As busy people with busy lives, we don’t always have the time to sift through a glut of new products and services to decide, for example, what new shampoo to try, or what type of headphones pack the best sound for the cheapest price. That’s why many of the team members here at our Florida advertising agency stick to our trusted Head and Shoulders brand, and grab whatever headphones we can find on sale at Target.
But, some marketers have picked up on the fact that many of us are, in fact, interested in being the first in town to try something new. Be it something strange, like rearview mirrors for your sunglasses, or something practical, like an eco-friendly razor, there’s something inherently cool about being the first person to be in the know.
Subscription boxes are gaining in popularity as ways for people to experiment with new products. Curating companies tailor such boxes to their target demographic, and a typical box might include products for a young, hip mother or a dog-loving city dweller. For a fee, the person has a box of goodies delivered each month, and often receives all of the items in the box for a fraction of the price that he or she would have to pay to purchase the items individually from retailers. Come delivery day, it’s like Christmas — every month!
Besides the obvious financial benefit to the companies that create these boxes and sell them online through subscription services, these boxes can also be a great way for marketers to get their products into the hands of potential customers. Some subscription services even encourage their subscribers to engage in influencer behavior, which ultimately also helps to market the products to a broader audience. Plus, many marketers know that hand-to-hand marketing is one of the most successful forms of marketing, so when you can put a product in a consumer’s hand, your business has the opportunity to generate a high return on investment.
What motivates people to trust strangers to curate subscription commerce? In many instances, the keyword is trust. Once a company is able to establish itself as a leader, it can then take initiative to offer its loyal subscribers access to goodies that they never knew existed.
Cravebox leads the way in curating boxes and solidifying the trend known as subscription commerce. Cravebox’s researchers scout thousands of products to bring its subscribers only the best in health, skincare, hobbies, parenting and more. Cravebox chooses its members out of a lottery, which provides an air of exclusivity for those selected.
Other companies like 12Society reach out to a targeted demographic. 12Scoetry purports to offer products from celebrity endorsers, and caters to the young, professional male. (It kind of makes you wonder why a company like GQ didn’t catch on to this type of trend sooner.)
Birchbox offers a similar subscription box service, but sets itself apart by also offering links to products you can purchase on the website. It also offers different boxes for men and women, and offers grooming and style tips with each box. Similarly, lifestyle box company BabbaCo offers the kinds of goods only a mother could love – because they’re tailored to mothers.
The magic of the boxes is that no two are the same. Each offers a different set of goodies and, if you don’t like it month after month, you can cancel your subscription. Our Florida advertising agency understands that consumers are spending less time with beauty magazines and print content, and believes that subscription commerce may be just the type of marketing you need to help introduce a new product, and reap impressive results.
Contact us today to see how we can help you generate impressive marketing results.
