Case Profile – birdsnest

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With her background as an e-commerce consultant and experience with owning a fashion boutique, birdsnest founder Jane Cay saw immense opportunity in Australia’s online marketplace – so she set to taking her small town bricks and mortar store to cyberspace.

An online store whose main focus is customer service and a personalised shopping experience – what a novel idea! With her background as an e-commerce consultant and experience with owning a fashion boutique, birdsnest founder Jane Cay saw immense opportunity in Australia’s online marketplace – so she set to taking her bricks and mortar store to cyberspace.

The birdsnest global headquarters are based in the rural NSW town of Cooma (population 6500), where her partner owns a sheep and cattle farm. Cay has harnessed the power of the internet to make her single bricks and mortar store a national business.

Today, birdsnest.com.au offers a wide product range, including some of Australia’s most desirable affordable fashion brands, ensuring they are able to cater to their broad customer base. But impressive as the (2500 items strong) range is, it is the company philosophy of helping women feel good about themselves that really sets them apart, and their innovative approach that has them gaining attention from industry leaders.

The birdsnest Philosophy

The team is constantly striving to put smiles on the faces of their customers. This forms a central part of the birdsnest culture and is evident in all areas of the business – from the structure of the site to its fulfilment process.

The team strives to brighten the days of birdsnest customers – to make them smile with every interaction. They actively seek to personalise the shopping experience and to understand their customers as individuals. Their fall back position is to be generous to their shoppers. This is reinforced in the workplace philosophy of “create fun and be daggy – don’t take work too seriously and actively seek ways to make the work environment a happy place to be everyday.” This focus on creating a positive environment, both for staff and customers, is visible in every encounter with the company.

Nowhere was this more evident than at this year’s Online Retail Industry Awards ceremony in Sydney. A finalist in several categories, Cay and the team occupied three tables at the gala dinner and were the first (and last) on the dance floor where they happily chatted with other nominees and engaged in conversations with some of the Australian e-commerce industry’s biggest players. They certainly earned many new friends during the recent Online Retailer Conference, as Jane went from session to session, looking for insights to further improve the business.

Merchandising

Beyond the team’s positive philosophies, the way they present and merchandise the products has them gaining attention for all the right reasons. As Cay explains, “the vision was to replicate the best possible instore styling advice and customer service experience online. As the motto goes, we offer customers ‘everything but the girl’ – from clothing and underwear to shoes and accessories.” And the way they manage to achieve this is quite unique. The site acts as a particularly helpful sales assistant, with the “SHOP BY” function enabling customers to filter products by style, colour, occasion, body type, trend or brand. For customers, this takes the guesswork out of shopping online. Cay’s particular interest in women dressing for their body type enables her to be extra helpful to the birdsnest customers, who feel comfortable shopping online with this extra information. By classifying the items according to what body shape or lifestyle they suit, the site is an easy way for women to navigate their way back from pregnancy, illness or a change in lifestyle. These periods can typically be times that women need a boost of confidence or some reassurance.

Another initiative to make the shopping experience more enjoyable is the birdsnest magazine. The easy-to-navigate magazine showcases styling techniques, on trend products and the best the e-boutique has to offer. All items featured in the magazine can be clicked on, taking the browser directly to the item in the boutique and providing additional information including sizing, availability and styling tips. This transforms a pleasurable, casual browse through the online magazine to an interactive shopping experience, complete with purchasing details. The birdsnest girls are a step ahead of new opportunities that are being presented by the iPad launch, which will allow magazine subscribers to shop directly through a magazine with just a click.

The site’s innovative ways of presenting its products has many benefits. Not only does it enable an up sell capability on all products, it makes the shopping experience much easier for customers, who feel their wants and needs are really being met.  Much like shopping with a trusted friend, the site is helpful without feeling like a blatant sales vehicle.

Customer Service

Despite launching at the height of the global financial crisis, the store has continued to exceed expectations. Growing at a rate of 20% a month and currently recording over one million page views per month, the stats speak for themselves. Seventy percent of its revenue comes from returning customers. Product aside, this is testament to just how impressive their customer service and loyalty program really is.

With incentives for repeat purchasers, including a gift every time you spend $500, the company are actively cultivating brand advocates with its customer base. The customer testimonials featured on the site are reassurance for new customers that they will be taken care of and offered the kind of interaction you might expect from a small business who knows every customer personally.

Its customer service standards and loyalty incentives also function as the company’s strongest marketing tools. By ensuring customer service encounters exceed customer expectations, birdsnest gives its customers a reason to tell friends, and to keep coming back!

Personalisation

According to Cay, the most effective birdsnest marketing campaigns are highly personalised. This is consistent with their proactive approach to customer interaction which can include phone calls where needed, personal notes on delivery, and flexibility with shipping. As birdsnest strive to continue their growth and success, they are exploring new ways to make the online shopping experience more personal and at the same time more interactive. This includes integrating user-generated content on the site, tailoring site content according to previous purchasing behaviour and providing customers with the chance to review products they have purchased. This also provides new opportunities for customers to personalise their preferred methods of delivery, or their level of communication and engagement with the site.

The company is willing to share its knowledge and experience to help other retailers deliver great service to their customers.

”We want to be part of the revolution taking place in this marketplace,” says Cay. “The Australian online retail landscape is exploding with opportunities and birdsnest has big dreams. We want to lead the customer experience for customers in this market –we are overflowing with ideas to further engage our birds and have even more flocking to the nest.”

So what can you take from this emerging star of Australia’s retail landscape?

• Sales need not be the primary focus. Provide an excellent service and the sales will follow.
• Rural location should not be an obstacle. The power of the internet means nationwide (or worldwide) businesses can be run from wherever you are.
• Take note of new innovations and see if they work for you.
• Passion will take you a long way, just be prepared to grow and learn as you go.
• Look after your customers. They are your best (or worst) brand ambassadors.
• People don’t like to feel like a number. Take the time to tailor your marketing approach and it will be worthwhile.

Article by Lara McPherson

Lara is a content creator for The Media Pad, publishers of Power Retail. An avid tea-drinker, Lara developed her affinity for the warming drink to fight off the winter morning chills. Outside of her search for the perfect herbal blend, Lara loves social media, learning, talking too much (especially in french), breakfast, podcasts and connecting likeminded people. She is passionate about sustainability and the arts. She is currently completing 2 Masters degrees in Commerce and Sustainable Practice and loves Marketing, Consumer Behaviour and Online Publishing.