While a very real glass ceiling might be under assault in the political field, online-only brands that eschewed traditional methods of starting up are seeing themselves approach a limiting barrier of their own kind. Rather than be held back, though, more than a few brands are proving strong enough to break through.
The New York Times published a short takedown of several online-only brands that have matured alongside a market that’s grown a greater capacity to house and support these very businesses. In particular, the NYT focused on companies like mattress seller Casper and now-Unilever-product Dollar Shave Club as prime examples of brands that used the internet to quickly grow themselves while not losing sight of the customer on the ground.
“We think it’s a unique moment in history where you can create brands that can be scaled quickly thanks to technology, but you can still maintain a one-to-one connection that delivers an elevated level of customer experience,” Philip Krim, CEO of Casper, told the NYT.
For some online brands, the benefit gained over their traditional competitors comes from the way they market themselves to targeted shoppers. Without the need for bloated TV advertising budgets, prices can be kept more competitive and resources spent instead on customer service training and coverage.
“Look at Dollar Shave [Club],” Andrew Bosworth, vice president of ads and business platform at Facebook, told the NYT. “They were just trying to reach men. If they’d started advertising on TV, they definitely would have wasted half their money.”
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