Recently there has been a lot of chatter on the Web about positive body image. This is not a new topic, however, only lately has it had a serious impact on consumer brands. For instance, Victoria's Secret is currently losing its market share in the lingerie industry, as well as losing its customer base due to not listening to consumer feedback on their marketing campaigns and for not offering plus size underwear.
According to Groundswell, "Your brand is whatever your customers say it is." In Chapter 5, the authors discuss the need for a company to seriously listen to what it's consumers are saying. Companies pay large amounts of money to do market research and learn general insights of their consumer's buying behaviors. However, in today's digital age a company can find invaluable feedback from its consumers through social media engagement or simply doing a Google blog search.
Victoria's Secret "Body Campaign" was heavily criticized for not including diverse body types
In the case of Victoria's Secret, they are losing their customer base to Aerie because they continue to do nothing with the feedback they've received on social media platforms and within the blogosphere for a change in their advertisement of unattainable beauty standards. Consumers now do not feel the Victoria's Secret brand represents their own body and values of acceptance for all body types.
Aerie's #aeriaREAL campaign emphasizes loving one's body as it is
The reading discussed the Mini USA case study, where parent company BMW increased total sales for the year of 2006, when they sold no new models. Their success for that year was directly linked to their marketing to their own customers and listening to what they voiced. Had Victoria's Secret listened to their consumer base, they may have had higher sales this past year. In comparison, Aerie's sales are soaring after listening to what their consumers had to say about the need for untouched photos and body type representation.
This is very good post! Brands is what their customers say and belong to customers,not companies.
ReplyDeleteAs a father of a young girl, body image and self esteem and worth are constantly things that I think about as she gets older. I honestly think Victoria's Secret has seen its best days come and go and their credibility took a hit when their No. 1 model, Mrs. Brady, was caught coming out of a plastic surgeon's office a few weeks back. As companies like Aerie are promoting and utilizing the everyday woman, society, I hope, has started to shift that way as you see shows like "How To Look Good Naked". This is a great post and well thought out. I really enjoyed the fact that you focused on how not listening can affect companies and their perception.
ReplyDeleteJust some days ago i have read the article about Victoria's Secret that is in danger of losing its customer base. Sure while Victoria's Secret still controls a large portion of the lingerie market, it will need to shift its marketing strategy to keep up with its customers. It is so important just be able to listen to consumer feedback.
ReplyDeleteInteresting reading. Thank you