Wopilo

Vente en ligne et expérience client optimisée : Wopilo, la DNVB qui peut dormir sur ses deux oreilles

Thomas Head of Operations at Wopilo

La start-up française Wopilo s’est donné pour mission de devenir le bienfaiteur de nos nuits en proposant une petite révolution dans le monde du sommeil : un oreiller innovant qui fusionne l’oreiller à plume traditionnel avec l’oreiller ergonomique. Lancée en 2017, la marque n’a depuis cessé de croître en suscitant l’engouement des consommateurs et des professionnels. Son secret ? « Une maîtrise totale de la confection, mais aussi de la communication et de la distribution, puisque nos produits ne sont disponibles que via notre site web », explique le Chef des Opérations, Thomas Cagnard.

C’est en 2015 que le concept Wopilo a commencé à germer dans la tête de Thomas Hervet. Entouré de professionnels (ostéopathe et médecin du sport), ce dernier désirait apporter une solution au problème des nuits difficiles. Un phénomène auquel lui-même devait faire face, comme 63 % des Français. Après une campagne de financement participatif fructueuse sur Kickstarter en 2017, Wopilo sort sur le marché son premier produit : un oreiller éponyme qui refuse les compromis. Là où les oreillers habituels sont soit ergonomiques, soit confortables, Wopilo a fait le pari d’un oreiller à la fois moelleux et développé pour apaiser les douleurs cervicales. Explicitée clairement, cette réponse simple et efficace aux problèmes de sommeil s’est directement posée comme la base d’un discours fort et cohérent, suscitant intérêt, levée de fonds et confiance de la part des consommateurs.

After being voted Product of the Year in December 2018, the Wopilo is joined by the Wopilo+, an adjustable version of the Wopilo, also voted Product of the Year 2020. The team currently has a dozen enthusiasts dedicated to sleep, with a range of top-of-the-range and customizable products, including more recently GOTS-certified organic cotton bed linen. “The idea was to develop the brand with innovative products in order to diversify ourselves, while bringing added value to the consumer. We are now producing duvets, which is quite consistent with our approach of well-designed, pleasant and yet affordable products,” says Thomas Cagnard.

Juste après la qualité, le plus important pour Wopilo, c’est l’expérience client. Elle se fait avant, pendant et après la vente, au travers de tout ce que nous offrons sur le site et via le support

Thomas Cagnard Head of Operations at Wopilo

Le succès d’un business model 100 % digital

If the Wopilo adventure started on the Internet, it also continues online. Only online, even. “From the start, we chose a direct-to-consumer business model, focusing on French B2C and online sales”.

Because Wopilo is what we call a DNVB – a Digital Native Vertical Brand, a brand that expresses itself, interacts and sells directly via the web. As a digital pure-player, it is radically reshaping market standards. “ This way of doing things allows us to keep control of the design, promotion and distribution of our products from A to Z by eliminating intermediaries, thus being able to rethink and control the entire value chain ”, adds Thomas. The goal ? Establish a strong emotional bond with the consumer, federate an active and loyal long-term community to create added value from scratch. “Just after the quality of our products, it is above all the customer experience that matters to us. What we call customer experience includes the sensory experience with the product, the online advice and purchase experience and the interactions with our customer service. In this sense, we consider that it is done at 360°, both before, during and after the sale, through everything we can offer on the site and via the support. »

En nous ouvrant à des discussions commerciales lorsque notre activité a décollé, nous nous sommes vite rendu compte que nous pouvions trouver un meilleur PSP.

Thomas Cagnard Head of Operations at Wopilo

De l’importance d’un bon partenaire PSP et d’une collaboration fluide

And this is where choosing a PSP like Mollie makes sense. “For the sake of convenience, we initially opted for the most widespread plug and play provider via the e-commerce platform we use. “But who says easy does not necessarily say more economical. “When our business took off, we were able to take the time to look more deeply into the issue. By opening ourselves to commercial discussions, we quickly realized that we could find better. Given the very strong growth in our business volumes, we have decided to make a change of PSP this summer, in order to benefit from more advantageous and competitive conditions. »

When the success of a business depends on an impeccable online experience, it is normal that the choice of payment provider remains a sensitive issue. Above all, Wopilo wanted an experienced service provider offering a variety of payment methods to guarantee an optimal shopping experience. “From the start, we knew that Mollie would be able to meet our expectations, because they offered good conditions, support in French, in-depth knowledge of interactions with our e-commerce platform — which for us was fundamental, and development prospects on our scale. We were never going to grow faster than them, which eliminated from the start the fear of a mismatch between what Mollie would have to offer us and what we might need in the future. »

Au fur et à mesure de l’évolution de notre chiffre d’affaires, nous avons passé des paliers d’activités et pu bénéficier d’une tarification avantageuse en fonction du volume.

Thomas Cagnard Head of Operations at Wopilo

Évidemment dans ce contexte, une migration de PSP peut de prime abord effrayer. « Notre plus grande crainte concernait les potentiels problèmes d’intégration, ce qui aurait rapidement pu impacter l’expérience client et par là même induire des taux d’échecs, d’abandon et de fraude plus élevés. »

In order to anticipate these risks, Wopilo’s approach was first informative. “Upstream, we asked Mollie for clarification and collected customer opinions around us. As the discussions with the team were very frank and constructive, and none of their clients raised specific alerts, we took the plunge. In the end, despite a few minor adjustments along the way, it was a very smooth, painless transition. »

There remained the financial component. And here too, Thomas and the Wopilo team saw the difference. “As our turnover has evolved, we have moved through activity levels and been able to benefit from advantageous pricing based on the volume of transactions. Looking back, we are now very happy to have been able to make substantial savings on our electronic payment costs thanks to Mollie’s share. »

Du B2C français à une probable expansion hors frontières

Most of Wopilo’s business is currently located in France and Belgium. If the company is not yet considering it, it does not rule out future expansion outside French-speaking countries either. “Mollie is a bit like Excel: as a user, Wopilo currently only uses a very small part of this tool, but we are well aware of the enormous functionalities that are at our fingertips. Today we already know that if Wopilo decides to open up to other countries in Europe with more local payment methods, Mollie will always have the answer. And that, too, is also a form of reassurance. »