Bombas is a sock and apparel brand focused on comfort that helps those experiencing homelessness by donating a pair of socks for each purchased.
I recently ordered a pair of socks from Bombas socks for my friend’s birthday. I made the mistake of ordering on my phone and using Apple Pay, which automatically filled out my address and sent the order through. There was no button to cancel my order so I immediately emailed their customer service and told them I made this mistake and needed to cancel the order and then ordered a pair to the correct address for my friend using a 20% off your first order code (Score!).
It was around 11 p.m. when I ordered them, so I didn’t get a response immediately. The next morning I got an email back from customer service explaining that they couldn’t cancel the order but they would refund me. So, my friend got her present and I got a free pair of socks.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
I had heard about this brand very briefly a few years ago on a podcast. They marketed themselves as “the most important sock in the world.” Below are a few factors that contribute to the consumer's first impression of the company and the impact that impression can have.
A BETTER SECOND IMPRESSION
Bombas only got better. The customer service was great. Even though they couldn’t cancel the order, they still refunded me and STILL DONATED SOCKS. That sent a signal to me that they really do care about the mission more than their profit and that is important to me as a consumer.
When I received the socks, the packaging was fun and the experience opening it was exciting. I could track the shipment on their site to see where it was. It was very convenient and as a consumer I liked the convenience and ease of the experience buying from Bombas.
A CLEAR MISSION
Bombas's mission is clear and consistent through all their marketing.
Value Proposition: Bombas is a sock and apparel brand focused on comfort that helps those experiencing homelessness by donating a pair of socks for each purchased.
They are walking the walk. They have a counter (see below) on how many pairs have been donated and my experience with their customer service refunding me for an accidental order and still donated socks really shows me that they care about this cause.
SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE
Social Media played little to no role for these sock, which I found odd. I heard one ad a couple of years ago on a podcast and didn’t buy from them. The ad, however, did plant a seed in my mind and influenced the attitude I initially felt toward the brand in a positive way. I decided to purchase from them off a friend’s recommendation.
Word of mouth is possibly the most effective form of advertising.
REMARKABLE MARKETING
This product was built to be marketed. They started off by making a great product: comfy, sturdy, and reliable; applied their mission to it: helping people affected by homelessness; and then all of their marketing grew from that core part of their brand. They didn’t have to do a lot in terms of marketing, the socks could market themselves if they needed to.
DO NOT MAKE A PRODUCT FOR EVERYONE
It’s interesting. In most cased I would agree with Godin when he says “Don’t make a product for everyone”, but Bombas has taken a thing that everyone needs, socks, and made it altruistic to buy them. I could see how the price tag ($12/pair) may discourage some from buying, but overall, I don’t see how they are marketing to any one niche group of people. They have hundreds of styles for men, women, and kids and everyone needs socks. Perhaps they are marketing to millennials and under because they are most likely to respond to cause marketing?
ENVIRONMENTAL FORCES
COMPETITORS
MARKETING RECOMMENDATIONS
Short Term
1. Advertising a site-wide sale to bring in new potential customers (a-la baker story) Maybe buy one get one free or get on pair half off or something like that.
2. Get your customers permission to contact them with content marketing and email offers by offering another 20% discount. Use this to keep customers engaged and remind them who you are.
3. Add a button on first time purchases that asks, “How did you hear about us?” Important thing skipped
4. Narrow your target market to a smaller group of people so you can focus your marketing on them.
Long Term
1. Begin to advertise on different platforms other than podcast and track and measure their effectiveness so you can increase you number of customers and lower your acquisition costs.
2. Keep up your Instagram and social media posts. People like to engage with brands, especially ones with a cause.
3. Start content marketing. Start a blog about our impact on the homeless community. How are you helping and why should I (the consumer) help you. Allow others to engage in the story and see the impact of their purchase and make them want to buy from you again.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Overall, I think Bombas is on point with their marketing strategy. They created such a great product with an amazing, philanthropic purpose behind it, it basically markets itself. If they tried more forms of marketing themselves other than by word of mouth, they could grow even more exponentially than they already have.