The Fakery
While on a walk on Newbury Street, your eyes cannot help but be attracted to the loud and excited line of people wrapped around the street corner near a shop. In a fit of curiosity, you enter what looks and smells like a bakery. Weirdly enough, though, everyone is leaving with everything but baked goods. Some leave with t-shirts, others with cards, and some even with dog poop bags. Little did you know, the fake bakery you entered was one of most successful businesses in the merchandise space and a champion of customer loyalty and avocation.
Johnny Cupcakes
Led by Johnny “Cupcakes” Earle, the retail merchandise company, Johnny Cupcakes, has created a cult-like following with almost nothing in terms of resources and capital. The following lines will describe some of the strategies that can be utilized to produce the same outcome.
Mastering the Customer Experience
First and foremost, Johnny has expressed the ability to create and market a customer experience unlike any other. On the website, Johnny has created an interactive and unique experience that perfectly matches that of the in-person shops. Speaking of them, Johnny has truly outdone the competition here. On his instagram, he showcases videos of the shop and the buying experience—both being fun and unforgettable. Creating the videos and marketing them to the audience creates a desire to attend, puts a spotlight on such an experience, and works as a medium for advocates to showcase his work to others. And these acts are worth the effort, as the Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services points out that there is a 91% correlation between customer experience, loyalty, and wallet spend.
The unique buying experience
Scarcity
In the world of business, nothing creates a crowd like a sense of scarcity. More specifically, research in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science shows that demand-driven and supply-driven scarcity works best for customer engagement. Luckily, Johnny has mastered this art. On his website and social media, Johnny advertises very limited runs of his best prints. In doing so, he gets his customers to follow all of his social media, sign up for the newsletter, turn on post notifications, and post about the recent drops/success stories of those who managed to get their hands on the limited edition shirt and package. As a result, he has a crowd of people always advocating for his business by creating a sense of exclusivity and collectability to his products.
Example of limited merchandise drop
Something for Everyone
At Johnny Cupcakes, there is an expectation that he has provided a print or product for everyone. And this “net” of taste surely brings new business, and everyone loves to advocate for businesses that commit to such an act. However, the true point is with the use of Johnny’s platform to use his voice. Johnny makes it known that he advocates for inclusion, and he has actually gone as far as creating a pop-up on his online shop and certain parts of his social media that states “I cannot accept your money” if they do not support the same goal. Every company should look to create their voice, it will bring them more FREE goodwill than anything else.
Johnny’s Message
In Summary
Johnny “Cupcakes” Earle and his business are perfect examples of customer advocacy and how it can work on a grand scale. Internalize these tactics, and you too can great the same outcome, with little-to-no resources and organic traffic.
Jeremy LaValley 