Case Study: Warby Parker

Warby Parker is a prescription eyeglasses and sunglasses service that was launched in 2015 by four classmates who wanted to change how expensive and complicated the process it was to get new glasses. Their business model is unique as it starts from their own in-house designs and is distributed online directly to customers which drastically lowers the prices of the glasses. To date, Warby Parker has shipped more than 500,000 pairs of glasses in and employs over 100 people.

Through Warby Parker’s growth and success, social media has been one of their best friends in this process. Social media has given them the chance to communicate consistently and effectively with any and all customer concerns. One of these major concerns is that most people feel like purchasing something important to their vision such as eyeglasses must be done in person. This is because they are able to try them on in person and see how they feel and look. This concern gave them the opportunity to launch a new campaign called the “Home Try-On Campaign.” This campaign allows customers to order five pairs of glasses online to try on for free! The customer can then choose the pair that best suits them and return the remaining pairs, only paying for the pair they keep. Social media became a big part of this campaign as they had customers share pictures of the eyeglasses they ended up choosing which helped create a trust in their products among consumers since they are seeing others enjoying their experience with Warby Parker.

Warby Parker has also used their marketing on social media for good. They teamed up with the company VisionSpring to provide a pair of eyeglasses for a person in need for every pair of eyeglasses they sell. This has amounted to 500,000 pairs of glasses to date. Something like this makes me, and other customers, feel good about purchasing a product from their company. It feels good to purchase something from a company who is putting it towards a good cause because you know you are giving your service to a socially responsible company and doing your own part in helping out a meaningful cause.

A specific way that Warby Parker’s social media marketing strategy can help reduce dissonance for consumers is through their informative YouTube videos. These videos have addressed how they create their glasses and numerous feedback/review videos from customers on the pair of glasses they chose. By showcasing their own customer experiences to other potential customers who may be planning on switching over, Warby Parker is building a trust with these potential customers before they even make a purchase since they are seeing it from a real consumer.

On the topic of YouTube, this made think of another avenue that Warby Parker could utilize on this platform. Many of the most popular content creators on YouTube have companies sponsor them and in return they advertise that company and promote their products. When you watch these content creators on a daily basis and follow them on various social media platforms, you build a sort of relationship with them and would trust them when they would tell you to go out and purchase a certain product. This could be huge for Warby Parker to team up with a popular “YouTuber” because it will likely increase their customer base and therefore profits.

References

Mahoney, L. M., Tang, T. (2016). Strategic Social Media: From Marketing to Social Change, 1st Edition. [Vitalsource]. Retrieved from https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781118556900/