CarpeDM Elevates Customer Engagement and Drives Conversions with Strategic Outreach

CarpeDM is an exclusive member-only dating community created for accomplished Black women and those seeking meaningful relationships with accomplished Black women. The platform combines traditional matchmaking with modern online dating through its video-first dating app. Beyond helping busy professionals find love, the company’s mission is to elevate Black women, build Black families and generational wealth, and give back to the community by supporting organizations that aid the Black community.

At CarpeDM, customer engagement is not just a strategy; it’s a core value. As a direct-to-consumer dating service, they are dedicated to attracting, onboarding, engaging, and retaining members for the duration of their dating journey. CarpeDM’s goal is to be the top service for Black singles to connect and learn about dating and relationships, and they achieve this by putting their members at the center of everything they do.

CarpeDM and Tech for An Equitable Future

As a startup, CarpeDM faced challenges around customer acquisition and engagement due to its intentional, and more involved onboarding process, which includes profile reviews, consultations with human matchmakers, and background checks. To manage this complex funnel and maintain user interest at each stage, CarpeDM needed a robust customer engagement solution. In 2020, they turned to the Tech for an Equitable Future program (formerly known as Tech for Black Founders), seeking advanced tools and support from industry experts. This helped them find Braze, enabling CarpeDM to create tailored campaigns that keep users engaged and informed throughout their dating journey.

As part of the first cohort of the Tech for an Equitable Future program, CarpeDM received 12 months of free access to the Braze platform and supporting services. This initiative, launched in 2020 to address the underrepresentation of Black founders in venture capital, now provides free or discounted access to the Braze platform for 31 participating startups and has expanded to include other underrepresented founders, such as women, who receive just 2% of VC-backed capital in the US. Startups accepted to the program across APAC, EMEA, and the US can expect to accelerate their business growth, increasing their chances of receiving VC funding and building successful businesses.

Due to their success in the program, CarpeDM continued to use Braze after the initial 12 months of free access and have been a recurring customer since the first cohort ended in 2021.

A Look Inside CarpeDM's Engagement Campaigns

When designing their user journey, CarpeDM took a thoughtful approach to ensure that its members are engaged but not deluged with messages along their journey. CarpeDM enhances online dating by requiring video dates within 72 hours of matching, focusing on meaningful connections. Users receive notifications only when necessary, minimizing distractions and ensuring valuable engagement. As their matchmakers have an 86% success rate with members who decide to remain matched after their first video dates, it’s important that the app experience highlights their expertise and personal touch. While most dating app users are accustomed to swiping, CarpeDM offers a slower, more curated experience, prioritizing quality matches over quantity. This approach challenges traditional dating app habits, leading some customers to feel less engaged and less in control of their outcomes.

In 2023, CarpeDM sought to enhance member engagement by creating even more value for their members. The CarpeDM team collaborated to create a feature designed to elevate member engagement by transforming how members connect in an intentional environment that minimizes user fatigue, all while staying true to their commitment to meaningful interactions. The design introduced a feature that empowers members to invite applicants to the community, preserving a no-swiping brand identity. The process was carefully crafted to be simple, visually appealing, and engaging, with personalized user experiences tailored to gender and sexual orientation. To ensure meaningful interactions, CarpeDM timed the invitations thoughtfully and personalized the algorithm's logic, allowing members to review applicants that align with their preferences.

Members are asked to review new applicants and refer others to the community, with women reviewing male applicants, men reviewing female applicants, and LGBTQ members following a unique logic. While there's no swiping, members can "like" applicants to guide matchmakers in potential pairings. This review process not only enhances community engagement but also integrates members into the onboarding process, making them key players in re-engaging cold or potential customers and driving ongoing acquisition efforts.

By leveraging Braze Canvas, our no-code journey orchestration tool, CarpeDM set up flows designed to onboard new members and try out the new feature. They sent push notifications to prompt members to review new applicants and set up email campaigns for applicants receiving “likes” from members. By using out-of-product channels like push and email, CarpeDM helps pull people to the app. Messages were personalized and A/B tested.

To ensure relevance and impact, messages were personalized and A/B tested—specifically, CarpeDM tested different messaging to determine whether people are more likely to engage by reviewing profiles as part of the exclusive community or by framing it as an opportunity to like and match with them. They also relied on Action Paths—which lets marketers create, trigger, and respond to user experiences based on the actions customers take during an assigned time period. This allows CarpeDM to customize the journey for each member or applicant and ensure that applicants receiving multiple “likes” aren’t bombarded with email. Once launched, the campaigns were continuously tested and optimized to maximize engagement and conversion rates.

Here’s what the two campaigns looked like:

Current members of CarpeDM receive push notifications when there are new applicants to review, via a Canvas. This feature was integral to the campaign, designed with a limited review time to create a sense of urgency. Tracking both action and inaction was a challenge, and required custom events for likes and dislikes, and retargeting for members who did not engage. The internal team, including a chief marketing officer, product manager, and analyst, tested various journeys to see which one was most effective in driving members through the app.

Applicants approved to join receive an email to let them know when they’ve received a “like” from a CarpeDM member. The email includes an opportunity to meet with a matchmaker, join the community, and potentially be paired with the interested member. The challenge here was to avoid bombarding applicants with emails and SMS notifications in the event that multiple members liked them daily. By using messaging controls such as frequency capping and thoughtful schedule delays, CarpeDM successfully kept applicants engaged without overwhelming them with messages. Furthermore, CarpeDM created Custom Events—such as has their profile been reviewed? approved? have they scheduled a matchmaker consultation?—to target the correct users at the right time in their onboarding journey. Ultimately, the primary messaging of the emails and SMS were to invite the applicants to meet with a matchmaker to join the community.

CarpeDM ideated and launched these campaigns within the span of four months,which included internal product development and testing, and campaign set up and launch.

Working with Braze has been a game-changer for CarpeDM. Their platform has empowered us to create personalized, engaging onboarding experiences that have significantly boosted our user engagement and conversion rates. As part of the Tech for an Equitable Future program, we've not only found a powerful tech partner but also a shared commitment to creating opportunities and connections that uplift the Black community.

Sali Hama

Co-Founder and COO, CarpeDM

Results: Transforming User Experience and Loyalty

With these personalized campaigns, CarpeDM achieved impressive results: 84% of members engaged in the profile review process—higher than their goals of getting 60% of members to engage with the few feature. Additionally, 15% of new customers converted through engagement campaigns, meaning they conducted matchmaker consultations and ultimately paid for membership. This streamlined and engaging onboarding process not only significantly enhanced the user experience but also reduced user drop off and fostered a loyal community through timely and relevant notifications.

These results reflect CarpeDM’s dedication to building brand equity through every interaction. Customer engagement is a core value, driving CarpeDM to focus on attracting, onboarding, and retaining members throughout their dating experiences. By centering their approach on the needs of singles, CarpeDM strives to be the premier service for meaningful connections and relationship growth.

Key Takeaways

• Streamlined onboarding: A well-designed onboarding process, supported by strategic engagement, can significantly enhance user experience and inspire long-term app usage, as evidenced by CarpeDM’s success.
• Building loyalty: Relevant and timely notifications foster meaningful interactions and build a loyal community—critical for brands aiming to retain and grow their customer base.

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