Ramadan review: 360 degree communication strategy key to Modanisa’s online success

Photo courtesy of Modanisa

It's the very last days of the fasting month and Islamic Economy businesses and organizations that have run special programs give us an assessment of their Ramadan 2016.

The following Ramadan Review is with Kerim Türe, chairman of the board of Modanisa, the leader in Turkey's online modest fashion industry. Modanisa ran different communications and marketing strategies across all its platforms - desktop, mobile, web, and app - and was rewarded with "higher than expected" growth this Ramadan, Türe told Salaam Gateway. 

Screenshot from Modanisa website

You ran a special Ramadan program. What was the program’s biggest accomplishment and how did you achieve it?

Ramadan creates a big shopping hype both internationally and nationally. From the FMCG to textile sectors, it is relatively the same as Christmas Eve in terms of creating a culture where retailers push consumers into shopping and buying gifts for loved ones. Even though the holiness of Ramadan means the same for all countries, shopping behavior and the way people live, work and worship during Ramadan is different. For instance in Middle Eastern countries, people tend to leave work earlier than normal and overall the number of orders triples after iftar dinners.

To benefit from all the effects of Ramadan we have privileged our marketing campaigns and created a 360 degree communication strategy based on zones and rush hours, and interests of our consumers. For instance in Turkey, our Free Shipping campaign offered during suhoor peaked our late-night orders. Additionally, copies of the Meaning of the Holy Qur’an in Turkish were added to all baskets whose check out language is in Turkish. We received many messages of thanks from our customers for this gesture. 

During the Ramadan season, high discount rates are very common and these take competition to a very aggressive level. During Ramadan most of the online/offline retailers started their mid-season campaigns by offering up to 50-70 percent discounts. We preferred lower discount rates to apply to total basket size and we have postponed our mid-season offers on product prices to the coming months. Without increasing our total discount rates, we recorded a peak on acquisition and retention numbers. 

Communication-wise, we created our very first exclusive Ramadan Collection and presented it to customers through Eid Exclusive micro sites/landing pages resulting in very high conversion rates. Also, we focused on interests of customers such as Cooking Special Iftar Dinner recipes and partnered with famous chef Sükran Kaymak, who has close to 2 million Instagram followers.

Additionally, we also continued our celebrity partnership programs during Ramadan, and special IG takeovers exclusive for Ramadan continued with popular modest fashion celebrities in Turkey. We also launched our Exclusive Collections of our Private Labels during Ramadan. The first showcases were at Istanbul International Modest Fashion Week sponsored by Modanisa, which received a good coverage in national and international media.

Did your special Ramadan program meet your expectations for return on investment?

Both for acquisition and retention, we focused on different strategies on each platform (desktop, mobile web, app), which has resulted in our highest app engagement and acquisition rates. The total growth in Turkey was higher than expected and numbers for our markets outside Turkey were also in parallel with Turkey’s unexpected growth.

What was the most important thing you learned this Ramadan that you will take forward to improve your business?

Since the acquisition numbers are the highest during Ramadan/Eid, it is important for retailers to study why customers choose you over others in order to give more reasons for customers to stay in order to boost retention orders in the following months.

Based on our experience for other special events, such as Mothers Day and the holy days of Islam such as Lailat al-Qadr a focus on 360 Degree Communication strategy is the most important tool for the company’s growth. 

© SalaamGateway.com 2016