How Universal Standard goes beyond customer satisfaction
Every brand strives for satisfied customers. But how many brands can say that their customers feel understood?
The 2020 pandemic unleashed a wave of retail bankruptcies as shoppers lost jobs, events were cancelled, and shopping habits changed. In fact, McKinsey marked 2020 as the worst year on record for the fashion industry, with a 90% decline in profits and a 15-30% fall in sales, compared with 2019. Projections for 2021 global fashion sales don’t look much better.
Like many consumers, my clothing purchases were limited this year. What I did buy were some basics from Universal Standard (US). Imagine my surprise in receiving a wrapped New Year’s gift of a navy sweater I’ve been eyeing and a note signed by the Co-CEO of the company.
“We made it. 2020 has been quite a year, full of unprecedented twists and turns that put all of us to the test. This is a monumental understatement, but we couldn’t have made it through 2020 without your support.”
Beyond customer satisfaction
This unexpected gift got me thinking about how brands generate loyalty. Customer satisfaction, customer service, customer experience (CX), and the customer journey are all different, but each is part of an overall retention strategy.
Customer satisfaction considers how satisfied a customer is with a product, service or experience. Satisfaction alone is a low bar, and it doesn’t translate to loyalty.
Customer experience is how consumers perceive their interactions with a brand, such as advertising, branding, the sales and service process, pricing, product quality and delivery. PwC found that “73% of all people point to customer experience as an important factor in their purchasing decisions. Yet only 49% of U.S. consumers say companies provide a good customer experience today.” Anytime US had a misstep around experience, they have made it up to me, such as offering a future discount for when they ran out of an item I wanted.
Customer loyalty is built through numerous touch points along the customer journey. Memorable experiences, and the positive word of mouth that follows, can drive customer decisions as much as, if not more than, price and functionality. Gallup research shows that emotions influence business outcomes more than leaders realize. Behavioral economists estimate that emotional factors comprise up to 70% of economic decision-making. It pays to invest in the customer.
Hearts and minds, then wallets
The Universal Standard brand was built on empathy.
Two friends couldn’t shop together because they wore different clothing sizes. Today, the company offers clothing in sizes 00-40; more than any other fashion retailer.
“We won’t stop until we bring fashion for all women up to a Universal Standard.
We’re committing to create the change we want to see in the world, so that access for all doesn’t end with US. We will work to empower the industry to embrace inclusion. We will work to build the future with partners who see it like we do. We will be the catalysts that spark the next fashion revolution.”
Universal Standard’s brand promise is believable. The policies, campaigns, and partnerships that the company rolls out align with the themes of access, inclusion, and change. They’ve also scrutinized touchpoints prospective customers and loyalists have with the brand, and appear to be constantly iterating on new ways to improve.
Equal access and representation: Universal Standard works to make size irrelevant by offering more clothing sizes than any other fashion retailer. A glance at their website shows fashionable women of various races, sizes, and ages. By clicking on “See It In Your Size,” the website transforms to show a real model wearing the garment in your size. The product size guide shows dimensions of the specific garment by size. It is rare to get to this level of specificity, with millions of cost-intensive photos and measurements for each size and item. The effort matters because it helps customers feel confident that the item will really fit them.
”Every woman has had the experience of not being able to get the right fit in their clothes, of seeing the clothes on a model who looks nothing like them and then being disappointed with the fit of the clothes. But being able to see the clothes in my size and knowing how they will fit with Universal Standard takes all the stress out of shopping.” - BETHAN / @welshgirlinparis
Partnership strategy: Universal Standard chooses partners who reinforce their brand values. They’ve collaborated with fashion-forward brands Rodarte, Adidas, and J.Crew; companies with mass market appeal which amplifies their message of inclusion.
They are where their audience lives. An article on Refinery 29 back in 2015 led US to sell out their first collection in six days. The fashion influencer and social media community has helped drive awareness of the brand. Universal Standard clothing can be found online, at Nordstrom (known for its stellar customer service), via Rent-the-Runway (known for making high-end fashion accessible), or at community-oriented showrooms in major cities.
Try now, pay later: How can you inspire and encourage fashion exploration when stores are closed? US lets you try on 8 items at home for 14 days. They also offer free virtual stylist appointments via Zoom. They make it easy to get past the first hurdle of ordering.
FIT LIBERTY Program: If your size changes within a year of purchase, you can exchange core collection clothing for your new size, for free. Returned items are laundered and donated to charity. Women between sizes or struggling with weight issues can feel confident that they have clothes that look great on them – without judgement or extra cost. This program differentiates US, and was driven by insights from customers at their showroom.
Reset, Restyle, Refresh and the Annual Denim Drive: Sustainability is one of fashion’s big challenges. When customers recycle clothing to help reduce landfill waste, US rewards them with money off new clothes. Values-driven efforts help customers feel good about their purchase, and align with the brand’s values.
Annual Limited Edition Mystery Boxes: Mystery Boxes address the retail challenge of end-of-season items and discounting, while offering an amazing deal for customers with the surprise factor of a subscription box. Value-priced ($50-$175), but worth much more, Universal Standard curates a limited edition box of clothing selected for you, based on a survey and your past purchases. Customers are exposed to items they may not choose for themselves. It is such a good value, that if they don’t like a piece, they can pass it on to a friend, introducing more women to the brand.
How Universal Standard optimizes on empathy
When the pandemic hit, most brands changed up their tone and highlighted cozy clothing like sweatpants instead of suits. Universal Standard did and does more than that. Here’s what I’ve learned by observing them.
Know your customer. US seems to constantly iterate on the customer experience. They’ve stated that “If our design process is different in any way, it is in that it includes every size in its process.” This inclusiveness of all customers led the company to design new fitting techniques to improve the construction of plus-sized clothing. Not only did it improve their CX, it gave them a competitive advantage.
Ask for and act on customer feedback. There is a way to provide feedback on every US communication or webpage. An email address was even included in the note I received with my gift. What was even more surprising was I received an email in response when I sent a thank you!
Offer the unexpected. Surprise-and-delight requires companies to identify a person’s preferences without landing in the creepy zone. I was genuinely surprised (and delighted) to get a gift-wrapped box. What made it even better was how perfect the item was for me, and the timing of when it arrived, right after New Year’s Day. It gave me hope that 2021 would continue to bring good things.
Be authentic. Universal Standard’s focus is consistently on the customer, and their actions show that they are true to their mission. They want to get you to a point where you are happy with the experience and with what you buy. If that happens, the sales (and word of mouth) will come.
Companies that apply the principles of behavioral economics effectively can outperform rivals by 85% in sales growth and more than 25% in gross margin, according to Gallup analytics.
Clearly, exceptional customer experience is worth working towards, but it is an intentional investment. It requires customer teams to actively seek a deeper understanding of what creates an emotional connection with their product or brand—rather than just determining what people want to buy.
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Sources:
https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/state-of-fashion
https://www.salesforce.com/ap/resources/research-reports/state-of-the-connected-customer/
T.A. Stewart and P. O’Connell, Woo, Wow, and Win: Service Design, Strategy, and the Art of Customer Delight (New York: HarperBusiness, 2016).
https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/the-magic-that-makes-customer-experiences-stick/
https://www.gallup.com/workplace/244607/why-b2b-leaders-touch-customers-feelings.aspx
https://www.voguebusiness.com/fashion/what-happened-to-plus-size
