Every successful DTC brand starts with a “why.” Why did the founder create the brand? Why should customers care? Why should you shop from this store over a competitor?
For Diamond Art Club (DAC), founder Angie Shehaj’s “why” was to find a creative outlet that offered respite from a demanding work life. “As a busy professional, finding time for self-expression was a challenge. Everything changed when I discovered my passion for diamond art!” Combine cross-stitching and paint by numbers and you have diamond painting.
Angie created Diamond Art Club to create the diamond art kits of her dreams and share them with others. 5+ years later, the brand has transformed into a dazzling brand community with hundreds of contributing artists, over 175K social media followers, and 200,000+ 5-star reviews.
With 5+ years of using Smile.io for its Diamond Insiders Rewards program, Diamond Art Club has generated a ton of value for its customers and its bottom line. We sat down with the DAC team to learn exactly how loyalty adds value to its business.
- Angie Shehaj, Founder of Diamond Art Club
5 ways Diamond Art Club adds value with loyalty
With a product as unique as Diamond Art kits, generating brand advocacy is key to building trust.
“Diamond Art Club was created to inspire and unleash creativity of people regardless of age. I hope that you, too, continue to enjoy the benefits of diamond art and become a lifelong member of our growing DAC family,” Angie shares on the website.
1. Instant gratification with easy-to-earn rewards
For a loyalty program to be valuable, customers need to see the benefits in the very near future. This can be as soon as their first purchase.
Diamond Art Club strategically offers new customers instant gratification with two valuable rewards up for grabs on their very first purchase. First, customers who are referred by a friend get $10 off their first order.
Second, those who create a loyalty account can earn up to 800 points before even placing an order. Through a combination of Diamond Art Club’s generous welcome bonus of 500 points and points for social media follows, new program members can rack up enough points to redeem a reward on their first purchase.
Diamond Art Club chose an entry reward that adds further value to the customer experience rather than giving away too much too soon. Customers can redeem their 800 points for a free Stainless Steel Single Placer (the tool used to apply diamonds in their kits).
Offering this off the bat enhances a customer’s experience—instead of forcing them to add additional accessories to their cart, Diamond Art Club’s first reward lets customers try out a new hobby with minimal investment or risk. Plus, who doesn’t love a free product on their first order?
2. Prominently communicating the value of its program
Diamond Art Club’s loyalty program is so successful because they’ve made it extremely obvious what there is to gain.
No matter what page of its website you’re on, visitors see a minimum of 4 value-driven calls to action. From 2 buttons in the main navigation that say “Get $20 off” and “Rewards” to floating launchers in either corner with a present icon and a message of “Get our app and save!” No matter where you look, value is front and center.
The value-driven messaging is just as clear on the Diamond Insider Rewards explainer page. With terms such as free, valuable, and exclusive in the first 2 sentences, it’s clear customers are in for a rewarding experience.
Diamond Art Club incentivizes joining its program by writing, “Enjoy the first 500 points on us”. It goes on to explain its earning rules and summarizes it in an easy-to-understand way, “10% cash back on every purchase!”
Diamond Art Club has nailed its messaging on its explainer page by prominently and obviously explaining the value customers have to gain.
3. Driving long-term engagement with a VIP program
The arts and crafts industry is categorized by high purchase frequency and repeat purchase rates. The key becomes ensuring you foster brand loyalty as well.
Diamond Art Club encourages repeat shoppers through a strategic tiered VIP program based on customers’ total spend. Customers who spend more than $300 and enter the Ruby or Diamond tier are granted early access to new product drops. And with a business model that relies on frequent product drops, this incentive is extremely attractive.
Rewards members also gain invites to a private VIP Facebook Group. With a visual product and a brand community that yearns for artistic inspiration, this dedicated online community space is a reward in and of itself.
4. Maximizing user-generated content (UGC)
UGC or user-generated content is valuable in any industry. And for an arts and crafts brand where the product speaks for itself? It’s essential.
Diamond Art Club not only recognizes the importance of UGC, it actually rewards customers for it. Program members can earn up to 100 points per week for each product review, photo review, and video review they leave. They even get extra points for adding a profile photo to their review. All of this works incredibly well to build trust and convert future customers into loyalty brand advocates who will be leaving their own reviews in no time.
5. Motivating customers with enticing rewards
A loyalty program doesn’t add value if customers don’t engage with it. And the number one way to ensure customers eagerly participate is by offering rewards they actively want to earn.
Diamond Art Club offers a diverse range of rewards—free shipping, amount-based discounts, and free products. This ensures that there’s something for everyone.
Based on Diamond Art Club’s all-time program analytics, it’s working. Since launching its program more than 5 years ago, Diamond Insider Rewards has achieved a redemption rate of 70% (56% higher than the industry average). Not to mention over 8 figures in Smile-generated revenue.
Team at Smile
Crafting connections with a dazzling loyalty program
From the program’s configuration to the way Diamond Art Club promotes it, the Diamond Insider Rewards program has added significant value to the brand. With a healthy redemption rate and over 8 figures in influenced sales, Diamond Art Club’s customers are excited and engaged with the program. It’s safe to say that these shimmering results speak for themselves.
