If you have always admired Warby Parker and take the brand as an inspiration for your ecommerce business, you came to the right place. This will give you some tips on what Warby Parker has done to achieve unicorn status ($1 billion) in just 5 years.
From the surface, the value proposition of Warby Parker may seem simple. They offer fashionable and affordable eyewear. The company started way back in 2011. Then, the company was able to raise $215 million. Today, the company is now valued at $1.2 billion which earns it its unicorn status. Only a handful of companies are able to exit or have a valuation of $1 billion. This makes Warby Parker better than most startups that launched in the last 5 years.
So what did Warby Parker do? Well, they are one of the first companies who found a problem in the eyewear industry. You see, most of the top eyewear brands are managed by a brand called Luxottica. This brand owns almost every eyewear brand imaginable. On top of this, they also provide eyewear insurance. Because they have the monopoly of all the top brands, they can charge whatever they want. In fact, they are marking up items by as much as 2000%.
However, they did not foresee that the Internet and ecommerce will soon take over. This is where Warby Parker found an opportunity. As Luxoticca charges $300 for a pair of sunglasses, Warby Parker is able to charge at a lower price of $95. What is amazing is that Warby Parker understands the limitations of their operations – the fact that their customers cannot try on eyewear on an ecommerce website. So what they did is that they implemented an at-home try on program where they send the sunglasses to the customer’s home so that they can try out the sunglasses before buying them. This makes it more convenient for their customers who don’t have to leave their house to try on the sunglasses.
And it worked. The best part is that they started out lean. This means that there are no offices needed. They just have their website that takes orders. As their customer base grew, they were able to create retail stores all over the country. Today, the brand has a total of 44 stores.
This is one of the reasons why Warby Parker is so successful. They know how to think outside of the box. They know the how much of a stronghold Luxottica has on the eyewear industry. So they opted to create their own eyewear and sell them online.
But this is only one of the reasons why the company is able to make billions of dollars. Here are the other things that Warby Parker did right.
Have a Consistent Brand
Warby Parker knew the importance of branding right from the beginning. They ensured that they are not only selling sunglasses, they are also creating a consistent image across their digital assets. If you visit their website and social media sites, you’ll notice that they have this soft blue color that they have in every page. They have also included it in their logo.
What You Can Learn: One of the easiest ways to create a consistent brand is to play with color. You can choose one to two colors but be sure to be consistent. Have the same colors in all of your digital assets to avoid confusion.
Tell Your Story
People love stories. Your customers would often like to know the operations behind the brand and that’s what Warby Parker gave them. Aside from giving their new customers or prospects a series of onboarding emails about the company’s background and culture, they also ensure that they update their social media channels about what they are doing. Doing this makes the brand appear more ‘human’ and it lets the customers know that they are buying more than just a simple product.
What You Can Learn: Does your brand have a story? You may have a logo and a visually appealing website but do you share the ‘magic’ behind the brand? Do you share your day-to-day operations? Do you include your customers in your story? Telling your story can have many benefits. It will allow your customer to see your business in a different light.
Create a Lifestyle Around Your Product
Why do some fashion products sell higher than others? It is all about the lifestyle associated with the product. For Warby Parker, the lifestyle of their ideal customer is someone who is well traveled and socially conscious. They may not be as brand-conscious but they care about what goes on behind a brand’s operations. Their website showcases more than just the content of their operations. They also show their customers who are using their products. This gives their prospects an idea on what type of people use their products. It makes it easier for them to identify with the customer base.
What You Can Learn: Don’t just sell products. Sell a lifestyle. Ultimately, it is the lifestyle that your customers are after.
Focus on Your Core Values
The center of Warby Parker’s values is social consciousness. They are inspired by TOM’s shoes where they want to help not only their customers and shareholders but the world as a whole. Because of this, they implemented a program where they will donate a pair of prescription eyeglasses to a person in need with every customer purchase. The support VisionSpring, a non-profit organization that sells low-priced eyewear to low-income communities. It is their values which makes them attractive to millennials who buy for more than just the product. More than the quality of the product, they are concerned about where the money goes afterwards. By having a brand that resonates with these values, they are able to sell more products in the millennial segment.
What You Can Learn: Think about why you have an online store. Are you in it for more than the money? What will you do once you make enough money from your online store? What do you value? What’s your core? You need to know that because it is what you want to convey to your customers.
