Nikon asked DEG to find a way to better communicate with camera owners after a purchase is made and turn one-time customers into ones loyal to the brand.

You’re shopping for a camera. You want something portable and easy to use—you’re not a photographer—but captures beautiful images. You spy the entry-level DSLR camera in your price range and make the purchase. Your journey is done, right? It could be. Or it could be just the beginning of a long-lasting relationship with a brand you trust to always provide you with the next step in taking more memorable images.

The challenge

As a global imaging and optics brand, Nikon excels as a leader in the camera industry, providing customers with the tools necessary to capture life’s greatest moments. But the brand didn’t want to stop at the point of purchase. Nikon asked DEG to find a way to better communicate with camera owners after a purchase is made and turn one-time customers into ones loyal to the brand.

Camera consumers seek specific products: an entry-level starter pack, a sophisticated tool with advanced video capabilities, or a lens to plus-up their current shots. The first purchase is often driven by desire and budget with an added word-of-mouth recommendation. Understanding this, DEG focused on the next purchase—the one Nikon could deliver at the right time in the customer’s lifetime journey.

The strategy

To reach consumers at the right time post-purchase, DEG recommended an email journey that would launch after a customer registered their camera. The journey would include informative content about the newly registered camera while driving engagement and excitement around the purchase, ensuring satisfaction and building loyalty to the Nikon brand.

Nikon’s registration journey created increased engagement with customers during a time when brand communications normally trickled off, exceeding a 50% open rate with a click-through rate of more than 25%.

The solution

DEG built a six-email journey using Salesforce Marketing Cloud’s Journey Builder tool, which was customized to nine Nikon DSLR camera models. Each email within the journey included highly dynamic content specific to each model, with messaging based on Nikon’s detailed customer personas.

For example, entry-level DSLR camera owners would receive emails including tips on how to take great photos, connect the camera to Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, and other insights to help a photography newcomer get the most out of the camera. Meanwhile, higher-end model owners—likely more accomplished and skilled photographers—would receive emails focused on highlighting all the features available to them with their new camera, as well as new lens offerings to add to their toolbox.

Each journey began with a customary thank-you email following the registration of a new camera, while the final message asked all owners if they loved their camera model. The final call to action led new camera owners to a Salesforce Marketing Cloud landing page where they could leave a review if they loved it. Those who didn’t share their love for the camera triggered an incident ticket, created within Salesforce Service Cloud, allowing Nikon’s customer service team to proactively reach out.

Following the successful creation of the registration journey, DEG developed a second journey targeting and encouraging lower-end model customers to upgrade to the newest entry-level DSLR model. This journey introduced the new model—directly comparing it to the customers’ current model—and created a repeatable strategy for Nikon to engage through email.

The outcome

Nikon’s registration journey created increased engagement with customers during a time when brand communications normally trickled off, exceeding a 50% open rate with a click-through rate of more than 25%. Many customers clicked on multiple links within a given email, demonstrating the value of Nikon-provided content in their continued journey.

Using DEG’s strategy and expertise, Nikon can now turn one-time customers into brand loyalists. And new Nikon camera owners have a trusted place to turn to as they pursue capturing without limits.