The art of Shaving
For a strategy class, we were tasked with coming up with strategy recommendations as our client, The Art of Shaving, transitions from a traditional brick & mortar business to a digital first E-Commerce brand.
The Art of Shaving is a luxury men's grooming product retailor. As they transition to focus on E-Commerce, The Art of Shaving needed a way to communicate its luxurious qualities and to retain + expand on its existing customer base.
TLDR;
Project Summary
Digital brand strategy
Website redesign
Marketing shift
Membership case studies
Deliverables
Client presentation
Reconmendation Report
Website prototype
Customer survey results + analysis
Skills + Tools
Customer interviews
Industry & competitor analysis
Brand + marketing analysis
Figma
Canva
Our Challenge
The Art of Shaving started as a traditional Brick & Mortar business, but as consumers are becoming increasingly reliant on digital shopping experiences, TAOS must develop a way to differentiate itself as a luxury brand with unique and high quality offerings.
To do this, we wanted to better understand The Art of Shaving as a brand and get to know their target consumers better, so here's what we did...
1. Customer Insights
Starting off, we wanted to learn more about what TAOS' userbase and also uncover potential user preferences.
1. Utilizing existing user data & trends, we were able to categorize users into different shopping personas
2. We created a consumer survey to send out to TAOS' target userbase, collecting 100+ responses
This is what we've uncovered.
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70.9% of our respondents stated they use the same brand of razors consistently, indicating high consumer loyalty
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Majority of our respondents have seen advertisements regarding men's shaving products on social media and cable TV, each making up 32.7%, implying the impact of digital marketing
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Majority of our survey respondents indicated that they are not familiar with The Art of Shaving
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The customer data showed us that most customers were repeat purchasers of one specific line of items, and very rarely ventured out to new products.
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The customer data also showed us that 'Shave' products were the most popular, and consumers were less likely to purchase items in the 'Lather Up' and 'Moisturize' categories
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TAOS users can be classified into the following categories -
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Repeat + Loyal : Shoppers looking to repurchase the same products for their routine, demands quality and efficiency
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Curious + Adventurous : Shoppers looking to expand on their current shaving routines, curious about new products and thinks of shaving as a luxurious experience.
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Gift Givers: Shoppers that want to give the perfect gift of quality & experience; often not knowledgeable about shaving products & does not have a preestablished routine.
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Getting Started: Shoppers that are interested and curious about starting a shaving routine, but not super knowledgeable about the products or process.
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2. Case Studies
We identified 4 brands that are in the luxury retail sector, and have successfully navigated their way in the E-Commerce business through strategic positioning and brand identity.
Nest is a luxury perfume company that descaled their in store retail to primarily online. As a perfume company, this was especially interesting since they were able to retain a large portion of their existing customers and attract new ones through strategic promotions, SEO integrations, and website remodeling.
Sephora is a high-end beauty product retailer that began to increase its online retail in an effort to preserve sales and adapt to new consumer trends. Sephora introduced a tiered membership system that is free to enter but through gaining points via purchases, customers can advance to unlock savings and benefits, thus increasing customer loyalty & promote sales.
SK-II is a Japanese luxury skin care brand owned by P&G. They've adapted to digital trends during the Covid-19 pandemic by shifting their business online through offering virtual products such as beauty consultations skin-analysis mobile app, and exclusive offers for those that engage with the company.
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Rent the Runway is a high-end retail brand that allows users to 'rent' luxury clothing items for a designated time period. Rent the Runway has a strong online presence accredited to their online traction and marketing efforts, site descriptions, dynamic landing pages, and segmented website navigation system.
3. Website Accessibility Test
We conducted a basic evaluation and accessibility test to see if we could easily navigate our way through the website and also identified any usability & accessibility design issues using screening software.
Our Recommendations
After our analysis + research, we've come to three key recommendations focusing on website remodeling, introducing a membership program, and to redirect current marketing strategies.
Website Remodeling
The usability + accessibility tests we did on the current website showed us there were some issues with the sites' current organization. The site also does not communicate the luxurious qualities of the brand, something that it emphasizes in its in person locations.
So we got creative....
We focused on reorganizing the site's current layout to offer more guidance - making things easier for first time consumers;
& we wanted to reimagine the experience for TAOs to match the products and instore experience.
Membership Program
We recommend the strategy of incorporating a tiered based program to accumulate points for exclusive benefits. Consumers also react well to free samples/trials and online interactions, and this can be used as another channel to promote products and services beyond the 'Shaving' category.
Marketing Shift
We recommend the strategy of shifting to a digital first marketing strategy. As indicated in our survey, The Art of Shaving currently does not have a strong brand awareness amongst its target demographic despite quality products. We recommend TAOs to focus on social media marketing and appeal to their ideal customer personas through targeted marketing + promotions.
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