(This post is a copy of a deleted post on kinshipology.com from 2016)
Simple, men were tired of being ripped off and taken for granted.
In March 2012 co-founders Mike Dubin and Mark Levine launched Dollar Shave Club. The premise was simple:
- Men were tired of paying $20 or more for razors.
- They no longer bought the argument that what shaved their beards fine last year was no longer good this year.
So the founders of Dollar Shave Club offered an alternative. Give them your credit card information and mailing address and they’ll ship you fresh blades every month for only $3 to $9.
And it worked.
In the first 48 hours they signed up 12,000 customers and more than doubled that in the first week. By the end of the first year they had over 200,000 subscribers.
If they can do it, so can you!
What’s encouraging about their early success is that they focused on delivering their core product and keeping their customers happy.
It all started with a short video that was funny and explained what they believed in. They touched a nerve and then they asked you to join them in the cause.
You had a simple choice to make. You were in or you didn’t care. And either choice was just fine with them.
Next, they shared that video on social media.
Almost six and half years later they have almost 26 million shares (on YouTube alone). It’s still the primary tool they use to attract new customers. Not bad for a $4,500 investment.
Many naysayers point out that you can get the blades cheaper if you buy them in bulk yourself. And there are a number of copy cat companies that are now competing for their share of the market. So if they had stopped at only shipping razor blades once a month, I believe their success would have quickly faded away.
But they didn’t.
Instead they continued to engage and entertain their customers. Dollar Shave Club became a lifestyle and not a way to buy cheaper razors.
As you might already suspect, I’ve been a customer since day one. And I will admit that I look forward to getting “mail” from Dollar Shave Club.
I think of it as getting a package from a friend and not a delivery of razors.
From day one the brown envelope with a simple logo on it contained something extra. Something fun that slowly connected me with the people in the company on a personal level.
- At first it was business card sized insert that featured a specific employee.
- Then they showed examples of how they supported the community.
- Only then did they star to include samples of additional products. At first it was shave butter then bathroom wipes. You couldn’t buy them. For now, they were gifts.
- Eventually they included the “Bathroom Minutes” so I would never be short on reading material.
But the best gift was certificate and a lapel pin for being one of the original members of
the club. And you bet I shared with my family and friends.
That’s it! They sell razors at a discount and make sure they maintain a connection with their customers. They save you time and money. Plus they make it fun. So why would I ever leave?