NASHVILLE, TN – OCTOBER 28: Reese Witherspoon attends Draper James Nashville store opening … [+]
You may have seen her on Apple TV's original series “The Morning Show,” where she plays an intelligent new anchor who stands by her side. Even though Reese Witherspoon is one of the most high-profile celebrities in television, film, and digital media, she has also launched two successful e-commerce brands of her own. However, he is relatively unrecognized as a business mogul.
Following in the footsteps of other famous entrepreneurs such as Jessica Alba, Beyoncé, Rihanna, and the Kardashians, Witherspoon launched lifestyle clothing brand Draper James and production company Hello Sunshine, and contributed to its establishment.
Both brands have grown to a combined value of more than $1 billion. Hello Sunshine was sold in 2021 to a media company backed by private equity firm Blackstone Group for a reported $900 million. Witherspoon just sold 70% of Draper James to Consortium Brand Partners for an undisclosed amount.
It's true that Witherspoon has celebrity power and a built-in consumer base ready to spend money on anything she endorses. Still, there are some simple but effective e-commerce strategies that the business guru has adopted to ensure the success of her brand.
Here are some e-commerce growth strategies adopted by Witherspoon that you can apply to your business.
Create authentic customer experiences
Witherspoon brings southern charm to her social media presence and the way she talks about her brand. That southern charm is the inspiration behind contemporary wardrobe clothing line Draper James.
Draper James is known for creating authentic customer experiences. That Southern charm, that sense of Americana is reflected not only in the cuts, colors and fabrics, but also in the customer experience, and it's a core part of how they create an authentic experience for their customers.
Whether you buy online or in-store, the brand strives to remind you that it embodies quintessential Southern sensibilities and style, creating a virtually seamless experience across both channels.
From the Nashville flagship store's distinctive blue and white striped walls, where customers happily pose in front of them for playful UGC, to chatting with friends and coaxing looks in their dressing rooms. Draper James puts serious thought into authenticity, right down to the cash wrap with stools. , shareable experiences increase customer retention, foster brand ambassadorship, and build brand loyalty.
There are many examples of challenger brand experiences that don't match or are inconsistent with how they're marketed. This can leave potential customers feeling disconnected, disjointed, and disappointed.
Some of the most successful brands build customer loyalty and increase customer lifetime value by establishing authentic connections with consumers and setting a policy of maintaining that authenticity in the way they operate their business. We have improved it.
Every element of the customer experience, every touchpoint, matters. Build your brand universe with intention and commitment to your company's core values and the values of your ideal audience, keeping in mind how you want your customers and prospects to feel. Not only can you anticipate their needs and concerns, but you can also surprise them and make their experience shopping and engaging with you better than anything they've had in the past with other brands. Innovate how you please, too.
Create meaningful and valuable experiences with conversational SMS marketing
Draper James is legendary for his text message marketing campaigns. They leverage platforms like Attentive to build authentic conversational campaigns (true to the Southern brand), develop effective SMS campaigns in-kind, and see 152% subscriber growth in 5 months. , achieving a program ROI of over 29x.
These campaigns had two objectives. These have helped move slow-moving inventory and, most importantly, given brands a window into visibility into what their customers want, creating new opportunities to serve them appropriately. .
As of July 2022, 71% of traffic to online retailers comes from mobile phones, and 61% of online orders are completed on mobile. Conversational or two-way SMS marketing is rapidly becoming the go-to choice for brands looking to effectively and intimately reach a larger customer base who would otherwise miss messages delivered via email or paid traffic. It has become an essential tool.
Adopt a deeply layered cross-channel approach
Reese Witherspoon is a celebrity who is often seen on social media, news outlets, e-commerce platforms, websites, and more.
Draper James and Witherspoon's other brands use a multichannel approach to e-commerce marketing and customer acquisition. They understand that to reach large numbers of consumers, they need to reach them on the platforms they frequent.
Optimizing your e-commerce marketing using a multichannel approach allows you to diversify the ways you build your audience and reach consumers. This allows you to tailor your targeting to a specific platform in a way that is most effective for that platform.
In general, the number of touchpoints a consumer needs with a brand before making a purchasing decision (most e-commerce marketing analyzes say at least 20) and the average duration of the e-commerce lead consideration process (18 According to KR Agency's $93M Customer Journey Data, most e-commerce businesses rely on one or a few platforms to reach, convert, and nurture consumers. No wonder this is a highly ineffective strategy for brands.
However, by taking multiple cross-channel approaches, brands can establish an environment that allows for many touchpoints, ultimately giving consumers a sense of being everywhere and giving them a sense of overall brand engagement. It tends to instill stronger trust.
Adopt a customer-first policy
Witherspoon's company values high levels of customer service, and achieves this by taking a customer-first approach. These policies create many touchpoints to ensure customers are heard, employees are involved in the process, and a great experience is achieved.
One of the most important aspects of building a brand that grows in scale and visibility is customer service. Creating a customer-first policy sends a clear message to your team and customers, letting them know how important they are.
Draper James accomplishes this by paying close attention to reducing return rates and ensuring customers have a strong experience with the brand, even if they are disappointed with their purchase. Brands see return requests as an opportunity to attract and win back customers, which has a significant impact on revenue.
Borrow Draper James' playbook and look at the entire customer experience. What can you change or upgrade? When you provide better service to your customers, systemize your processes and add automation. Develop SOPs to guide new team members through customer-driven, experience-oriented policies and continue to evolve this experience as new data emerges.
Reese Witherspoon leveraged her celebrity to build a multi-billion dollar e-commerce brand using principles that can be applied to her own brand. These may seem like common sense, but it takes skill to implement what seems simple.
Create authentic customer experiences, use modern techniques to reach consumers, enhance customer service, and leverage your brand authority to continue building your e-commerce business.
