Grace Wells<\/a> works with brands like Huckberry, Soleil Toujours, and Fur as a creative strategist and director<\/p>\nLesson 1: Share data between your paid and organic channels.<\/h3>\n
Oil and water. Hatfields and McCoys. Paid and organic. They rarely mix, and in at least one of those cases, it\u2019s to everybody\u2019s detriment.<\/p>\n
Wells tells me, \u201cThe crossover [of] what\u2019s performing at those two ends of the spectrum, paid and organic \u2014 that\u2019s where you get the clearest and most interesting behavioral insights from your customer.\u201d<\/p>\n
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When she works with brands, Wells says she\u2019s always looking for ways to build collaboration between those two teams. At one brand, sharing data between teams revealed that \u201clifestyle photos that feature a bent knee perform better than a straight-leg, standing pose.\u201d<\/p>\n
And it\u2019s those \u201clittle fine details that can really make a difference in how you\u2019re presenting your brand.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lesson 2: Make space for your customer to envision their business as part of yours.<\/h3>\n
When she partnered with the beauty startup Fur, Wells worked closely with Ulta and other national distributors for its retail business. She also worked on the brand marketing for Fur\u2019s B2B line, which markets to industry professionals like salons and spas.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was really interesting to see what professionals versus direct-to-consumer customers engaged with, visually and aesthetically.\u201d<\/p>\n
The professionals responded to a \u201cvery different visual representation and design aesthetic that was a lot cleaner and simpler\u201d than what the D2C customers preferred. The industry pros wanted something that felt \u201cconsistent, serene, and easy to adapt into their salon aesthetics,\u201d Wells says.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, customers shopping at Ulta or other distributors responded to a \u201ccreative brand that feels contemporary and dynamic.\u201d<\/p>\n
It reminds me a little bit of staging a home for sale \u2014 you’re supposed to remove personal photos and effects so that potential buyers can envision their own families in the space.<\/p>\n
Same kinda thing: Professional aestheticians creating a spa environment don’t want other brands to step on their style.<\/p>\n
Wells sums it up: When you’re trying to get your customer to convert on something that \u201cwill ultimately be incorporated into their business, you have to make space for them to envision their business as part of yours.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Lesson 3: Don\u2019t half-ass it.<\/h3>\n
I ask Wells what\u2018s the biggest mistake she\u2019s willing to cop to, and what she’s learned from it.<\/p>\n
She tells me this story:<\/p>\n
\u201cI worked with a brand [whose] target customer was aging out of its target demographic. The new target customer was younger than [the persona] they had built their data comps off of and expectations on. And so we tested a few different ways of engaging the existing audience and bringing in a new one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sounds okay so far, right?<\/p>\n
The brand found a younger, cooler approach that engaged its new demographic … but it hesitated to fully commit to the new iteration. So that new approach didn’t get translated to the website \u2014 which was still built for the previous target audience.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe missed an opportunity to lean into the new direction we were taking and fully realize it \u2014 instead, we created a mismatched experience,\u201d Wells says.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the biggest lesson that I learned from that is that you can’t remain in an in-between place in order to avoid taking a risk. That in-between spot feels safe in the present. But when you actually get to the other side, it’s limiting.\u201d<\/p>\n
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