Oct 11, 2024

How Sonos increased marketing channel ROI 20%

Why having the right data platform in place can be the difference between struggling with disconnected systems and unlocking significant marketing ROI.

How Sonos increased marketing channel ROI 20%

Background

Sonos, a global leader in home sound systems, has always aimed to provide exceptional customer experiences. With a mission to make it easy for people to enjoy and share they sounds they love, with the people they love, Sonos has grown to support over 16 million customers and register over 40 million devices. But as they expanded, it became clear that keeping up with growth meant a fundamental change in how they managed customer data and engaged with audiences across marketing channels.

This is where Chord stepped in, helping Sonos transform its marketing strategy by consolidating data, streamlining processes, and ultimately driving a 20% increase in marketing channel ROI.

The Challenge

Managing complex customer journeys at scale

For Sonos, customer lifecycles don’t just span months or even years—they can stretch across decades. This extended lifecycle brings unique challenges when it comes to customer engagement, especially in a world where disconnected systems and increasing global privacy regulations can make data management a headache.

Sonos needed a more agile way to listen to customers—whether through explicit signals like purchase behavior or implicit communication through app and device usage—so they could respond with meaningful, timely interactions. With complex systems managing fragmented data across various channels, the company struggled to make quick, informed decisions. According to JP Beeghly, Senior Manager of Marketing Technology at Sonos, “The key to achieving lifetime value isn’t just marketing—it’s opening yourself up to conversations with customers, listening to them, and always striving to provide value when you respond.”

The search for the right solution

Sonos knew that fixing these problems would require a comprehensive overhaul of their marketing technology stack. The search was exhaustive—evaluating 25 different Customer Data Platforms (CDPs), data, and analytics solutions. Most tools fell short, unable to provide a unified view of the customer or scale with the team’s needs. The drawn-out development cycles and disconnected teams only exacerbated the issues.

That’s when Sonos partnered with Chord, a data platform designed specifically for direct-to-consumer brands. Chord promised a more efficient way to unify data and provide actionable insights that could be deployed quickly across all their marketing channels.

The Solution

More than a CDP

Chord provided Sonos with a comprehensive solution that went beyond typical CDPs. In just three months, Chord’s team helped Sonos get live with a complete data platform that integrated data from various sources—digital, device, transactional, and third-party—into a single, continuously updating system. Instead of spending 18+ months designing and building custom solutions, Sonos was able to fast-track their digital transformation.

With all of their data in one place, Sonos’s marketing and product teams were now well-equipped to create personalized customer experiences across all channels. The days of siloed data and one-way flows were over. Chord provided a single source of truth that improved data accuracy and decision-making speed.

The Results

Higher ROI, Lower Costs, and Increased Productivity

Implementing Chord’s solution led to transformative results for Sonos. The company achieved:

  • A 20% increase in marketing channel ROI: By sending better-targeted messages at the right time and through the right channels, Sonos saw both revenue increase and costs decrease.
  • 2x improvement in team productivity: The streamlined platform allowed teams to focus on strategy instead of battling fragmented tools, making work more efficient.
  • 40% lower total cost of ownership: Consolidating technology into a single platform reduced overhead, eliminated redundancies, and lowered operational costs.

As Beeghly noted, “Chord enables Sonos teams to work smarter, not harder.”

Why Chord Was the Right Partner

Chord’s capabilities go beyond typical CDPs. Their platform combines analytics, warehousing, data modeling, and marketing activations all in one place. This made it easier for Sonos to adopt new marketing platforms without extensive development efforts or complex integration work.

“Chord does what most CDPs don’t,” said Beeghly. “Their expertise meant setting everything up was truly easy for our team. And it’s never easy.”

Lessons for Other Brands: Data is the Key to Customer Loyalty

Sonos’s success with Chord is a reminder that brands with long customer lifecycles need more than just marketing strategies—they need a holistic approach to data. By unifying data sources, streamlining processes, and making data accessible across teams, businesses can foster stronger relationships with customers and achieve sustainable growth.

For any direct-to-consumer (DTC) and retail brands looking to scale, the lesson is clear: Having the right data platform in place can be the difference between struggling with disconnected systems and unlocking significant marketing ROI. Connect with a commerce data expert at Chord today to learn how we can help you, too.

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