GLOSSIER:

CO-CREATING A CULT BRAND WITH A DIGITAL

COMMUNITY
Who is Glossier?
■ Glossier is an online beauty products company founded by Emily Weiss in
2014 after receiving notable popularity with their early beauty blog called
“Into the Gloss” (with nearly 1.5 million readers).
■ Glossier wanted to separate itself from the typical beauty brands that
controlled what was beautiful and told you how to look. They focused on
the individual and their feedback.
■ The company was built off the input received from community members
and with a goal to meet the collective needs of these women.
 What is the issue?
■ After scaling operations successfully and continuing to garner input from
its customers, Glossier had raised nearly $52 million in a series C funding.
■ Emily was reluctant on how the company could expand whilst retaining its
desired target market and offering the same brand experience to their
community members.
■ Should they continue innovating products by listening to its members or try
to implement their own independent vision?

? What’s next for us? With all this in mind, the issue was to decide on the right
?
? marketing strategy to complement the growth of the business.
 Business Model
Interactions Acquisition

Opinions Needs

Product is created Customer is made Customer buys product

and made available aware of product from Glossier.com
to purchase

IS THE BUSINESS MODEL EFFECTIVE?

(Yes…but not without a few issues)
Value Proposition Unique beauty products made from customer feedback, outside of traditional industry
norms where customers are heard. Glossier takes into account the brand experience and
the individual’s needs and offers value by focusing on R&D through feedback.

Revenue Model Revenue gotten from e-sales by selling products directly to customers online

Market Opportunity Currently only operates online…no physical stores, no loyalty program and has the
opportunity to expand geographically, vertical integration and further social commerce.

Competitive
Environment Main competition comes from major retail store Sephora and beauty brand ColourPop
 Already have an established blog that generates traffic ‘INTO THE GLOSS’ and are
Competitive Advantage changing the norm of how beauty brands sell to consumers. Additionally, they have a
competitive edge in their social branding and cult-like following.

Main marketing medium is their interactive platform to get feedback and their blog to allow
Market Strategy readers to know of their products releases. Also, a lot of organic selling and growth
happens on social media.

Organizational Since no physical locations exist, main emphasis is on the R&D team to innovate
Development products.

Have an enthusiastic and visionary CEO (Emily Weiss) that is always willing to listen to
Management Team customers and guides their R&D team. Along with her, they have their senior vice
president of marketing (Alexandra Weiss), and their CFO (Henry Davis).
 SWOT Strong online Easy access
to customer
Innovative
owner with a
Brand cult
with an
presence
feedback clear vision established
audience
STRENGTHS Strong social
media
presence

Lack of a No clear Issues Lack of a

physical store strategy in fulfilling loyalty
place for orders program
WEAKNESSES continuous
growth
 SWOT Open retail
locations
Licensing Loyalty
program

OPPORTUNITIES

Competitors Potential Not a unique

increase in product
acquisition
THREATS costs
Technology and Features
■ Social media – Instagram and Facebook

■ ‘IN TO THE GLOSS’ blog

■ Direct-to-consumer e-commerce sales

Technology related decisions
■ Peer-to-peer sales representative program

■ Professional influencer program

■ Paid media plan

■ Customer loyalty program

Alternative courses of actions
■ Investing into an R&D organization

■ Creating an influencer training program and investing into

professional influencers

■ Investing into paid media

Evaluation of Alternative 1
Investing into an R&D organization
Pros
■ Unique product – first mover
■ Increased sales and revenue
■ Gain more loyal customers

Cons
■ Time-consuming
■ Large upfront cost
■ Risk of failure
■ Guessing game
Evaluation of Alternative 2
Creating an influencer training program and
investing into professional influencers
Pros
■ Reach to relevant audiences
■ Creating content relevant to the audiences
■ Better reach to consumers
■ Low cost of helping customers become influencers

Cons
■ High-end influencers are expensive
■ Risk of not reaching the right people
Evaluation of Alternative 3
Investing into paid media
Pros
■ Cost-effective
■ Reach to specific audiences
■ High efficiency

Cons
■ Lower clickthrough rate
■ Difficulty to reach proper audiences
■ Turn-off ads option
 Central Recommendation
■ Glossier should invest into developing an R&D organization

■ Allows Glossier to become the first-mover

■ Solidifies the image of an industry leader

■ Furthering product lines successfully is the “money-maker”

Maybe we should?