IDENTIFY
Core Values:
WHY - Dumbgood captures the essence of pop culture in unique and exciting products, that link our customers to their favorite brands old and new.
HOW - Create fun exciting products that are unique, aspirational, fun to wear and capture the spirit of the license we design into.
WHAT - Licensed apparel, accessories and gifts, generate a fashion pop culture lifestyle following.
Personas:
BRAND BASIC DEMOGRAPHICS:
91% customers are US based
50.69% men
49.31% women
Age 18-24 largest age group
Age 25-34 second largest age group
PERSONA 1:
Chris Miller - MALE, 29yrs old, Web Developer, NY
ORIGINAL, UNIQUE, SOCIAL, ENTHUSIAST, COOL
“Why are you wearing that stupid man suit?” ~ Frank (Donnie Darko)
ABOUT:
Chris is a web designer working for a boutique ad agency in NY. Chris loves the creative side of his work and enjoys seeing his work brought to life in the websites he helps design. He is not in a senior level position but hopes to move into a Senior Web Design / UX design position in the next few years. He draws inspiration from pop culture in his designs and his daily life and is an avid consumer of broadcast media. Chris does enjoy pop culture and sharing his opinions about it with his friends in person and online, but struggles to find ways to represent his fandom in daily life that doesn’t look cheap or juvenile. Chris is always looking for a way to represent his affinity through unique and cool products but struggles to find things that are not mass produced. Chris wants his peers to covet his taste in clothing and is always looking for items that can be hard to get and are semi exclusive.
GOALS:
Being cool among peers real/virtual
Representing brand interests through unique clothing / accessories
Collecting coveted limited items
Being in touch with trends
PAINS:
Finding brand wear that has cool factor
Having a retailer that makes branded clothing that is age appropriate
Wearing the same thing as everyone else
Find items that represent his favorite brands in a unique way
FACTS:
Loves technology and tries to stay current on the most up to date tech.
Loves to collect sneakers and likes exclusivity in clothing and accessories
Follows current pop culture but is also aware of things he thinks were cool from his childhood
Goes to festivals and shows to show off his taste in clothing and music
Posts on social media to gain validation on his affinities
BRANDS:
Apple, New Balance, Supreme, Carhartt WIP, Pleasures, Stussy, Medicom, Patagonia, Nike
USER STORIES:
As Chris I want tee shirt designs that are adult but also fun and limited.
As Chris I want to rep my favorite movie like I would rep my favorite sports team.
As Chris I want cool licensed merch that goes well with my other basic’s like jeans and shirt jacket.
PERSONA 2:
Allison Walker - FEMALE, 23yrs old, College, CA
INDIVIDUAL, ORIGINAL, SOCIAL, NERDY, COOL, CASUAL
“Dude, I never went to college and check me out. I'm kick ass!” ~ Lance (Orange County)
ABOUT:
Allison is a college student in her final year of a 4 year degree majoring in social services. Allison lives in San Diego CA and currently works retail to pay her bills while she finishes up school. Allison loves helping people and volunteers frequently with Big Brothers and Big Sisters where she feels like she can really help underprivileged girls. Allison hopes that once she finishes her degree she can gain full time employment with a hospital or possibly a health group where she can gain real world experience in her field and possibly continue her education towards a masters degree. In Allison’s spare time she enjoys music, movies, working out, fashion and trying new food. Music and movies are especially important to Allison as they provide an uplifting escape from what can sometimes be a very stressful job/field of study. She seeks out media that can be uplifting or bring back good memories of her teen years. Allison does keep up with trends but doesn’t always feel like she has to be wearing the most on trend items to be happy. When Allison wears licensed clothing it usually represents an affinity for a brand, movie or TV show from her teen years and she likes them to be conversation starters with people she interacts with. If she is wearing a licensed piece of clothing you can guarantee that she is a big fan and loves to talk about it.
GOALS:
Meeting people with similar interests as her
Representing brand interests that spark some nostalgia and make her feel happy
Dressing cool but keeping it light and fun
Being an expert in her interests
PAINS:
Finding brand wear that isn’t too slutty or weird
Having a retailer that makes branded clothing that is age appropriate
Finding licensed clothing in things she is interested in that aren’t for men
Being nerdy and cool at the same time
FACTS:
Loves meeting new people with different points of view.
Likes when someone compliments her clothing in an “insider” way.
Follows current pop culture but is also aware of things she thinks were cool from her childhood.
Enjoys art openings and movie screenings and small intimate live music shows.
Seeks out social groups with similar media interests as her.
BRANDS:
Apple, LuLu Lemon, GAP, ASOS, SHEIN, Stussy, Patagonia, Nike, H&M
USER STORIES:
As Allison I want clothing designs that spark conversation.
As Allison I want to wear clothing that makes me happy.
As Allison I want cool licensed merch that goes well with my other basic’s like baggy jeans or Patagonia shorts .
Product Use Cases:
What is the problem Dumbgood intends to solve for the customer? These are key use cases for each persona. Persona + Need + Purpose. The voice of the customer is at the center of design!
