How AKUDESIGN Recovers with UCX After Losing 70k+ IG Followers

Malacca-born streetwear brand AKUDESIGN, founded by two artistic brothers Amirel Amen Anuar and Afiq Afify Anuar, has captivated fashion enthusiasts with its unique blend of streetwear and graffiti art.

Instagram Account Missing Overnight

Just a month ago, AKUDESIGN team experienced a devastating surprise when their Instagram account, with over 70k followers, was stolen overnight. This not only put their branded username @akudesign at risk but also jeopardized the sales that were generated through their Instagram channel. 

Despite their exhaustive efforts, they explored every possible avenue to recover their Instagram account, yet regrettably, there were no signs of retrieval.

With heavy hearts, 

the team came together and devised a strong plan to move forward. They realized three key things were essential for this recovery:

• Informing customers about the compromised account and urging caution.
• Quickest way to rebuild their account following.
• Recapturing any lost sales from this incident.

UCX Guided AKUDESIGN's Quick Rebound

To kickstart their recovery, they leveraged the power of Unified Customer Experience (UCX) by utilizing EasyStore's CRM Tools. It automatically compiled a high-quality customer database with each purchase made in-store or online, showcasing their commitment to a unified and seamless customer experience. 

Next, Amirel utilized EasyStore's Broadcast Tools to inform their customers about the incident and directed them to follow their new account. This has helped them to achieve 7k followers in just 2 months and definitely more to come! 

The great news that followed was that the hacked account was removed from Instagram Database, which made the username available again. Without wasting a moment, we quickly reclaimed it.

This experience taught them a crucial lesson, not to rely too much on just one platform. They recognized the need to diversify their sales channels while having a unified customer database. This way, they could access it anytime and anywhere, ensuring that the customer database remain genuinely theirs.

EasyStore actively promotes Unified Customer Experience (UCX) by enabling businesses to achieve remarkable results. Embracing UCX leads to a notable 34% increase in average customer spending, enhances customer satisfaction, elevates profit margins, and reduces acquisition costs. This strategy is essential for brands to thrive in today's market.

A Memory On This Comeback

Turning this unfortunate event into a testament of resilience, AKUDESIGN introduced a new "Hacked Series," serving as a reminder that no matter what challenges come their way, they can always overcome and continue to progress.

An Unified Customer Experience (UCX) Delivering 5x Surge In Revenue

This year, they've expanded into a second retail store, AKUDESIGN HOMEGROWN, while selling on 10 top sales channels including Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok!

With the rise of online-merge-offline (OMO) trends, they harnessed EasyStore's UCX Solution and achieved impressive milestones:

• 5x year-to-year increase in retail sales,
• 6x increase in repeat purchase rate,
• Streamlined inventory across 2 retail outlets and 10 sales channels,
• Built a strong team of 7 key players, ready for further expansion!

Read about their latest omnichannel strategy here.