Lots of interesting tidbits found here. :) As for the marketing section... So there is definitely a science to which customers get free shipping for logging into their accounts, get free shipping codes in their catalog, etc. However, I still do not understand that science. If only we could crack that magic formula! ;)Design and Merchandising
We believe one of our key strengths is our internal design team, which designs products that reinforce our brand image. Our products are designed to reflect a clean and fashionable aesthetic that incorporates high quality fabrics and construction as well as comfortable, consistent fits and detailing.
Our products are developed in four seasonal collections and are subdivided for monthly product introductions in our monthly catalog mailings and in our retail stores. The design process begins with our designers developing seasonal collections eight to twelve months in advance. Our designers regularly travel domestically and internationally to develop color and design ideas. Once the design team has developed a season’s color palette and design concepts, they order a sample assortment in order to evaluate the details of the assortment, such as how color takes to a particular fabric.
From the sample assortment, our merchandising team selects which items to market in each of our sales channels and edits the assortment as necessary to increase its commerciality. Our teams communicate regularly and work closely with each other in order to leverage market data, ensure the quality of our products and remain true to a unified brand image. Our technical design teams develop construction and fit specifications for every product, ensuring quality workmanship and consistency across product lines. Because our product offerings originate from a single concept assortment, we believe that we are able to efficiently offer an assortment of styles within each season’s line while still maintaining a unified brand image. As a final step that is intended to ensure image consistency, our senior management reviews all of our products from all of our sales channels before they are manufactured. We believe we further maintain our brand image by exercising substantial control over the presentation and pricing of our merchandise by selling all our products ourselves in North America.
Pricing
We offer our customers a mix of select designer-quality products and more casual items at various price points, consistent with our signature styling strategy of pairing luxury items with more casual items. We have introduced limited edition “collection” items such as hand-beaded skirts, which we believe elevates the overall perception of our brand. We believe offering a broad range of price points maintains a more accessible, less intimidating atmosphere.
Marketing and Advertising
The J.Crew catalog is the primary branding and advertising vehicle for the J.Crew brand. We believe our catalog reinforces the J.Crew mission and image as well as drives sales in all of our channels. Our direct sales channels enable us to maintain a database of customer sales patterns and we are thus able to target segments of our customer base with specific marketing. Depending on their spending habits, we send certain customers special catalog editions and/or emails.
What are your thoughts on the paragraphs above?
This article accurately identified what keeps me as a catalog customer coming back to jcrew.com year after year, notwithstanding the recent downturn in my purchases due to concerns about quality, sizing consistency, and accurate catalog depictions: I really appreciate the overall coherence of each season's palette and concept. At least until recently, J.Crew met all of my clothing and accessories needs, from bikinis to business suits, and that that's something no other single retailer offers me.
ReplyDeleteNow, if they would only offer some of those marketing and advertising benefits to cardholders as promised . . .
Consistency about sizing, pricing and quality?? someone is not doing their job at J Crew.
ReplyDeleteLike Hexicon until recently JC met most of my clothing needs, now other retailers are filling in the void, and my ordering is almost nonexistent now, mainly due to quality and sizing issues.
I agree with Hexicon and casual-crew. My spending has significantly decreased at JCrew. I still buy as much as before but return LARGE quantities of what I buy online whereas before I did not in years past. Talbots has been getting a lot of my business as well as other retailers. I used to be a HUGE LE fan but got several pieces with defects recently and now have decided that company too is failing me:(
ReplyDeleteI think it's a load of bull that they collect customer data and use it for anything. Sorry, but I do.
ReplyDeleteAs I've mentioned before, this is one of my areas of expertise in the work I do every day, and I have never, ever seen a company fail to use its data in such a spectacular way. Yes, the company is doing well. But it would be making money absoltely hand over fist if the data being collected were being properly analyzed and used to target customers more effectively. I spend an absolute MINT on JC merchandise every year, certainly as much or more than folks who pay FP for a few pieces each season, and yet I receive NOTHING for my loyalty and patronage. This makes me very angry. It's so very ill-advised to 'treat' loyal customers this way, and I'm appalled that JC can't see that. No, it doesn't stop me from buying the merchandise, but I really wish it did.
So don't lie to me, Mickey. And if you're telling the truth, your ERP is crap, and you need a better solution to make sense of all the data we're feeding you with our purchases, returns and online activity. Not just for marketing, but for size and pack optimization too, and of course markdown optimization. So you can stop filling the racks with stuff that isn't selling and move stuff out at a decent margin before it starts tanking -- right down to the individual store level.
