Is there a brand that you love so much that you don't have one bad thing to say about it?
Doubtful.
Even with the brands we love oh so much, there is most definitely always room to improve. No one is perfect and that is especially prominent among many brands today.
Reformation, a sustainable fashion brand founded in 2009, is doing many things right as you can read about in my previous blog post. However, today we will look at the brand through a more critical lens and explore ways Reformation can use feedback from the groundswell to incorporate into marketing campaigns and drive higher engagement.
It is no secret that Reformation strongly interacts with the groundswell, as they value customer feedback and input involving followers in their creative process. They do this by posting polls on social media regarding what styles and patterns should be released. They are also constantly posting photos of their customers wearing their clothes, as this makes up a large portion of their social media content. So while they make it known they value feedback, it is important that they actually use the feedback, even when they aren't asking for it. Below is a video that the team at Reformation created reacting to negative feedback they have received.
In this video, we see complaints about the styles of their clothing, photos on their website, high prices, etc. While it is great that they are owning this feedback and even poking fun at it, incorporating it in campaigns would take this to the next level. They have already established a witty sense of humor on social media, and describe their products with human-like characteristics, so creating a "just for you" product drop would be top-tier. In this campaign, they could name the products after certain negative reviews, such as the "wearable" dress which is essentially just a dress without a high slit (per the review above). Or, a dress that is "NOT meant for crawling in the grass." When this campaign launches, instead of just reacting to the reviews, they can post the reviews with the product drop in response. They wouldn't even need to design specific products for this campaign, all they would need to do is give names to products that they were already planning on releasing. Yes, this would be a more niche campaign, and maybe not every customer would fully understand, however, I believe this would really take their humor and interactive activity to the next level.
Now, let's look at the brand's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats helping us further analyze where they can improve.
Strengths: Reformation has a very prominent and consistent social media presence mixing humor with effective messaging. With 2 million followers on Instagram, they share information regarding their strong sustainability efforts, promote new products, engage with the groundswell, and not to mention make really cute clothes. When they release products, they release a small amount and only make more if customers want it. This not only shows their commitment to listening to the groundswell but also strongly aids in their commitment to sustainability, minimizing clothing waste.
Weaknesses: While Reformation is very successful and does a lot of things right, they still experience negative reviews and feedback, as we've seen above. When searching for reviews online, something commonly seen is complaints about product quality not matching price. While the price is strongly attributed to the sustainable materials used, Reformation still has a duty to produce high-quality products, as sustainability alone won't sell. Another complaint commonly seen in the comments on social media, is the request for certain products in extended sizes. Reformation has many styles on their website available in extended sizes, however not all of them.
Opportunities: Opportunities are endless, however, some that Reformation should be focussing on are moving towards releasing all products in extended sizes. This can really go for any clothing brand, but any time products are only released in limited sizes, the brand is missing sale opportunities. Aside from this, Reformation has the opportunity to engage even further with the groundswell, growing their brand even more. Lastly, they have the opportunity to expand their market by growing their product catalog. They have expanded from just clothing to producing shoes and bags as well, but something they completely lack is men's clothing. Creating a men's line would expand their customer base even more, while still maintaining the reputation of a sustainable clothing brand.
Threats: Reformation is definitely facing a huge threat with the recent spike in the desire for sustainable products. As more and more brands begin to move towards becoming more sustainable, Reformation may not stand out as much. Yes, Reformation's sustainability efforts are much greater than many brands, but brands are really starting to see the shift in values among consumers, driving them to dive into the world of sustainable fashion. If sustainability becomes the norm and a standard practice, Reformation will need to shift their messaging slightly giving other reasons as to why their clothes are worth the price. What happens if another brand begins creating sustainable dresses at half the price? One last thing to mention...with the rise in social media marketing, the language Reformation has established is one that could definitely be copied.
Target Market
It is important to note that Reformation's current target market is specific to women, particularly earning a higher income, who hold sustainability as a core value when making purchasing decisions. This is definitely a specific target market, which is good as it creates loyal customers, however, it does make it harder to gain new customers. Expanding this target market to men who also value sustainability is a great opportunity for growth.
All in all, Reformation has a great thing going for them, but they must continue to develop new strategies to further their groundswell engagement, while also continuing to expand their messaging beyond sustainability in order to truly stand out in the ever-changing fashion industry.
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