Many retailers are struggling to effectively connect and engage Millennial consumers. Although this demographic group is characterized as those 18 to 37 years old, Karmaloop is tailored to a very specific audience: Millennials in the Verge Culture.
Consumers in the Verge Culture are “alpha consumers living in the epicenter of fashion, art, technology and music.” These tastemakers are the target customers for Karmaloop.com and ultimately, are their biggest advocates and marketers.
In fact, the eTailer enlists customers to promote products and events through social media and a street team, according to Greg Selkoe, CEO of Karmaloop. Currently, the company has 1.7 million “likes” on Facebook, 470,000 followers on Twitter and 250,000 followers on Instagram.
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Karmaloop also has focused a lot of time and energy on creating relevant content to align with the Verge Culture lifestyle. For example, the eTailer holds “Freak-a-Thons,” which Greg describes as “home shopping on acid."
So how does all of this align with Karmaloop.com’s customer service initiatives? One word matters: Culture.
"Most of our service reps are young adults just out of college,” Greg explained. “They do this job because they love Karmaloop. They wouldn’t want to be a represent anywhere else; they just love the culture. They wear the brands, know the brands and we encourage our team to go above and beyond to speak with the consumer in a very intimate and familiar way."
However, at the end of the day, Karmaloop has two core consumer groups: Millennials in the Verge Culture and their parents.
"Sure, we’re a little irreverent, but we’re very good at the business side,” Greg said. Service representatives “are expected to be professional and effective.” To that end, Karmaloop trains employees to change their tone and overall approach based on the consumer age and history.
Moving forward, Karmaloop is focusing on creating a great customer experience across all channels. Mobile specifically is growing to become a big part of the Karmaloop business. Because 30% of its sales now derive from mobile, the eTailer has implemented a new checkout feature that keeps products in consumers’ shopping carts as they hop across devices. Karmaloop also is seeing more consumers use text messaging to connect with service representatives.
When connecting with Millennials, “you have to be able to do customer service through any channel,” Greg said. “Information and feedback should be available immediately – 24 hours is a lifetime to Millennials. You really need to be responsive on the platforms they’re using."
