Case Study: Bonobos

Posted: September 24th, 2009 | Filed under: awesome, social media | Tags: awesome example, Bonobos, clothing, social media, web company |

Bonobos is a web-only clothing company with no stores, no fitting rooms, and until recently, no physical interaction with the customer. While it is a relatively young company (nearly two year-old), Bonobos got it mostly right when it comes to using social media. I heard about Bonobos from an article on clickz and got intrigued. Here is Bonobos’s social media approach:

Twitter
- launched a Tweet4Trunks promotion. For the promo, Bonobos had a daily giveaway (a pair of swimming trunks to one person) as prize, and people can enter the giveaway by replying to questions Bonobos ask on Twitter regarding its products and relevant topics.

Results:
- 300% Increase of Twitter followers
- Increased traffic to Bonobos’ blog which listed additional daily promotions (which cleverly were offers of free goodies for new customer referrals)

Facebook
- created Facebook ads and targeted them to relevant regions, age groups, college backgrounds etc. Specifically, launched a pair of pants with Chicago Cubs theme/color and targeted it to Cubs fans. As a result, sold 100 pairs and sold out within a month
- announced new products on Facebook page that leads back to Bonobos site product page
- highlighted different customers and tell stories on how Bonobos pants make them look good
- shared fashion tips
- lots of engagement and call to actions (most drive traffic back to Bonobos site)

Results:
- Increased product sales through Facebook ads
- Increased overall traffic to Bonobos site
- Engagement with customers on Facebook

Blog
- contents on relevant topics ranging from fashion interviews, product highlights to business strategy philosophizing
- videos by Bonobos team for the personal touch
- communicate with customers on the usability of its website and new customer service (field ninjas)
- request participation on survey
- announce their referral program to help spread the word on the Bonobos products (via referral page on Bonobos site or individual’s blog/facebook/twitter account with custom public code)

Overall results:
- Revenue of $1.6 million in its first year
- Loyal and repeat customers (repeat purchase rate at 46%)

Bonobos focused its social media efforts on listening more than selling; which is really key for brands investing efforts in social media. And as a true sign of a transparent company, CEO Andy Dunn video-blogged about a campaign gone wrong and what Bonobos learned from that experience. If the Bonobos team keep up these excellent efforts, no doubt they’ll reach their goal of changing the way men purchase pants.