EVERLANE ’ S ETH I CAL PRODUCTS & MARKET I NG Are Disrupting the Fashion Industry
Fast Company named Everlane one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies this year as recognition for building “the next-gen clothing brand.” In less than a decade since their 2010 founding, the company is now the envy of venture capital firms everywhere, boasting a valuation in excess of $250 million. Their success is a testament to the idea that consumers don’t have to be tricked or cajoled to buy a product. With a focus on ethics and transparency at every stage from manufacturing to marketing, Everlane has set a new model for how an apparel brand can grow and sustain success. Whether you sell clothes, dental cleanings, or legal services, you can stand to benefit from pushing your ethics to the forefront of your business. So, is there any way to avoid this dilemma? YES , there absolutely is. Moreover, the solution for a relatively risk-free review acquisition is elegant and simple: First, ask your former clients if they are satisfied with your services. If they aren’t, then don’t ask for their review. If they tell you they’re happy, that’s the green light. Now, there are a few nuances and details to doing this correctly, and I’m happy to share the whole strategy with you if you’re interested. I spell it all out in a free guide that you can give to your admins. All they have to do is follow the simple, step- by-step instructions, and you’ll have them bringing in fresh, high-quality reviews fast. We’ve tested this process with several of our private clients, and each time, it brings in 5–32 new reviews in just over a week. (Imagine what your online review count would be in a year.) If you’d like a copy at no cost to you, let me know over here: speakeasy.marketing/reviews
They want to know the factory.” To that end, Everlane carefully chooses the factories they work with and highlights them on their website. Every item they sell doesn’t just say where it was made, it also lists the factory name, which you can then read about on their website. And the company isn’t only transparent when it comes to sourcing and production; they also willingly divulge — and this may shock business owners — the cost, price, and markup on every garment. That may sound insane, but when your markup is about half that of standard apparel retailers (2–3 times versus 5–6), it’s actually a big selling point. Consumers, Everlane has found, are willing to spend extra when they know where their money is going. Of course, none of that would matter if the clothes weren’t worth buying in the first place. That means that in a competitive metro/practice area with legions of attorneys circling the same pool of clients, you can’t afford to be the attorney with the fewest reviews. What’s more, you need to keep new reviews coming in regularly. Because it’s a safe bet that’s what your competition is doing. This dynamic brings up a dilemma that many attorneys face: Attorneys need a lot of glowing reviews to stand out from all the other listings and compete for clients online. However, if you ask the wrong client for a review, it’s like kicking a hornet’s nest. If they weren’t happy with your services or harbor any resentment toward you that they never mentioned (and probably wouldn’t have mentioned if you didn’t ask), you could get stung by a negative review.
According to a Nielsen study that surveyed thousands of consumers across 60 countries, 73 percent of millennials were willing to pay more for goods made ethically and sustainably. That’s no small figure, and it helps to explain why Everlane, a clothing company founded in 2010, is making a huge splash in the fashion industry. The company follows a policy of “radical transparency” and strives to provide its customers with information that most of its competitors would rather keep hidden. “We felt that the retail industry, and brands in particular, weren’t educating consumers in the way that we felt consumers want to be educated,” says Everlane CEO Michael Preysman. “Consumers want to know where their product comes from. Consumers want to know where their clothes are made. All of those are essential elements in an overall marketing strategy, and she noticed them, but none of these elements made this particular attorney’s listing stand out above all others. Here’s what made the difference: When potentials search for attorneys online, the first thing they look for is client reviews. The more you have, the better. WHY? Because in the digital era, we all check for reviews on practically everything. Most of us are conditioned to do it now. That means potentials look to see what your former clients have to say on Yelp, Google Plus, Avvo, and your website before they decide to give you a ring. When they’re scanning the list of attorneys, the one with the most and best reviews nearly always gets the call.
...continued from page 4 WHY ASKING FOR REVIEWS IS LIKE KICKING A HORNET’S NEST
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