How Black Diamond is Scaling Product Registration for 6,000+ SKUs with Brij

Black Diamond is a renowned outdoor equipment and apparel brand that specializes in high-quality products for climbing, skiing, and other outdoor activities. Founded in 1989 by climbers Peter Metcalf and Maria Cranor, they’ve established themselves as the leader in the industry, known for their innovative designs, durability, and commitment to sustainability. They offer a wide range of climbing products including harnesses, ropes, carabiners, helmets as well as skis, and clothing built for all types of outdoor activities. You can find their products at their own brick and mortar stores as well as your favorite local outdoor retailer. 

The Black Diamond marketing team was focused on improving their customer journey and collecting more customer data - but with the majority of their products sold through wholesale channels, they were facing a steep challenge. They had no way to know who the majority of their customers were, much less have the ability to provide relevant information to them based on the products purchased. 

‍For Black Diamond’s highly technical products, having the proper education and setup is essential, as some of their customers’ lives are literally dependent on these products for climbing and skiing activities. 

‍The marketing team needed a scalable way to bring their wholesale customers under the Black Diamond umbrella and bridge the gap between their physical products and online experiences. They wanted to create a consistent, seamless experience for all types of their customers, regardless of where they were purchasing products. 

‍This included tackling the product registration and integrating with their warranty claims process for over 6,000 SKUs. Additionally, they had to consider how to meet international compliance regarding GDPR and language requirements when collecting any customer data. 

Black Diamond ultimately chose Brij because the platform supported their key use cases including product set-up instructions, warranty registration and first party data capture. Choosing Brij eliminated the need for their team to manage multiple tools and risk a disjointed customer experience.

Just-in-time Customer Experiences:

Having the ability to scale content for thousands of products was essential to the Black Diamond team so they could easily connect their customers to the correct product experience.

This content is valuable in both the pre-and-post purchase experiences. Potential consumers have a way to learn more about the product before buying by scanning on-product QR codes in retail. After they purchase the product (regardless of where) they then have easy access to set up guides and product specs. 

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1st Party Data Capture via Product Registration:

From there they could facilitate a smooth product registration process. A key part of this process is collecting consumers’ email first. By capturing that valuable piece of first party data at the beginning of the flow, they can easily follow up with them if they drop out. Integrating with Cordial, their email & SMS platform, they’re able to easily manage personalized marketing flows based on the Brij experiences their consumers engaged with. 

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By driving product registration for wholesale, which is the majority of their business, Black Diamond unlocked the potential to drive millions of dollars in revenue.

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"Brij allows us to access 1st party data & understand our customer better by connecting the online and offline in a more streamlined way that also improves our customer journey. While we had clear goals in mind, the project [prior to Brij] was undefined & overwhelming. The Brij solution, product & professionalism helped us get quick feedback from leadership that this was exactly what we needed."
‍- Natalie, Director of Digital Marketing 

International Compliance Made Easy:

Another key consideration in Black Diamond’s evaluation was how to best comply with GDPR, as well as language requirements for products sold outside of the U.S. 

By leveraging Brij’s powerful link router, they were able to eliminate duplicative work, as the same QR codes/short links printed on their product inserts automatically route to a different experience based on the location of the consumer.

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This enabled the team to easily change what information was collected from customers depending on the country they were in. Complying with Black Diamond’s EU requirements was a breeze compared to the manual effort the team had to rely on previously. Additionally, users in the EU have easy access to product specs and information in their preferred language. 

A direct integration with Cordial, Black Diamond’s Email & SMS provider, allows Brij to pass along the customer data and relevant tags collected, such as retailer & product, so that the Black Diamond team can bring the customers into relevant and personalized marketing flows.

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"Whether it's in-store or online, there's a wealth of customer data we're not tapping into. Integrating with Brij unlocks valuable insights, allowing us to better connect and engage with our customers ”
- Natalie, Director of Digital Marketing

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Black Diamond is looking to the future with plans to eventually roll out an AI product assistant powered by Brij. This experience would enable consumers to ask highly specific product questions, regardless of where they are shopping. This program is expected to help reduce the number of returned products and enhance the post-purchase shopping experience, regardless of retailer.

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