*growls; steps off soapbox*
Elaine,
ReplyDeleteLove ya:) Great post. We all need to say our part!
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ReplyDeleteInteresting bits along with plenty of fluff. Using the word "clean" to describe their aesthetic is particularly meaninglessless and annoying.
ReplyDeleteI know they track our spending b/c my ps was able to tell me how much I spent last year. He was given the info and is hoping that I will receive a gift when they send them out. I was shocked to hear how much I spent (!!) and even more shocked to know that he knew. So, someone is tracking our spending, although I don't know what they do with it other than to tell our ps's.
ReplyDeletemath teacher,
ReplyDeleteInteresting info. Not surprised I guess but a strange feeling to know they are tracking....
Yes they do track our spending, CS was trying to sell me on the idea to get a PS to handle my orders and returns, and they knew exactly how much I spent per month.
ReplyDeleteI've also been told by CS that I buy "a lot" and I believe the information is on your account for anyone with customer account access to see.
ReplyDeleteI receive the promos, emails and gifts with the exception of catalog coupons and I'm not a cardholder. My husband buys much less on his own account and has received the catalog coupons but nothing else. I live in Canada now so I only buy in-store when I'm stateside, which is not very often. I'm certain I get the extras because of the amount I spend and the volume that is purchased at full price.
Reading this article I do not see a mention of benefits to cardholders, only targeting customers based on sales patterns. They do advertise some benefits to cardholders so certainly should deliver on that.
Echoing comments re: quality controls. Sizing, pricing and workmanship is inconsistent at best. And "clean" styling? Guess if you are comparing their styling to runway/couture stuff.
ReplyDeleteI'm not surprised that JC tracks our spending patterns. Guessing that's why I'd not be on their preferred customer list, as I only shop the sale section, plus % off and free ship.
I'd buy more if they always offer free ship with a reasonable minimum (say $100) and list items at reasonable price points. Why roll out items 30-40% above what people would pay for, when EVERYONE knows there will be a mark down at some point?
you can be sure they are tracking all sorts of info. They don't see the total amount I spend as my in-shop purchases do not register to my online account because I do not have the credit card.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that their consistency in doling out the perks is inconsistent but probably also based on research and spreadsheet numbers. I am sure they don't give me perks because it's obvious I am a sucker and will purchase without them--I am clearly smitten!
gem twin, I don't have a JC credit card either. I think they can track in-store purchases if you use any cc.
ReplyDeleteI don't think anyone should be surprised or alarmed by JCrew tracking our spending. They also should be able to track in-store purchases with MC/Visa-anytime you are asked for your zip or phone number-ostensibly it's for security, but retailers use it to update their customer base constantly and it's been going on a long time. It may seem kind of "big brother-ish" to some, but what it should do is enable the company to provide customized service(s) for its loyal patrons, that is if the information is used advantageously for both parties.
ReplyDeleteI used to work (taking catalog phone orders) at a small shoe direct manufacturing company in the midwest in 1994, and even back then we had a catalog that went by one name for certain customers. We had another catalog by a completely different name with THE EXACT same merchandise at higher price points for more affluent customers. We would answer the phone accordingly, based on a numerical code that came in with the call. Remember those "key codes" on catalogs? That was the old way of tracking. Now it's credit cards and email addresses.
ReplyDeleteI believe that most companies use an RFM model to segment their customers where Recency of purchase, Frequency of purchases and Monetary i.e. how much money was spent categorises how "good" of a customer you are. They likely pull lists based on any number of those factors. I'm sure they overlay other demographic and purchase history info to determine what promotion we get.
ReplyDeleteI'm neither surprised nor alarmed at anyone tracking my spending -- I expect it, but I also expect that the info being gathered will be used in a way that ultimately benefits me as a consumer! That's the new way of retail, and it's the new expectation from shoppers, created over the past several years as e-marketing and e-commerce have evolved so quickly.
ReplyDeleteI just think J Crew does an exceptionally poor job of using the info it collects to benefit loyal shoppers in any way. There are ways to take care of loyal customers that don't degrade the hoity-toity image they've cultivated over the past few years. They pay their marketing people a fortune, I'm sure, and if I were the CEO, this would be an area I'd want to see explored ASAP.
