Retention is a critical part of HyugaLife’s strategy.

Keeping their customers engaged so they consistently come back to their store and reorder their favorite health & wellness products inspires them to experiment with different techniques that lower churn rate regularly.

We were lucky to hear Chaitanya and Nihar from the founding team share their insights and some of their retention strategies in this edition of our State of Retention podcast.

What makes their use case unique and ripe for learning is that unlike traditional DTC brands which focus only on selling their products directly to their consumers, HyugaLife is a comprehensive marketplace offering a diverse range of health and wellness products from various brands.

While this allows them to have a broader target audience with different preferences and needs, it also means they are directly competing with some of the brands on advertising channels.

How do they make it work?

Let’s find out!

Making Retention the Guiding Star at HyugaLife: Innovative Experiments in Focus

“I don’t think there’s a lack of availability (of information). It’s just the lack of structured information, because if it’s too noisy, then it’s hard to decide. For us, the objective is how do we make this a lot simpler for the consumer. ”

Nihar speaks at length about how their team realized that personalized communication is a key factor in retention management.

By adding personalization to their communication across channels and mediums they saw higher Click-Through Rates (CTR) and conversions compared to generic communications.

Not ones to just assume and sit back, their strong conviction (in what people understand is important merely because it’s a hot topic in the eCommerce world), is based on rigorous A/B testing.

He continued and explained how more relevant content created for different segments outperformed one-size-fits-all messages, which in turn increased customer loyalty.

To enable this, HyugaLife leverages its CRM data to understand user behavior. What started with broad segments, is now more nuanced and refined, allowing for increasingly targeted and effective communication.

Nihar then brings up an example of using personalization in carousel recommendations, where instead of using fixed rules that decide which products should be shown to users, machine learning and a dynamic system is better for tailoring product options based on individual preferences.

This shift drove higher engagement and conversions leading to improved retention!

Crafting Individualized Content: Persona Mapping and Communication Strategies at HyugaLife

“We are categorizing users into broad personas. Each persona’s journey is similar, and all communications and the look and feel of our website will flow through that.”

So how does one enable the creation of individualized content?

Nihar explains, “The first layer of persona mapping involves broad categories, which we then refine using CRM data. Using this data-driven approach ensures that the right message reaches the right person at the right time.

For example, high-intent users will see different messaging from those who are still exploring their options.

This level of personalization is crucial for maintaining user interest and fostering long-term loyalty.”

Another experiment Nihar shares with us is about is how different channels work better for different personas.

For example, a high-intent user might be more responsive to WhatsApp messages, while others might prefer email or SMS because it is less expensive.

As a result, HyugaLife can ensure that their messages are seen and acted on promptly.

Synergizing Product, Tech, and Marketing for Optimal Growth

“I have a product pod and a marketing pod. To enable these teams, there’s a two to three-member tech team focusing on enabling growth.”

In the world of eCommerce and SaaS, the synergy between product, tech, and marketing can always be measured in how seamless user experience is.

Because that’s what drives retention and growth!

Nihar says that having an in-house tech team allowed them greater flexibility and agility, ensuring that the company can quickly adapt to changing market and user needs.

This also means they can hold quick, but effective A/B experiments. By running multiple ones simultaneously, HyugaLife can quickly find out what works and what doesn’t, leading to a near-constant iteration of their retention strategies.

This strategy, Chaitanya explains, worked particularly well in HyugaLife’s app development. By building the app in-house, they can ensure it meets their user’s exact needs and delivers an enjoyable, superior shopping experience. And they can do so quickly and promptly, as those needs change.

 “We’re powering all our carousels with recommendations and automating the process.”

Optimal Strategy: HyugaLife’s Embrace of App Downloads and Personalization Strategies

“The overall, goal is to nudge people to move towards the app. We also see a large share of existing web users converting to app right through CRM and through a website.”

Nihar and Chaitanya agree about how app downloads can work as a powerful retention tool.

With over 200,000 downloads in just a few months, their app has become a critical part of their repeat strategy.

Why? Because apps offer a more engaging shopping experience, with smoother interactions and tailored recommendations.

Apps enable segmentation which is more specific and granular, allowing their teams to craft and send personalized communication directly to the users’ phones.

As a result, their users feel more connected to HyugaLife and are far likelier to order again from them.

Striking the Balance: Navigating the Communication Dilemma at HyugaLife

When there is a bigger potential for personalizing communication, therein lies a risk of overdoing it.

One needs to strike the right balance between touching base with their users too irregularly, leading to them forgetting about the brand and moving to a competitor, versus too often, which can quickly drive customers to uninstall the app in frustration.

Nihar explains how HyugaLife handles this by setting frequency caps on all their communications. For example, they decided on a rule of not sending more than five messages per week across ALL channels, to avoid overwhelming users.

Why five? Nihar mentions that this number is based both on intuition and industry benchmarks, not to forget their experiments with different frequencies and content types, like videos or interactive messages for high-intent users, versus simpler messages for others.

When messages are well-received and engage users, they can see a direct impact on their retention metrics.

Conclusion

This post is but the tip of the iceberg, there are several more gold mines of insight on how HyugaLife’s focus on retention, personalization, and integration of their teams delivers a winning user experience in our podcast.

By efficiently using CRM data, personality mapping, and rigorous A/B testing, they are able to drive long-term growth and ensure their retention metrics remain steady, and in turn, inspire us all!

Want to hear & learn more about retention strategies our clients are using successfully to thrive and drastically improve their churn rate? Check out more podcasts here!