"Warby Parker", Being Innovative

In my previous posts, I wrote on how enterprises and organisations have been making use of various social platforms, to manage various functional aspects.  This week, I will be writing on a retail firm which has implemented social networking so well, that it has been nominated as one of the most innovative retailer by Forbes. ‘Warby Parker’ is one among the few retailers, which have gained the limelight within a short period of time. This firm started as the underdog in the year 2010, and currently has been noticed for its innovation, marketing strategy, social presence and therefore has been the outstanding retailer in its class. Warby Parker is an American retail brand for sunglasses and eyeglasses, which has been selling its products through online stores and few showrooms in United States. 

Warby Parker has adopted a socially conscious business, so as to attract more customers by implementing the use of social networking and social media such as Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, YouTube, Tumblr and Instagram. These social platforms have resulted in a better co-ordination between the employees and the customers; as a result, the firm is socially popular and has been making huge profits. In this post I will be writing on how Warby Parker has co-operated social technology for two among the few functional areas as described by the McKinsey framework. Marketing and Sales, and Customer service are the two functional areas Warby Parker has excelled with the appropriate use of social technology. It is necessary to use the right social platform for managing a particular functional area, which could be the key factor for any firm to achieve success in social marketing.

Following are the two business functional areas of Warby Parker which have really impressed me, and that's the reason I have shared it in my blog.

1.              Marketing and Sales

Use of social networking strategy for marketing has been one of the prime objectives of Warby Parker. Also, the firm has been getting good feedback and response from customers, which has resulted in better sales and profit. While they use some social sites like Pinterest, Instagram to showcase their products, and sites such as Facebook, Google+, Tumblr to present their products through which in return, they can expect customer feedback and suggestions. Warby Parker has been socially conscious and has been maintaining their social image with prime dedication. Some of the factors which they have been following in their social business routine are being visual, presenting their personality in a right way, coming up with interesting news on their products, showcasing their positive customer feedback, sharing their employees’ experience, sharing their success rate and information pertaining to their future products release. These factors certainly occupy customer’s interest and helps in establishing a good social image. Following are a few screenshots of the social profiles maintained by Warby Parker:

Facebook

Google+

Pinterest

You can have a look at the social networking sites used by ‘Warby Parker’ by visiting the following links:

https://www.facebook.com/warbyparker (Facebook)

https://www.tumblr.com/about (Tumblr)

https://plus.google.com/+warbyparker/posts (Google+)

http://www.pinterest.com/warbyparker/ (Pinterest)

https://www.youtube.com/user/warbyparker (Youtube)

https://twitter.com/WarbyParker (Twitter)

2.              Customer interaction and service

Warby Parker has maintained its existence socially and has been interacting with its customers through various social sites. The most notable activity would be, their participation in social posts and inquiries from their customers. They never fail to create a friendly bond with their customers, let it be an opinion, suggestion or advice, they always come up with good and wise comments, thus providing good customer support and service. An example for such an instance would be, the firm literally gives a ‘five frames for five days home try-on’ scheme, where the customers can get the product and try-on, and then later decide on whether to purchase or return. The bottom line is the company provides such flexibility and feature through online shopping. In addition to this, they always show their presence socially by interacting with the customers through their social profiles. Following is a screenshot for such an instance:

Therefore, using social networking/media wisely would be the key for success in social business. Firms which have been making use of traditional techniques for business should think outside the box and bring out a change in their business strategy. Here the ‘change’ refers to the growing business needs and adapting to the latest trends of ecommerce and social technology.

Watch the following video to see, what various business analysts have to say about digital social experience of shopping:

Thanks for all the readers for visiting and reading my blog. I would certainly appreciate your feedback, opinion or suggestion on my post. Also, I would like to know your response for the following query:

“Which type of shopping would you prefer? Social shopping (online shopping) or traditional shopping (offline shopping), and please justify on your choice”. I am asking this question, since I am curious to know whether the era of social shopping has truly favored human convenience and interest.

References:

Ryan, C. (2013). The 25 Most Innovative Consumer And Retail Brands. Retrieved from Forbes, http://www.forbes.com/sites/ryancaldbeck/2013/07/30/25-of-the-most-creative-consumer-and-retail-brands/

STAFF, F. C. (2014). The World's Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Retail. Retrieved from Fast Company, http://www.fastcompany.com/most-innovative-companies/2014/industry/retail

 https://www.warbyparker.com/