Funnel Hacking

Funnel Hacking: OSEA Malibu 

Twitter might call this ~funnel hacking~. 

In reality, there’s no better way to study a brand, or a business, than to behave like a customer. 

With that, let’s funnel hack our little hearts out! OSEA Malibu, you’re up!

(I’ve updated this from when I sent in May 2023 – a lot has changed since then for the brand – as it should!) 

Step 1: Search for the brand on Google.

*you’re about to get set yourself up to get hit with a bunch of the brand’s ads – this is what we’re going for! You can also always stalk a brand’s ads via TikTok’s Creative Center and check out their ads via Facebook Ads Library – free and shows you not only what creative is out and about – but where that creative leads (landing pages, collections, PDP, you name it).  

OSEA Malibu sits atop Credo Beauty’s listing (which is good for OSEA!)… but OSEA has to compete against a marketplace listing that shows up to 20% off. (Because of a Spring promo that Credo is running). This isn’t a ton of cause for concern, because the promo ends today per Credo (ends April 3rd). If Credo’s evergreen features an offer, however, OSEA has to respond (message their offer). I think this is just a moment in time, but should be something we all watch for our brands as we oftentimes compete against themselves (DTC vs a  3rd party, important Marketplace). 

Step 2: Click through to the brand’s website.

Rule #1 in supporting the brands you like – don’t click their sponsored placements. Scroll until you find the organic listing. Promise me, okay?

Now that I’m on the site let’s stalk the tech stack. Here we can see a Shopify site equipped with: 

: Klaviyo for email

‍♀️: also Klaviyo for back in stock 

: Rebuy for smart cart / personalization 

: Northbeam for attribution (happy to see this!) 

: Stamped for reviews (I prefer Okendo – could explore Okendo instead)

: Refersion for affiliate (could explore Social Snowball instead)

: Gorgias for CX 

Step 3: Click through to the brand’s website.

On desktop, the email capture is set on a small delay. Which is super interesting (only a few seconds but enough for you to read the entire homepage hero). 

Right now, the brand is running 19% OFF subscription orders (for this month). That’s great. But the hero right now (April 3rd) isn’t offering anything – it’s just showing Spring. If you click from the promobar, you see that there’s a deep strike-thru discount on the same products that are pushed in hero. But again, the hero and the email capture don’t speak to this current promo.

Back to Credo. Remember that Credo is on sale right now at up to 20% OFF. Could OSEA message their 19% OFF on site more prominently and in their hero (and in paid search)? YES, I think so. 

SUBSCRIPTION OFFER PAGE (I’d kill the 10% widget in the corner for this page only – it’s mixed messaging and is distracting from the 19% and makes the 10% evergreen subscription offer less compelling).

WELCOME POPUP: (love that there’s an animation where you should type YOUR EMAIL – I do this, too!) 

HERO CREATIVE:

Step 4: Open the welcome email + SMS.

(so that you can JUDGE IT – I mean LEARN from it). 

Love this welcome email. I feel part of something – I am rooting for this family. 

Would I love to bring the discount code a bit higher? Yes. Would I prefer the discount code was something OSEA-related (it’s a WELCOME code with a string of dynamic #s).

I AM TEAM WHO CARES IF YOUR WELCOME CODE LEAKS. Let it be something easy to type and a moment to remember. If someone wants 10% off of my site to complete their order – say less. New customers are hard to come by – make it easy to shop your brand. 

P.S. I subscribed with a new email to check that this creative was still current (from May). I am so happy to see that the brand updated to say 27 years (my previous version in May said 26 years!) The details matter to OSEA – I love to see it! 

Step 5: Click the CTA in the email

The link drops us right to a shop all collection. I’m not mad at it! There’s a really easy way to filter, there are best-sellers featured, product badges, and I am not overwhelmed.

I’m easily overwhelmed – so this is great. 

Step 6: Shop around!

Look at OSEA’s homepage + PDPs + add whatever catches your eye to your cart. 

My specialty! 

‍♀️ Step 7: Judge the PDP ‍♀️

Here’s what I love about the OSEA PDP:

1️⃣. The big and bright and prominent Allure Beauty Award. This instills so much confidence – I genuinely do whatever this badge says. Usage here is SO WORTH IT. It’s a badge that can REALLY help to add incremental value. This eye serum is really beautiful (I already have it but am almost out- I need to order a new one.) 

2️⃣. Everything about this buy-box WORKS.

Here’s what I would change about the OSEA PDP:

1️⃣. We are in desperate need of a punchier secondary CTA color. If your entire page is written in your on-brand green HEX color, then your CTA cannot pop. I need a secondary color here – please! This alone is worth testing and I bet they make more money if they introduce more contrast. 

2️⃣. The 1st image of the carousel is blurry (the cap especially). Maybe I need glasses, but this could be tightened up (immediately, with no dev, and with either a really good designer or by choosing an asset that was shot in real life and then cleaned up). I really don’t like this asset – we need to SEE the product without booking a trip to the optometrist. 

‍♀️ Step 8: Let’s Order! ‍♀️

We’ve added to cart! (The best part). The cart here is GREAT. Again, a contrast color would do wonders.

But, we have a slightly bigger problem. The 10% WELCOME OFFER applied to my cart (great – I clicked through from the welcome email). However, the product I added to cart was added as a one-time-purchase (I didn’t subscribe).

So now the cart is prompting me to SUBSCRIBE & SAVE 10%. But I already have 10% auto-applied from the welcome email. So when I click the 10% button to subscribe & save, it switches to subscription but I don’t unlock any additional savings. It’s just the same 10% offer. Which doesn’t teach your customer to subscribe). 

But remember, subscription orders today can save 19% on the 1st order – but that’s not messaged in the cart either. So if I’m not reminded of that in cart – I really won’t switch to subscription. 

I point this out just for us to consider when we’re building our own promos (for future!)

I still bought it tho – I can’t help myself lol. IN FACT, I ENDED UP GETTING THE EYE CARE DUO AND IT WASN’T EVEN ELIGIBLE FOR SUBSCRIPTION SO COULDN’T TRIGGER THE SUBSCRIPTION DEAL BUT DECIDED I WANTED BOTH AND FREE SHIPPING SO HERE WE ARE. (When I wrote this originally in May, I bought what was in my cart, too. Now that it’s April, I bought what was in my cart and updated this section in the name of market research. I repeat – I CAN’T HELP MYSELF lol). 

Step 9: Our order begins its journey

I know from past orders on OSEA’s site that the shipping experience is beyond pleasant. The packaging is brown corrugate (clean!) but really well branded with seaweed designs. The product arrives in tact and with the exact samples of my choice. I count on this experience – I’ve ordered so many times since May and it’s always a delight. 

I also must tell you – the people behind this brand are lovely and so very talented. I consider OSEA a top 10 brand to study – I look up to these marketers and am a true fan of what this team has built. 

P.S. Ranking my top 3 recommendations – in order of how much I love them (I didn’t order these today because I already have them and am fully stocked but use daily): REMINDER – THESE AREN’T AFFILIATE LINKS. I just like these products, and I think you will, too! 

: Collagen dream night cream (only moisturizer that doesn’t make me break out – IDK WHY BUT MY SKIN ONLY LIKES THIS). 

: Salt of the Earth Body Scrub

: Ocean Cleansing Mudd (my husband uses this as his cleanser – I forced him but now he asks for it)