Glossier's Marketing Lesson
You've probably heard of Glossier , the first lifestyle cosmetics brand born from the hugely popular blog " Into The Gloss ," which now generates 2 million visits per month . Building on this success, the brand's founder, Emily Weiss, opened an online store that thrived on social media. Glossier then eventually opened a physical store in SoHo, a famous neighborhood in New York City.
Glossier's Success Story
Involve your community (for real)
Glossier is first and foremost about exchanges and, above all, about "down-to-top," "consumer to business." The brand draws inspiration from its community and always seeks to meet its expectations.
Glossier's marketing also comes from content generated by its users aged 18 to 35. Every day, Glossier is tagged in thousands of photos. The Glossier team then identifies those who will be its true "influencers," those who will represent the brand, from among all these self-proclaimed ambassadors.
Glossier tests its new products with its influencers , as well as its most loyal customers and fans, before launching them. Given how the brand treats its fans, everyone dreams of becoming a "Glossier Girl."
Customers feel seen and heard and they love it!
Be authentic
On Glossier's Instagram page, you instantly feel a sense of community and freshness , without it being snobby or exclusive. Glossier's strength is that it's for everyone: an unfiltered brand with an identity far removed from that of the usual beauty players .
Because yes, unlike most major beauty campaigns, Glossier shoots on an iPhone rather than a so-called "pro" DSLR camera. According to Annie Kreighbaum, editor-in-chief of Into the Gloss, the phone approach makes things more natural, more accessible.
And it's true. You'll immediately notice that Glossier's photos have a raw look compared to the retouched images that have long been the norm.
User-generated content also helps with this. Transparency is part of an authentic experience , and if users share their stories (even their disappointments) about Glossier freely, people are more likely to trust the brand.
Providing an offline customer experience
Alongside its website, Glossier has opened a showroom to allow its customers to test products . The overall atmosphere resembles a gallery more than a store: arriving by elevator, you enter a super Instagrammable white, red, and powder pink space where saleswomen dressed in pink jumpsuits welcome you with a big American smile. Your shopping experience can begin.
However, given the brand's success since its creation, there are a lot, A LOT of people . And it starts with the queue at the bottom of the building. We tried the experience and waited almost 45 minutes before being able to enter the premises. Once we arrived at the showroom, we tried to squeeze in as best we could in front of the stalls to try the products . But often we were jostled or had to wait for the place in front of the mirror. In short, the concept of coming to the showroom to try the products lost a little of its charm.
If you do manage to try a product and want to buy it, the process is a little different from usual stores . When the saleswomen notice that you want to buy the product you have in your hands, they rush towards you with credit card machines so that you can pay for your first product before going to see what is happening at the next stand.
You queue up again to pick up your items at the end of your shopping trip. While the primary goal is to free up your hands while you shop, this system wastes time when there are so many people.
In short, while the in-store experience has everything going for it, the crowds spoil the experience a bit . Welcome to the real world... Let's wait and see in a few years if the stores empty out or if they multiply the stores...
