Roxy Sets The Bar Higher with Social
by Yvonne Gando, Social Commerce Analyst
In an Econsultancy article entitled Revealed: the Secret to Social Media Marketing Success, author Patricio Robles argues that ‘socializing’ using discount-based offers or giveaways on social media (à la Jetblue’s $10 flight sale via Facebook) can devalue a product or service, or work against the effective tactic of using freebies or swag to reward and engage your best existing customers. This can make it even more challenging to run promotions that current customers find appealing, he argues. So what should you do? The author suggests that the potential of social media to engage with customers on a deeper, more meaningful level can be tremendous, but “giving away the farm” is not going to get you there. He thinks marketers should: “Set the bar higher”.
So what does this mean? We shine the spotlight on our retail partner, Roxy, to illustrate an effective use of social to create deeper, more meaningful interactions that don’t involve freebies or discounts, but is driven by the motivation to achieve a deeper understanding of the Roxy customer by getting her involved in a “hands-on” opportunity to interact with the brand. How? Presented by Schick® Quattro for Women®, Roxy’s “Design-A-Bikini Contest” invites their customers to “unleash your inner fashionista and design your very own Roxy bikini.” The prize? “One lucky girl gets $5000 in her pocket and her winning look made into an actual swimsuit to wear all summer long.”
Not only does this invitation encourage the customer to interact with their brand on a deeper level than a one-time discount or incentive to buy a branded product, but 
this promotion is the basis of multiple touches through the “pick of the week”, spotlighted on the Roxy home page – complete with a “Like” button that gives site visitors the option to broadcast that they “like” a particular design to all of their Facebook friends. Since the “pick of the week” is content that originates on Schick’s Facebook page, this will mean that the contest gets exposure from both companies’ customer communities – not to mention all contest participants, all of their friends, any visitor to the Schick or Roxy website, and the viral potential of all of their friends combined, should they happen to “Like” a design submitted and featured as a top pick. This contest demonstrates a non-salesy, unobtrusive way to use social to get customers energized, reach out to new ones, and keep them coming back.
What ways do you encourage your customers to truly interact with your product, brand, or service? Tell us about it!
3 Responses to “Roxy Sets The Bar Higher with Social”
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Hi Paul,
Thank you for adding your perspectives to this debate. Your viewpoints are widely respected by our community here at PowerReviews, so it’s great to hear your take on the subject matter.
You said, “Just don’t throw social media price promotions out as an acquisition tool – social media price promotions are effectively smart sampling campaigns – where the customer pays for the sample…”
Certainly, your stance in defense of price promotions speaks to one of many tactics marketers can employ in developing an effective social media strategy. Social media can be helpful in getting customers in the door. Getting them to stay, however, gets trickier.
The purpose of the post was to open retailers up to the possibility of more creative invitations to engage their customer communities, not to declare that price-based promos should be banished forever from all things social. So I am grateful for your comments, as it gives me a great opportunity to elucidate with another example.
Your post brings up many helpful and valid points, and it reminded me of one of our retail partners who engages in a sort of hybrid approach in their social media strategy. The use of a multi-pronged social approach, as many retailers are finding, can be effective in attracting and retaining a growing and healthy customer community.
Discount School Supply, a recognized leader of arts & crafts and curriculum supplies for early learners, is beloved by teachers, parents, and childcare providers across the country. The retailer uses social media to promote price reductions to attract new customers, while supplementing their strategy with exclusive deals to long-time “best customers” who are active supporters of their brand. For instance, their “Fans Only” page on Facebook grants a select group of customers access to special events, invitation-only discounts and exclusive resources. And, similar to other savvy retailers, Discount School Supply uses Twitter-based price promos to draw new customers, and newbies are also are invited to sign up for a weekly e-mail list, alerting them to Web-exclusive sales, new product information, seasonal specials and free resources. The result? New customers discover appealing offers, and loyal customers feel rewarded and appreciated. Their fan base continues to grow rapidly, and they continue to test several types of social promotions across various customer segments.
Your post, and Discount School Supply’s wide range applications in social media, reminds us that testing and being open to several approaches, can garner success in the ever-evolving space of social.
Again, thanks for sharing your thoughts on this. We‘re always eager to learn about retailers who are doing great things with social, so we welcome your thoughts and additional comments.
Best,
Yvonne
yvonne @ powerreviews.com
Thank you so much for the mention of Discount School Supply and our social media strategies so far! Ours is an evolving approach for sure, and we look forward to testing new promotional strategies every chance we get. Learning more about our marketplace and current customers, while also increasing exposure of the brand to new and potential customers, are things I find truly remarkable about social media. It’s an exciting time for marketers in social media, and I look forward to hearing more about what “works” for other retailers from our peers and pals at Power Reviews, and to keep learning from our fans, followers and friends out there, too.
Thanks again for the mention!
-Laurel from Discount School Supply