Solve a Problem
As mentioned in Warby Parker’s conception story, the brand is born out of the need to solve a problem. The Luxottica monopoly leaves people with no choice but to buy overly expensive eyewear. So what Warby Parker did is provide a more affordable alternative.
But they did not stop there. They also went another mile by delivering items to customers who have not yet bought the item. They deliver the item even if the customer just want to try it. This business model may not be the most attractive in terms of profits. The company has to spend some extra money just to get the item delivered and may even lose money if the customer did not buy the item. But Warby Parker is willing to do that just to make their customers’ lives easier.
What You Can Learn: Are you looking into your customers needs? How about your industry? Is there a need in your industry that is currently not filled? How can your company come in to solve that problem?
Put Your Customers First
Warby Parker succeeded as one of the unicorns in the last 5 years because of their ‘customers first’ policy. Alongside their vision of helping other people, they also made sure that all the needs of their customers are addressed.
How did they do this? Well, they do it through personalized customer interactions. While other companies are creating chatbots to automate their customer service, Warby Parker continues to engage with customers on a one-on-one basis. And they do this not only for customer concerns. They even go out of their way to thank people who recognize their brand on social media. This goes to show how a little care can go a long way.
What You Can Learn: Are you talking to your customers? I know that we live in a fast paced world but nothing can replace real human interactions. Try to talk to your customers more and see what happens.
Start with Helping People
Helping people is a central part of the Warby Parker brand. One of the things that I have mentioned is their ‘Buy a Pair, Give a Pair’ program. This is where they give a pair of glasses to VisionSpring for every sale. But their efforts doesn’t end in VisionSpring. They also have other operations where they help other people. For instance, there is the Pupils Project where they ensure that all students have all the eyewear they need to learn. In fact, they partnered up with New York and Baltimore. In the two cities, they had vision screenings for classrooms. What they found that as much as 200,000 students need eyeglasses. The student’s vision is essential for them to learn so the company provided as much as 54,000 glasses to the students. This shoes that they are not in the business for justmoney. They use the money to help other people instead.
What You Can Learn: Are you doing your business to help a cause? If not, do you plan to do it in the future? If you do this, it shows that you are not in the business just to make money. You are also there to make the world a better place.
Work with Partners
One of the first things that Warby Parker focused on is PR. Right from the beginning, most of their budget is allocated to inventory, PR and customer service. When it comes to PR, they ensured to establish partnerships with different brands and organizations.
In the Pupils Project alone, they are able to partner with creatives from New York to create glasses that are made for that project. This way, Warby Parker’s customers will know that these products are especially made by the creatives in the said city.
Another big break for the company was when they designed the glasses of Clark Kent in the movie Superman. By doing this, they are able to sell the set for just one week.
Another partnership that they made is with Ghostly International. Ghostly International is a music company that has been in New York for 15 years. So they created a design that is unique for the brand and it sold out in just 24 hours.
But they just don’t tie up with the big brands. They also choose brands that help a cause. Take DonorsChoose for instance. They give away a $30 gift card to DonorsChoose for every pair of glasses they sell.
What You Can Learn: You cannot do business alone. If you have tried that already, you’ll find that there are many limitations of doing business alone. It is important to focus on public relations and look for brands that you can work with. Getting into the habit of working with other people can fast track your business success.
Be Creative
Warby Parker also seems to be an expert in creating new ways to surprise their customers. Not only do they use current events in their advertisements, they also surprise their customers with unique gifts.
For example, they are able to get attention when they released the so-called ‘hush mob’ on New York Fashion Week. The traditional way was to present the brand or participate. Since the brand doesn’t have the money to do that, they just hired models to create a ‘hush mob’. This gave Warby Parker the attention that it needs at a fraction of the cost.
Another interesting thing that Warby did is the snowman kit that they send to their customers. With every purchase, their customers will get a free snowman kit. This came as a surprise to most customers for they did not expect it. But it sure painted a smile on their face.
What You Can Learn: How are you doing your marketing? Are you still going the traditional route? There are fun and creative ways to get attention to your business. It is all a matter of thinking outside of the box.
Warby Parker is truly a brand to look up to. I hope you learned a lot from Warby Parker’s experiences. What do you think? Tell me all about it below.
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