Chris:
Sees favorite movie
wants to show affinity for it
decides on clothing/acc for way to show this
searches internet for items
searches social media for peer reviews of items
formulates idea of item look they want
eliminates potential retailers based on cool/exclusivity factor
eliminates retailers based on pricing
finalizes retailer they intend to buy from based on peer reviews and product design, availability and price
purchases from retailer
posts on social media wearing item
evaluates peer response
formulates opinion on brand and decides to shop there again or not
Allison:
has conversation with friend about their favorite movie
wants to show affinity for it
decides on clothing/acc for way to show this
searches internet for items
formulates idea of item look they want
locates several retailers that carry items from this movie with this look
searches reviews of retailers online
eliminates potential retailers based on customer satisfaction reviews
eliminates retailers based on pricing
finalizes retailer they intend to buy from based on peer reviews and product design, availability and price
purchases from retailer
posts on social media wearing item
hangs with group of friends and shares her purchase experience with them
wears item and evaluates quality and value for dollar spent
formulates opinion on brand and decides to shop there again or not
Success Metrics:
PRODUCT METRICS:
Increase how often customers purchase Dumbgood products upon visiting the website.
Boost customer satisfaction with products. Do they come back for new product drops and convert on the return visit?
Larger amount of customers posting their purchases on social media. Are they telling their friends about Dumbgood?
Increase our NPS.
COMPANY METRICS:
Increase revenue.
Gain market share through gain in new customer base.
Reduce time to market.
Increase sell throughs on inventory items.
Decrease CAC, Bounce Rate
Increase AOV, Conv Rate, Repeat Customer Rate, NPS
Porter’s 5 Forces:
Threat of new Entry - high, licensors are looking to expand product offering and tap into new fans by collaborating with new and upcoming streetwear brands. They offer unique assets and more freedom to be creative to rivals, than what is given to Dumbgood. This could be directly related to competitors customer base and influence over new customers and their desire to be “first”. Dumbgood solution, better align with key licensing partners at the beginning of the development cycle to lock in key properties and potentially put an embargo on competitors ability to provide the same licenses in the same development cycles as Dumbgood. Using the Dumbgood established brand name could help to prevent new brands from making a name using the same properties to the same customer base.
Competitive rivalry - high, existing established competitors have access to the same licenses as Dumbgood and have the ability to create innovative products via global sourcing and a robust domestic supply chain. Dumbgood must deliver products first and be first to market with new licenses not yet saturated in their market. Dumbgood solutions, partner with existing competitors to leverage and share customer base, generate sales, garner more social media buzz and provide credibility to both brands. Dumbgood can also set itself apart by being sharper with product delivery times and bringing more innovative products to market, being first is very important to the Dumbgood customers and they share customers with their competition.
Threat of substitution - high, dumbgood customers are fickle and will move to competitors for better pricing, better quality or more unique product offering. Customers also do not want to be perceived as wearing a brand that is available at mass retailers and is perceived as being a “sale” brand or lower priced fast fashion. Dumbgood solutions, Dumbgood must constantly be looking at competitor pricing and comparing our product prices and assortment to these competitors. Analyzing the AOV over the past years should give insight into how the customer buying habits have changed for the brand. Dumbgood also should be looking at sale events and comparing the rate of sale promotions to its competition. The brand cannot afford to be perceived as a “sale” brand where the customer is being undercut by the retailer and making them feel like they are going to lose money by not waiting for a sale. Cusomters won’t buy full priced items from Dumbgood which will have a negative effect on AOV, CAC and return customer rates.
Buyer Power - high, the Dumbgood customer is the most important part of the business, if they are not happy the brand does not hit key success metrics. They have leverage over the brand with their voice on social media and will move to a competitor if they feel they get better value from the competitor. Dumbgood solutions, provide a diverse unique license assortment that appeals to a broad range of fans across all types of interests. This is the Dumbgood competitive advantage, having access to this broad range of brands to design into. Dumbgood must be “first to market” with the brands and provide intriguing, on trend product assortments. Pricing plays an important part in our customer role, but is less important than the customer feeling like they are getting a unique product with a point of view that aligns with their core values.
Supplier power - high, Dumbgood over seas suppliers are the life blood of the brand, and have major leverage over the brand. Their ability to produce low MOQ items at a reasonable price is critical to the brand success. If the suppliers do not maintain pricing and on time deliveries they can ruin customer confidence and damage key success metrics such as CAC and return customer rate. Dumbgood solutions To fix this Dumbgood should diversify its over seas supplier list and also seek alternatives at a domestic level. Doing this will help reduce delays in deliveries and help Dumbgood hit key dates for trend and licensor partnerships.
Customer Development:
What is our hypothesis?
Which customers are we designing for?
What pain points do we plan to see?
What goals do we plan to achieve?
Here Dumbgood would need a customer experience panel, this could take the form of a Dumbgood run blog or reddit where we share ideas on pop culture and opinions on pop culture and where the customers interact with each other and Dumbgood. This is where we can connect with our most enthusiastic, passionate customers and learn what they honestly think of licensed product and what they are willing to buy and wear in their daily lives. Dumbgood would need to formulate questions to spur conversation and validate or invalidate our hypothesis around new products and licenses.
This should be handled by an experienced CX person or someone with experience crafting questions that evoke usable responses from our customers. Responses that are insightful, contain analogies and allow us to form a story for better product development.
The CX person should also send out a Product Market Fit Survey to find out customer loyalty and if we are providing real value to our customers, this could be added at checkout as an option for customers who have real usage of our products. This could also be a follow up email or included on the order confirmation email.
