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Case study
Cortazu
Over het merk
Cortazu
Cortazu is an outdoor clothing brand we launched three and a half years ago through crowdfunding. It's a so-called D2C brand, delivering high-quality outdoor clothing directly from the factory to consumers. Since our first campaign, we've shipped products to over 60 countries—from Europe and Asia to the Americas.
Cortazu was born from our passion for the outdoors and design. With a small team and big dreams, you have to think carefully about how to transition from a Kickstarter campaign to a full-fledged e-commerce business.
De Uitdaging
Our challenge was to get more out of the existing traffic and email addresses. However, we had limited knowledge of online marketing, conversion, and other aspects of e-commerce growth. Most of our knowledge came from reading online articles and our experience with crowdfunding campaigns. Two years ago, I got in touch with Ewoud from Polaris Growth through a mutual connection.
He introduced us to the world of e-commerce growth, online funnels, and marketing automation. Ewoud explains things in a way that’s easy to understand, which is definitely a valuable asset. When you hire an external party, it’s great when they immediately take action and start making concrete progress.
Polaris Growth developed a growth strategy summarized on one A4
The first step Polaris Growth took was helping us define our growth strategy. Their top-down approach really worked for us. For example: if your goal is to reach €50,000 in monthly revenue, how much traffic do you need based on your current conversion rate? Does the math add up?
Polaris calculated all the relevant metrics for us on a single A4 sheet, which provided a lot of clarity. They examined every step in the funnel and every metric that matters. From there, we looked at each marketing channel: how much traffic is needed per channel? What are the next action steps for our team?
Polaris provided us with a clear overview of all our key metrics — like CAC, CLV, and traffic — to help us reach our goals. This strategic roadmap became the foundation for our next moves.
Ewoud takes a broad view of e-commerce growth and helps translate that into practical advice. Based on the data, we explored how conversion rate optimization and marketing automation could impact our shop and where we should start.
Conversion audit for the Cortazu shop
Polaris then conducted a conversion audit to establish a baseline, combined with an analysis of our webshop. What’s already working? What can be improved? And what needs to change right away? That gave us a solid foundation to improve our webshop ourselves.
Klaviyo setup for Cortazu
Since we’re still a small team, we don’t have the time or resources to figure everything out on our own. Polaris Growth stepped in to take care of the essentials in Klaviyo, using data from our email list and webshop.
They automated specific flows so that we no longer need to think about them. Based on triggers from webshop data and customer behavior, we now send personalized emails automatically.
Polaris Growth has developed a growth strategy in one A4
First, Polaris Growth helped us with the growth strategy. The top-down approach was nice for us. Let's say you want to make €50,000 in turnover per month. So how much traffic do you need with your current conversion? Will that work out?
Polaris calculated the metrics for us in one A4, which provided a lot of insight. Polaris looks at all metrics and steps in the funnels. Next, we looked at the current marketing channels: how much traffic do you need per channel? What are the next action points for our team to take?
In one clear overview, Polaris provided us with all our metrics - such as CAC, CLV and traffic - to achieve our goals. We started working on that growth strategy.
Ewoud looks at the broader scope of e-commerce growth and therefore offers practical advice. Based on the data, we looked at what conversion optimization and marketing automation could mean for our online store and where to start.
Conversion research carried out for the Cortazu shop
Polaris then did a conversion study to determine a baseline measurement in combination with an analysis of our online store: what is good, what could be improved and what should we adjust immediately? That gave us a basis for getting started with our online store ourselves.
Klaviyo setup for Cortazu
At the moment, we still have a small team and therefore few hands to sort out and carry everything out ourselves. Polaris Growth relieved us by establishing the basis in Klaviyo and using our data from the email database and online store in Klaviyo.
For example, Polaris has automated certain flows so that we no longer have to look at them. Based on web shop data triggers and customer visits, we now send personalized emails.
Resultaten volgens onze klant
That’s especially helpful when you have a small team — now we have something running continuously in the background. Of course, the more attention you give it, the better the results. But for us, the key milestone was moving from nothing to a solid Klaviyo setup. That foundation is now in place, and it’s generating both extra conversions and increased engagement. We're learning from that every day. We’re currently in talks with Polaris to take the next step and expand the customer journey further in Klaviyo.
Polaris has more than paid for itself — and that’s obviously a great outcome. The next step is to add a monthly newsletter to further boost our engagement.
Something that’s worth highlighting for other entrepreneurs reading this: the Polaris Growth approach is practical, hands-on, and very concrete. That’s exactly why we’re now discussing the next phase of working with Polaris.
CONTACT
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