New ecommerce and data platform helps Neuhaus create a premium online customer experience

Neuhaus, a premium Belgian chocolatier, was founded in Brussels in 1857 as a pharmacy, where Jean Neuhaus ingeniously encapsulated bitter pills in chocolate for his customers. Since then, it has grown, with stores in Europe and the US, shipping its carefully crafted chocolates worldwide.

In its pursuit of excellence, Neuhaus has seamlessly translated its renowned in-store premium experience to the digital realm. By bringing customer information into a single connected database, using segmentation to deepen relationships, and automation to create seamless journeys, this luxury chocolatier is innovating towards its goal of 100% customer satisfaction.

Providing the same quality of care and seamless brand experience in-store and online.

Having no customer database and little insight into who was buying its products meant the in-store and online Neuhaus customer experience lacked symmetry. The company needed an ecommerce tool that would provide a seamless brand story and 360-degree view of customers, to help deliver the exceptional customer care it’s prided on.

Bringing visibility for closer customer relationships.

Processes were once siloed at Neuhaus. There was no customer database and little knowledge of customers. A previous email marketing tool to which data often had to be inputted manually wasn’t linked to the website. Now, the Einstein 1 platform means Marketing Cloud, Commerce Cloud, and Service Cloud are interconnected. All information concerning 600,000 customers across several time zones is held in Service Cloud.

With Marketing Cloud, newly registered customers receive a series of welcome emails in the first few weeks, introducing them to Neuhaus, the brand, and its products. Standard processes such as abandoned cart emails and online order confirmation are seamless and frictionless. And the Insider Programme – a Neuhaus initiative designed to bring it closer to customers by replicating the personal in-store experience, online – is, with segmentation, deepening those relationships. Birthdays are remembered. Free chocolates are gifted for tasting. Follow up feedback emails are issued days after receipt, and with Einstein Send Time Optimisation, land when most likely to be viewed. Customer satisfaction is at a record high with a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 87. Plus, the team no longer needs to outsource the design of such customer journeys to an external agency – they can do it simply and quickly themselves.

Ensuring that giving is a gift for all.

At Neuhaus, about 70% of its business comes from gifting – making it incumbent on the chocolatier to provide a premium experience for both recipient and giver. A Google star rating of 4.65 – up from 4.4 – indicates it’s succeeding. The previous ecommerce site gave visitors little product information or additional functionality. Connecting Commerce Cloud with the Neuhaus SAP system means that by clicking on each individual chocolate, detailed tasting notes, product ingredients, and prices appear alongside images – including a neat cross-section giving shoppers an inside view. To encourage visitors to register, multi-functionalities have been built into customer accounts, such as being able to store several addresses and send orders to multiple recipients all within a single checkout, something it had previously been unable to do.

Guaranteeing premium product condition whatever the weather.

Shipping products that are vulnerable to extreme temperatures meant Neuhaus was accustomed to receiving complaints about chocolates having melted in transit during hot weather. Connecting Commerce Cloud with a weather forecasting app has changed that. Now, weather is forecast for eight days ahead in every region and the most suitable shipping times and methods are flagged accordingly. Where chocolates may be susceptible to heat, they’re stored in temperature-controlled boxes lined with cold gel packs to ensure they arrive in pristine condition.

Creating efficiencies across continents.

Neuhaus customers in Europe and the US once had different brand experiences as the two regions were on different web platforms. Using Page Designer, the small, dedicated Neuhaus team can create web content in four languages – French, Dutch, English, and German – as required for its markets, with Spanish to follow soon. Colleagues in America can use templates to duplicate English language content, requiring only small adjustments for US spellings or US-specific events. Not only does it grant agility and fast implementation, customers now have the same experience of Neuhaus regardless of location – something of particular importance to this premium brand.

Customer Quote & Attribution

“Marketing Cloud empowers us to craft personalised experiences for our customers, leveraging their order data and preferences to dynamically shape our marketing messages and journeys. Every interaction feels uniquely crafted, leading to an impressive average open rate of 46%, far above industry standards.”

Quentin Magnette, Digital Marketing Manager, Neuhaus