And as an aside, some of us do actually make cash purchases now and then, and there appears to be zero ways to add those purchases to your customer history.
I know what I spend each month and each year at J Crew, and I'm quite certain that compared to the general population, it's completely astronomical. I don't like to think about it, but it is what it is.
To not ever have been extended even one dinky offer, such as a free ship code with no minumum, really and truly makes me mad. MAD. I remain convinced that while they may be collecting data, whatever they're using to analyze it is absolute garbage, and I refuse to believe it's driving targeted communications and offers to different customer segments.
On the flip side, I'm constantly bombarded with offers from Banana Republic and all its various affiliates. Free shipping for BR Luxe customers on ALL orders -- and on ALL the affiliate sites! -- is something that makes me feel valued as a customer. Same with the 'make your own sale' coupons and the reward certificates that come in the mail, as well as double and triple points opportunities. Those minor things make me feel my loyalty is rewarded, and they keep me coming back to buy more.
I don't think it's too much to ask to expect similar treatment from a retailer that gets 95% of my fashion spend annually. Does it really matter whether I buy 15 full-price items each year or 150 sale items each year if the net profit is the same in both cases? I would argue no. One could market to these different groups in different ways, sure, but I'm not convinced that's happening right now.
I'm not a JC cardholder currently, as the word from several JCAs is that the fringe benefits are fair to middling, so why would I bother?
Sorry for the long rant. I just feel very passionately about this issue, and I'm exceptionally disappointed that J Crew continues to fail its most loyal customers. If I was a stronger person, I wouldn't buy from them anymore. But I'm weak. Arrggghh.
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ReplyDeleteI haven't seen it mentioned. If you do give them your e-mail address during checkout, they tie any cash purchase to your e-mail identity. If it's the same as your jcrewaff.com' account, I guess that identifies you.
ReplyDeleteWell said Elaine! I too am a Luxe cardholder and get constantly bombarded with discounts. It kind of bothers me, honestly, that they can offer me discounts so readily, it makes me never want to buy anything at full price because the mark-up must be insane. I would almost go so far as to say that it devalues the brand in my eyes.
ReplyDeleteThat said, free shipping is a huge bonus and does make me feel valued as a customer. I do hope that J Crew is taking a long, hard look at their loyalty program. I'm ok with them not offering as many coupons as BR however to me free shipping says "while we can't offer you the discounts you'd get elsewhere here's what we can give you." Or at least flat rate shipping! It blows my mind that shipping increases the more you buy, it's like discouraging you to buy more! Why would I throw in some other items I think I might like (but might return) if my shipping increases. Insanity I tell you!
I've stopped buying jcrew pants because of the quality. The ones you can wash don't hold up to washing or ironing well, and the dry cleaning ones don't seem to be worth the money. I like some of their sequined tanks, but the starland tanks, for example, have unfinished hems and are like the reverse mullets of shirts: sequined in the front, plain in the back. I haven't really been wowed by jcrew in awhile. There might be one thing per season which is a must-have for me, and everything else I can take or leave.
ReplyDeleteI work in marketing and customer relations for a specialty women's boutique, and it's really interesting to me that even with all the data that JCrew collects (and supposedly analyzes) about spending habits/patterns among its customers, so many long-time loyal customers feel their needs and wants are being ignored.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how closely blogs like this are monitored and/or factored in to that data and analysis -- I've heard so many people (self included!) say "I'm angry with JCrew, I keep spending all this money with them, but never get rewarded for my loyalty." If Mickey & Co. are only looking at numbers, then all they see is that we're still uber-loyal. I mean, why waste your marketing budget on people who are a)already brand-loyal and b)have a track record of spending a lot of $ even when they don't get special deals?
Better to put that money towards relatively new customers or those customers who *were* loyal but haven't purchased in several months/years/etc. (to lure them back).
Anyway, all this is obviously just my idle speculation ... for all I know, they just put up a customer-map on a dartboard and take blind aim when they choose who gets the special deals and promotions!
I have to chime in, you are all saying the things I have thought for so long. I spend SO MUCH yet get very little reward on the JCREW card or otherwise in terms of perks like free ship, special discounts, etc.
ReplyDeleteEvery time I call I get fair service at best. When I tried to work with a VPS I got extremely slow service or no service and it was better to order on my own.
OT I did get another email today asking for more thoughts on reviewing two other items: mens stripe board shorts and crewcuts boys color block tee.