 with Katharina Türbl

CRM Lead at gitti delves into the transformative power of CRM, discusses the optimal mix of KPIs for effective operations, and addresses the common pitfall of viewing customer data in isolation, highlighting the significance of a holistic approach.

Welcome to a new episode of CRM Talks!

Today, we’re thrilled to welcome our esteemed guest, Katharina Türbl, CRM Lead at gitti, the Berlin-based conscious beauty brand.

Katharina is a huge fan of marketing automation and hyper-personalized messages across all touchpoints and life cycle stages, no matter the channels.

In this episode, she will delve into the transformative power of CRM, revealing why it’s often regarded as the ‘secret sauce’ in the business world, discuss the optimal mix of KPIs for effective operations, and address the common pitfall of viewing customer data in isolation, highlighting the significance of a holistic approach.

Could you provide your definition of CRM?

To me, CRM is like the guiding star in today’s marketing landscape. With ever-rising CPLs and increasing CAC in general, retaining customers, and therefore CRM, becomes increasingly important.

CRM is not just a stack of different tools; it’s the secret sauce for boosting customer loyalty and ultimately maximizing Customer Lifetime Value (CLV). With this goal in mind, CRM includes a wide range of actions, from data collection and cohort analyses to segmentation and, eventually, connecting with customers through various channels like newsletters, email flows, direct mail, SMS, and app messages — whatever medium they prefer.

Why is it necessary for companies to implement CRM?

In my Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) world, CRM is luckily not a luxury anymore. It has become a necessity.

A well-designed CRM strategy keeps startups on a healthy growth trajectory and supports them on the difficult path to profitability. CRM enables the transformation of anonymous leads into first-time buyers and, eventually, loyal customers. It also helps identify premium customers among the profiles that keep the return rate up, bridging engagement gaps and tapping into upselling and cross-selling opportunities.

In the past, when CPLs were low, companies could amass leads at scale through Paid Social Ads. Even without advanced post-purchase communication, a good product, and a mediocre repurchasing rate contributed to a healthy CAC/CLV ratio. However, today, it is crucial to understand how many customers make a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th purchase and where you lose them on the journey to becoming loyal customers. Only by identifying purchase and churn reasons can you respond with highly targeted, personalized messages across various channels.

Furthermore, CRM serves as a cost-efficient way not only to spread marketing messages but also to build genuine relationships with customers through surveys, product tester campaigns, loyalty programs, etc. Both direct conversations with real customers and the first-party data gained from these initiatives are invaluable for enhancing different aspects of the business, starting with the product and pricing strategy and extending to marketing and customer service. First-party data will become even more relevant as data privacy continuously gains importance, particularly with developments like Apple Mail Privacy Protection rendering tracking data obsolete.

Which CRM key metrics do you use?

I monitor many different CRM Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Some of these metrics are specific to particular channels and are quite granular, such as classic email marketing KPIs like click-through rates or the ROI of direct mailings. Monitoring these KPIs ensures the efficiency of my CRM initiatives.

On the other hand, there are broader KPIs that provide insights into the overall health of our customer base. These encompass the CAC/CLV ratio within different timeframes, retention, and churn rates, as well as 2nd and 3rd order rates.

These metrics are critical for evaluating the effectiveness of CRM initiatives and making data-driven decisions to improve customer retention. I can identify positive or negative trends early on, proactively address customers with a likelihood to churn and send targeted offers or replenishment messages to high-value cohorts. This not only keeps our customers engaged but also deters them from turning to our competitors.

What are common mistakes made when working with CRM?

One common mistake is viewing customer data in isolation. Typically, companies have multiple data pools or silos that aren’t easily integrated. Depending on the CRM tool in use, visualizing the KPIs I mentioned earlier in a dashboard and making the data usable team-wide can be a substantial challenge.

Another mistake I’ve encountered in the past is considering CRM as just email marketing. Teams often remain small and struggle to keep up with weekly newsletter send-outs and, if fortunate, basic email flows. To truly excel in CRM, team sizes need to grow, and cross-functional collaboration with teams like Data, Shop, Brand, and Creative is essential, especially for larger projects like creating a loyalty program.

How do you envision the future of CRM?

Looking ahead, AI is poised to play a major role in shaping the future of CRM. CRM has always been a technology-driven field, and AI will further streamline processes and enhance personalization. While personalization engines to recommend products and predictive analytics (for example, expected CLV or likelihood to churn) are familiar concepts in CRM, new AI tools will drastically reduce manual efforts and elevate 1:1 personalization to new heights. Tools like ChatGPT can already provide top-performing subject lines and creative newsletter content and even enable users to identify mistakes in email code without the need for HTML expertise. As manual efforts are minimized, teams can redirect their focus towards analyzing and truly understanding their customers — a competitive advantage that is truly priceless.

About gitti

The Berlin-based conscious beauty brand was founded by Jennifer Baum-Minkus with a clear mission — to ring in a new era for the beauty industry with better product innovations for both people and the planet.

From the very beginning, gitti became known for its nail colors with innovative plant- and water-based formulas that offer high performance when it comes to brilliant shine and durability. Our color collection is specially designed by our Creative Studio in Berlin.

Over the years, gitti has grown into a global multi-category brand with a portfolio that ranges from nail products to make-up and skincare. All products are always vegan and PETA-approved.

Author: Anna Ambrozevich