Warby Parker is a business that was started by friends to help change the prescription eyeglass market. "Their business model focuses on online distribution, rather than showrooms "
They market directly to the consumer rather than distributors in order to keep the costs down. They are known mainly from their commercials in which they show frames being manufactured and packaged.
With a friendly sounding voice actor, the commercial shows a practical side to making frames for prescription lenses. The genesis of the idea was that most optometrists sell their own frames and lenses in showroom with their practice. A one stop shop for convenience. The problem the friends wanted to overcome was the higher costs associated with this practice.
You can pay a premium for convenience. While Warby Parker isn't quite a convenient as a local doctor, it is considerably cheaper! Also as with a lot of corporations now like Bomba and their socks for the homeless, they are helping their communities by giving away glasses to those in need. "The company is able to provide a pair of eyeglasses for a person in need for every pair of Warby Parker glasses that a consumer purchases."
If I wore glasses I'd probably use a local doctor anyway and keep my dollars in my community.
Mahoney, L. M., & Tang, T. (2017). Strategic social media: From marketing to social change. Wiley-Blackwell.
2 comments:
Hello Thomas,
Warby Parker has definitely made it more convenient for customers to purchase and utilize its products. Many people are buying products online for the convenience and with the capabilities of choosing a few lenses and then shipping back the unwanted frames for free, is a marketing strategy that is catching the eye of thousands. As you mentioned that users are attracted to companies that give back to the population, like Bomba giving socks to the homeless. Because Warby Parker is promoting giving a pair of glasses to someone in need after a frame purchase, they are grasping at people's emotions to choose their product. The word has been spread for this promotion through their heavy social media presence. They encourage their customers to post about their experience with the company and actively engage with customers to maintain brand loyalty and build healthy relationships. Participatory social media has transformed audiences into ore educated, empowered, and motivated Internet users (Mahoney & Tang, 2016). This allows Warby Parker to address concerns from their customers along with discussing with them the positive and negative aspects of the process to make adjustments if needed. Along with the participants who post about their experience, their social media pages are also engaging. On Warby Parker's Facebook page, it has many posts that show the glasses being set or worn in attractive place. For example, the first post I witnessed was a pair of glasses in an aloe plant. This attracts my attention, personally, because I live in a cold climate area, and seeing this warm and inviting post will drive my curiosity to look at the posts. This type of social media presence, does not work for everyone, but if there is a variety of posts, customers will remain loyal.
Great post! - Rachel P.
Mahoney, M. & Tang, T. (2016). Strategic social media: From marketing to social change. Wiley Global Research. https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/books/9781118556900
Hi Thomas!
Warby Parker created a business that made it more convenient for customers to have access to necessities such as eye glasses. They offer high-quality glasses for you to try on and purchase from the convenience of your home while being able to return what you don't like for free at the same time. This is a huge benefit for them as most people now prefer online shopping and trying things on in the comfort of your home is a major benefit as well. Warby Parker has such inviting ads that entice you to look further into the glasses styles and what they have to offer you. They also really promote the additional things offered such as their adjustments, returns, etc. I enjoy looking at ever changing feeds since they are more inviting focusing on a variety of target audiences, so Warby Parker really checks so many boxes. Brand loyalty is not always hard to come by, but is sometimes hard to maintain. Warby Parker has solidified their follower base and those dedicated to purchasing their glasses. I have recently placed my first order with them and look forward to buying another pair in the future.
-Maegan
Erdogmus, I. (n.d.). The Impact of Social Media Marketing on Brand Loyalty. WWW-sciencedirect-com.ezproxy.snhu.edu. https://www-sciencedirect-com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/science/article/pii/S1383586618301084
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