Taxfix is a Germany-based high-growth fintech startup that provides a mobile app designed to simplify and streamline the tax filing process. The company was founded in 2017 and since then has expanded to Spain, Italy, and UK to promote financial opportunities among a wider audience.
Key challenges
- Finding an API-first referral and discounting solution.
- Connecting the promotion engine with other marketing automation tools.
- Enhancing revenue generation from the Taxfix user base via referrals and targeted offers.
Two-sided referrals
In the fintech world, trust plays a key role, making referral campaigns essential for acquiring customers and driving revenue.
To maximize customer acquisition, Taxfix has previously employed referral tactics. However, their refer-a-friend initiatives lacked market receptiveness and user engagement, primarily due to outdated technologies and manual execution. That is why Taxfix turned to Voucherify and Braze, a leading comprehensive customer engagement platform that powers interactions between consumers and brands they love, to maximize their referral potential with modern API-first solutions.
Voucherify equipped Taxfix with essential features to execute their bespoke referral campaign:
- Referral program setup: Voucherify enabled Taxfix to establish the referral program's framework, including referral rewards of $30 Amazon gift vouchers and 50% discounts on the first tax return for invited friends.
- Omnichannel engagement: Thanks to ready integration between Braze and Voucherify, Taxfix could quickly build an engagement framework with relevant email and push notifications.
In Taxfix two-sided program, referrers received Amazon gift cards as rewards, while referees enjoyed a 50% discount on their first tax return. The program's mechanics were based on a customized conversion event triggered during the sign-up process. The integration connected Voucherify with Amazon Incentives API through webhooks.
To create an end-to-end referral reward experience, Taxfix:
- Generated referral codes in Voucherify.
- Defined the discount associated with the referral code (50% off tax return).
- Defined a successful custom referral event – using the referral code during signup.
- Promoted referral program with Braze emails and push notifications, including a deep link to the referral view containing the referral code.
- When a referral event occurred, they sent a webhook to the Taxfix backend system.
- Backend called the Amazon Incentives API to get a new gift card code and send it with a transactional email to the customer (processed via SendGrid).
Further reading:
Braze enabled critical segmentation of the referral audience and prioritization of high-engagement Taxfix users.
“The integration of Voucherify and Braze propelled our referral campaign from concept to reality quickly. Voucherify's API-first architecture matched our referral strategy like a glove, while Braze's advanced messaging capabilities increased open rates and overall program engagement.”
Targeted app users were strategically enticed to increase their referrals through push notifications and emails. The referral messaging featured a deep link directing potential advocates to a dedicated app view to access their personalized referral codes.
The selection of the target group for the referral campaign was based on various factors such as submission status, seniority, channel enablement (email and push), and promotional email consent.
Strategic incentives
To cater to other promotional needs besides referrals, Taxfix uses Braze Connected Content to retrieve exclusive discounts from Voucherify and embed them into messages through an API connection. This approach enables Taxfix to effectively address the challenge of customer retention, a crucial aspect for any fintech provider. Also, by applying one-off promo codes, Taxfix can effectively combat discount fraud and enhance campaign ROI tracking and marketing attribution.
Apart from the highly successful referral campaign run in Germany, where the referring users are granted Amazon vouchers, Taxfix is also running other promotions powered by Voucherify:
- Standalone discount codes for specific demographics (e.g., students or soldiers).
- Apology campaign for failed tax returns (20% off the service).
- Discount for the first tax submission (5€ off).
The Taxfix team also executed a “File More, Save More” campaign through Braze, which aimed to prevent customer churn and incentivize users to choose Taxfix again for their tax filing needs in the upcoming year. This campaign leverages personalized offers generated by Voucherify and shared via Braze. Using personalized discount codes to incentivize repeat behaviour – showed 11% company wide uplift in submissions – having positive long-term impact on customer loyalty and retention.
To penetrate new markets, Taxfix runs an influencer program via generic promo codes (e.g., 15% off) assigned to a particular influencer. The detailed tracking of each influencer’s performance is possible via a connection with Looker and the use of metadata attached to each code defining attributes such as influencer, source, niche, or product type. The connection between Looker and Voucherify allows them to take a holistic view of all campaign data, query and visualize that information.
Quick iterations made possible by integrations
To streamline the campaign creation process, the Taxfix team built a simplified dashboard for influencer voucher codes in Retool where the team can quickly add, delete, or edit specific codes in bulk. The same tool is used for B2B use cases where employers can receive discounts for offering Taxfix as a work benefit.
“I feel that we are in a really good place right now with Voucherify. I appreciate the customization options that we were given to make the tool fit our needs to the letter.”
Thanks to the API-first architecture and “buy and customize” approach, Taxfix team could quickly implement new solutions on top of the granular REST API offered by Voucherify. Whether it’s Uniform or Looker for analytics, Braze or SendGrid for messaging, Retool for streamlined management, or Make for campaign automation, Voucherify could be quickly added to the existing workflows to drive CLV at low monthly subscription cost. What’s more, the iterations are made quick by a set of Sandbox APIs and easy troubleshooting via audit logs, significantly reducing Taxfix’s time to market and the overall development costs.
Given the success of the referral campaign carried out in Germany, Taxfix is now preparing a new referral campaign to bolster app adoption in the Spanish market. This time, they have opted to leverage the Braze Connected Content feature and integrate Voucherify-generated referral codes directly within messages. This approach ensures a seamless UX, allowing recipients to access and utilize their referral code without any additional steps.
More information on other MACH technologies used by Taxfix can be found here.
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