Haven Mid Lace Waterproof
Source: Haven Mid Lace Waterproof
I spend most of my time on this site introducing discussions without solutions. This is because in most instances I may be looking to work with a particular brand or retail outlet. In consulting to acquire customers the goal is to grab attention early, keep the attention and place the prospect in the position of wanting to hear more. If you’ve taken any marketing or retail courses you’ve heard something like this before. It’s a common topic in merchandising and in marketing. For many companies it’s the process of model analysis. Companies have to find what works and place more energy into that segment. The problem eventually becomes how do you grow into other segments? I found this to be an issue as a small footwear company. With ARCH I made so many mistakes I wrote about them in books and on this site. I typically designed and made products and then tried to find a market. The problem was I didn’t even exist. No one knew what ARCH the footwear company was. I wasn’t even inside of an echo chamber.
What exactly is an echo chamber? In politics it’s when likeminded people only listen to each other. In footwear sneaker culture is often considered an echo chamber, but that definition should no longer apply as sneaker culture is mainstream. Merrell is a company that lives inside of an echo chamber. The company is known to outdoor enthusiasts. There isn’t anything wrong with that. The problem is an echo chamber in retail does not have a trajectory. It stays flat. The quality and comfort of the brand is a realization to its current customers, but that same quality and comfort limits the amount of footwear purchased. If you buy a boot made from great materials, you don’t have to buy as often. That’s good for the environment and contributes to responsible production methods. That’s all a good thing for a brand to tout. The problem is that echo chamber keeps the positive words trapped inside. What happens if the echo escapes and others hear it?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQleQThXcgo
This is the issue for smaller brands and companies that operate inside of niche areas. When a company is in an echo chamber if there is a hiccup at any point and the sound stops, a flat line does have a trajectory. It trends down. Companies need growth as the health of a brand depends on the acquisition of a new consumer base, or a company has to create products which will inspire current customers to possibly buy new products. There is difficulty in this. Current customers tend to have buying patterns and a new product may not move them through the funnel. Especially if that new product isn’t made only for the niche.
As I stated earlier, I typically create the discussion as opposed to delivering solutions. In this post I’m utilizing my own buying experience to answer the question posed: How Does a Transition from Performance to Casual Happen Inside of an Echo Chamber?
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Why am I placing an article on Nike and Kyrie in a post about Merrell? When I wrote this in 2017 it was the first time I placed in an article my concept E.N.D.E.A.R.S. When I shut down ARCH in 2016 it was the culmination of 12 years of learning the footwear industry without a guide and without any financial assistance. I hadn’t learned everything, but I realized that I spent all of those years chasing an easier dollar and never building my own platform.
What is an easy dollar? For me it meant Amazon and Kickstarter. A look back through the reports on ARCH (the footwear company, not the e-commerce) shows report after report on marketing via Amazon Ads and Facebook Ads. I could go into detail, but to make it short, I don’t own Amazon or Facebook, lol. If you don’t get that ask me about it. For Merrell this means that the company owns outdoor, relatively speaking. It’s a constant battle with Patagonia, KEEN and The North Face, but they understand that segment. In order to grow, the company has to continue to create advertisements and marketing true to their values.
To grow, they have to E.N.D.E.A.R.S.
(I’m sure you’re like, about time you answer what has to be done.)
Outdoor doesn’t have to mean mountains. A walk around your neighborhood is a hike. My 12 year old daughter took a quick pic of my wife wearing the Merrell Haven Mid. They were taking a walk in our suburb. This pic verifies to me that Merrell is capable of existing beyond the trail as a performance casual option. Black shoes are notoriously difficult to shoot because they lack color, but the texture of this boot is enhanced by the woodgrain heel counter and tweed. That’s basically copy for this picture, but it isn’t the answer.
My wife had never heard of the brand. I bought the shoes she’s wearing in this picture. Was there ever any opportunity for my wife to discover Merrell?Not really. Although my wife is constantly looking for options for the family to hang out together, I have never asked her if she searched for hiking in Memphis or hiking in general. When we lived in San Diego we would hike. San Diego has amazing trails. When we moved to Memphis, we moved to the suburbs. Suburban living is sedentary. My wife discovered some great nature options in Memphis, but I asked her to search the word hiking.
(I’m getting to the answer.)
You know who controls the search for hiking? REI, Hiking Guy, and other blogs. Retail outlets and bloggers control the search for hiking. In the sneaker world there is a similar issue as sneaker blogs control the search. How did Nike move to the highest share value they’ve ever had? Direct to consumer. Their strategy leans heavily on content and a digital eco-system that keeps their customer engaged and informed. There is no such thing as redundancy in content. There is only the first page and then the others. What does this mean? When people search and discover they typically browse the first page of search results. How does a company get discovered? Develop content that will index and rank.
The Answer (You could’ve skipped to this point, lol).
One of the biggest mistakes I made with ARCH was making too much money on the e-commerce side selling other brands through Amazon. Amazon created a false security as I was generating half a million a year initially until I wasn’t making half a million. The sad part about going broke after earning over 2 million dollars is that I had written a how to on building your business. I didn’t follow my own advice.
In 2011 I wrote a manifesto explaining the need to build your own platform. It became the foundation of my first business book. I delivered 25 Key Points. In those keys I stated that the blog was the foundation. The reason this is important is because the blog can be indexed (please ask questions if you don’t understand this). Merrell has a blog and it is indexed, but it can’t be searched inside of their own delivery system. The lack of search is a serious issue that is made even more problematic by the blog design which mimics the website layout with tiny print and is difficult to read. The internal search is a big issue and the lack of integration into the homepage is also an issue.
1 article can repair Merrell’s search: From Couch to Hiking. It’s a play on the classic From Couch to 5K. Merrell has to establish itself as the go to for information on both traditional hiking and city hiking. If my wife takes a walk around the block for fitness when she searches for hiking in Memphis, Merrell should have a list that ranks high in search. Couch to Hiking is a solid SEO topic. Another potential topic isn’t a topic, it’s a strategy. One of my students taught me an important lesson this last semester, one that I understood, but had forgotten when it comes to SEO, lists rule. One person at Merrell should spend time each week creating lists. Top Hiking Trails, Top Restaurants on City Hikes… the list goes on and on. The brand has to begin reclaiming search from retail and bloggers.
I know that I basically wrote myself out of a potential consultation with this post, but it’s really important for me to offer solutions for those who read the blog. Sometimes it’s not about getting a company to extend you a paid consultation. Sometimes it’s about showing a depth of knowledge and getting another company to say, let’s bring that person in for a day or two. You have to give, not expecting to receive anything at all. Tis the season. I hope this helped someone.
Merry Christmas
I’ll be dropping a few posts between now and New Years, but I have a ton of work to do and I wanted my last potential post for the year to be a good one. 😉