Back-to-school retail predictions are out and merchants of all sizes must prepare for parents to be focused on frugality. With more than 30% of parents claiming to compare prices online and 92% hoping to save money compared to last year, early planning and customer-centric research will be necessary to ensure a successful back-to-school season.
In general, back-to-school shopping lists don’t vary dramatically year-over-year. For brands looking to break into the space, it can be difficult to market against the household name competitors already top of mind for back-to-school shoppers. For cause-based businesses looking to use the back-to-school season to bolster the use of ethically-sourced, charity-based or environmentally-friendly products, it can be especially difficult. After all, parents often prefer mainstream, less expensive products to the more eco-conscious alternatives in the market.
30% of parents will compare prices online this back-to-school season.
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But, for merchants who communicate their brand positioning with honesty and listen diligently to feedback, customer loyalty can be your winning ticket to pulling in more back-to-school revenue than the big box retailers. Want proof? Meet Funkins, an eco-friendly napkin seller and testiment to how trend-based planning results in an appreciative and engaged following.
High-Quality Customer Service Now Equals Lifetime Loyalty
Four years ago, Funkins founder Lisa Baumgartner came across an increasingly common school lunch initiative: going waste-free. Baumgartner and her fellow parents suddenly needed a paper napkin alternative for their preschool-aged children — and Funkins was Baumgartner’s innovative solution.
Since then, Funkins has grown into a worldwide retailer, often featured in national media as well as in the hands of celebrity children.
To bridge this gap between niche retailer and noteworthy brand, Funkins focused on increasing brand awareness at the top of the marketing funnel, using inbound marketing to generate demand. Funkins sees each piece of their inbound marketing strategy — whether it be emails, social media or blog posts — as an opportunity to educate potential buyers on environmental best practices and prove itself as a trusted and reliable source of information.
Inbound marketing is an opportunity to be a trusted and reliable source of information.
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It is no surprise, then, that back-to-school is the prime selling season for Funkins. By the time even the 23% of early-bird shoppers hit the stores, the process of product design and manufacturing for the new Funkins seasonal lines has been ongoing for more than 12 months. For the Funkins team, marketing preparations begin as soon as one back-to-school season closes, with decisions finalized by Q1.
“In October we evaluate our back-to-school efforts and results for the current year, and that forms the basis for our next season’s planning,” Baumgartner said. “We make decisions on what to continue, what/how to improve and what initiatives to abandon or retire.”
Nearly all of this insight comes from their target audience themselves. In addition to designing napkins based on fashion trend reports, Funkins uses what they call “mommy coffee mornings” to conduct their market research. They also turn to teachers to learn how they can best partner with schools in their environmental efforts.
“We spend a lot of time working with teachers and schools to come up with designs that are practical and foster cleanliness, table manners, order and student independence at lunchtime,” Baumgartner said.
Remember, word-of-mouth marketing is 92% more effective than any other type of marketing.
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Because the retailer focuses so strongly on customer input in their product designs and selling strategies, they are then able to turn back to customers with confidence in word-of-mouth marketing through their grassroots mom ambassador program. Especially when it comes to parents, product feedback either exchanged in the carpool line or posted on Facebook can be what makes or breaks a brand. Remember, word-of-mouth marketing is 92% more effective than any other type of marketing.
Data-Driven Decisions Win Big
Funkins advertises their back-to-school promotions through a mix of website banners and social media marketing, generally involving a percentage-off discount. After evaluating what worked and didn’t work for back-to-school, the retailer then amends their plans for the fast-approaching holiday shopping season. This, paired with the release of new holiday-specific product lines, allows Funkins to expand their audience beyond parents to holiday gift buyers, including grandparents and peers.
For each of the two main selling seasons, Funkins roots each of their product and marketing decisions in trend data. This back-to-school season, for example, Funkins has taken the projected 5.8% decrease in average back-to-school spending to heart and created a new option for parents wanting to save money.
“We have added discount offers this year, which we have not in the past, and we have added a single-sided, lower cost Funkins line to help our customers save on their back-to-school budgets,” Baumgartner said.
No matter their size or scope, businesses who hope to increase margins this holiday season will follow Funkins’ example and respond to industry predictions and trends. Understanding the mindset of a back-to-school parent or rushed holiday shopper will help retailers grab the attention of comparison shoppers and craft promotions most appealing to the needs of your target audience.
Planning for next year’s back-to-school can never begin too early.
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And, of course, planning can never begin too early. Even if the back-to-school season has caught you by surprise, this fall is the time to evaluate your data for improvement opportunities and begin strategizing for next year.
In all, make honest evaluations of your projected growth and craft goals according to what is right for your business. Funkins is consistently working on balancing customer wants with necessary and profitable margins — and the company is looking forward to accomplishing their goal of offering free shipping next year.
Photo: Funkins
The post Back-to-School Selling: How Funkins Used Customer-Centric Research to Create Product Demand and Brand Evangelists appeared first on The Bigcommerce Blog.
