If Vera Bradley Corporate can't decide, why not have the actual consumers vote on
their favorite patterns coming out this Winter 2009 & Spring 2010. By using Facebook, Vera Bradley's page, now wants customer feedback on the upcoming prints (typically not displayed or known about until a month or so before it's release into Vera stores & other retailers).
The neat thing about Vera is that its prints attract a wide range of female age groups from the Tweens (who enjoy the new Frill line - a patent leather texture for 3 prints Blue Rhapsody, Carnaby, & Pirouette in exclusive, cute designs for this age group), the high school/college girls (with special products like the lanyards, id cases, school supplies, clutches, belts, purses & travel bags), the young-middle aged professional/moms who are mid-20's to early 40's (who like the suitcases, diaper bags, sunglasses, & large purses), and the 40+ group (who enjoy the classic simple prints, & the eye glass cases - really who have a need for the practical side of Vera). And should I mention the menswear line which includes ties and cufflinks?
This is an interesting strategy to get a wide variety of customers involved in the decision making & it's cheap feedback on what their thoughts are about the new designs. (Cheap meaning free of course!) I wonder if the feedback will help them reconsider the designs & reassure them that they are right on track for what the customers want? We shall see come Winter '09 if this has helped or hurt their strategy!
Lisette-
ReplyDeleteVery interesting blog.
I never knew that Vera Bradley had menswear. This is shocking to me. I wonder how that's doing in the market..hm.
I feel like their idea to have customers interact with their website and facebook is another way to gain customer's loyalty. It will make their loyal customers feel like they are part of the brand and that they can really have a say in the company's decision making process, even if it is just on the print. Or it could may be another way for Vera Bradley to start a buzz on their site to keep viewers coming back.
Either way, it is a smart idea at that. What would be cool is to have customers custom make the designs they want on their bags or even custom make by choosing the colors they want. This of course sounds easier said than done, but if revenue outweights the shipping and manufacturing costs, then that would be worth doing!
- Persa Konomi
konomi_pers@bentley.edu
Persa,
ReplyDeleteInteresting thoughts & glad to hear you're enjoying the blog! Some days are tough (like today) where there are 5 different topics I want to incorporate into one posting & some days where there are few things to find in the marketing/advertising/retail/food/product world. It's surprising to know Vera has a menswear line - wish I could find the sales of that somewhere & I wonder how it compares to the female product line sales? Hmm...
I do like the custom design idea & actually was thinking of that myself but didn't throw that in (don't want my postings to get too crazy long). Hope someone can see if there is a way to get Vera to customize their products (even with monogram).