Does how a brand/store functions (their customer service, social media interaction, marketing, and etc.) outside of the colors/products they make impact your purchasing decisions or general opinion of a brand?
The answer to this for me is a a definite yes!
The Good....
I have always been very impressed with a-england and Cult Nails. I think they are prime examples of brands that absolutely genuinely care about their customers. Adina, the founder of a-england does an amazing job of being very interactive with her fans and customers. Also, many times I've ordered from her I have received a kind note of thanks from her. Cult Nails succeeds in similar ways. Maria is very engaging with Cult Nails fans. She really listens to the needs of her customers, and tries to accommodate them. She also really using social media very well. I see her presence on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. These are two brands are definitely on the top of my list for not only their great colors, but for making me feel valued as a customer. They also have some of the more expensive polish, but I will gladly give them my money when I can because of the experience they provide.
Bloom.com and birchbox are companies I had issues with as far as mix up with orders, but how these companies handled it made me love them more than before the mishap. These companies were very attentive, apologetic, and handled the mistake quickly and efficiently. The way they fixed a problem, their professionalism, and kindness stood out to me, and have made me a long-term customer.
OPI I think does a good job marketing their brand. I'm always in the know about OPI nail polish collections pretty far in advance, thanks to the press releases and product samples they send to bloggers. They also do a good job of maintaining their Facebook page. I always see daily posts with tips and updates from them. I may not always be interested in all of their content, but I know it is relevant to others. I may not get any personal attention from OPI, but I don't expect to either. They're huge! I do know based on how they present themselves online that they care about their customers
I'm very much on the fence with Zoya. I absolutely love how Zoya is always having promotions, and they have done an amazing job of creating a massive customer base. I remember when they were fairly unknown as a nail polish brand. It is incredible what they have done with social media to allow themselves to grow tremendously. That being said, I feel like they may have grown too much before they were necessarily prepared. I know there can be frustrations with back-ordered polishes and shipping delays. This does not bother me as much, as few comments I've seen from Zoya fairies on their Facebook page. Majority of the time it is all great, but there has been rare occasion or two I've seen snarky comments from Zoya on their Facebook page. This always causes a rightful stir, and the posts are deleted a few hours later that caused the turmoil without any acknowledgement or apology for the mistake. This puts a bad taste in my mouth. I will always remember the snarky comments whether they were deleted or not. It has not stopped me from shopping Zoya, but as brand that used to be my ultimate favorite it did really disappoint me.
The Bad....
China Glaze has been on my bad radar for probably two years now. China Glaze is great at creating wonderful colors. That I do not have a problem with. I have a problem with how they market themselves or lack their of. I feel like they release a preview of their yearly collections, and then go silent until the last minute before the collection comes out. I'll see their next year's Christmas colors before this year's Christmas is over, but I won't hear a peep about them again until almost the next Christmas. I've been waiting for months now to hear more about their Summer Neons. It isn't until this week an official press release has been made and it's already the beginning of May. I have not seen any swatches done by any major blogger either. Summer collections from other brands have been a buzz for over a month now. I also see on their page they're promoting Prismatics which have been out for well over month. They seem to have some serious delay, and it really hurts them. I like to get excited about colors prior to their release. I like to read about them, see swatches, and talk about them. This creates a buzz. I do not feel like there is an opportunity for this with China Glaze because of how inconsistent they are and how slow they are with their collection updates. They really need to fix this because other major brands are miles and miles ahead of them. You're fading in the background China Glaze.
The Ugly....
*Be aware these are outright non-censored personal opinions!
Julep and Llarowe. The way Julep started with their Maven program the problems that arose, and how poorly they handled damage control is absolutely unforgivable to me. I see they are now having issues again with their polishes going bad, brushes being bad, and they're not doing a good job at responding to customers concerns. I do not care if they have $0.01 boxes of polish. They will never see a penny from me. I think they're also absolutely pompous too, which is unattractive to me. Llarowe, the way the Lynnderella fiasco was handled and how it was publicly discussed on their Facebook page was insane to me. That situation was only instigated more by all the chatter that was produced by the Llawrowe page themselves. I do not feel these were responsible business decisions to perpetuate more drama around a situation publicly. It's one thing if you're an individual or even blogger with an opinion, but not if you're running a business and taking people's money. This situation turned me off from ever wanting to shop from this seller.
Phew! That took longer than I thought!
What are your thoughts on this? What brands are wins and loses for you based on these factors?
Happy Tuesday!
