Lululemon has come a great distance from its humble beginnings in 1998 as a part-time yoga studio in Vancouver.
Right this moment, Chip Wilson’s yoga and health attire firm racks up over two billion {dollars} in annual income, largely as a result of it’s come to embody a life-style. It’s the stuff of energetic soccer mothers, meditation devotees, and ladies who solely devour natural meals and uncooked juices. You don’t simply put on Lululemon. You might be Lululemon.
The broad scope of life-style manufacturers like Lululemon can current a enormous content material alternative. But it surely will also be troublesome to zero in on a mission when your model appeals to so many alternative folks. Entrepreneurs are left answering questions like: Who, particularly, is the target market? What life-style content material matters are related? And is something really off model?
What’s a life-style model?
This want to embody a model—or, fairly, to discover a model that embodies you—is the mentality that life-style corporations hope to impart on their clients. “Life-style” is a broad class, describing all the things from journey to DIY, parenting to single residing, cooking to style, magnificence to sportswear. Lululemon, for instance, creates an energetic, wellness-oriented tradition by means of athletic gear and yoga mats. Life-style manufacturers like Lululemon promote their tradition, not simply their product.
Making a culture-based mission
Defining a mission assertion is the primary cease on the trail to life-style model standing. To get there, manufacturers should know their clients very nicely. Whereas B2B corporations have to reply the query “What service does my product present?” life-style corporations have to ask “What sort of distinctive tradition will my model embody?”
To do that, corporations first have to delve deep into their clients’ psyches. What meals do they eat? How do they really feel about present occasions? What are their passions? How do they spend their free time, even once they’re not interacting with the product? In brief, who’re they, and how much particular person do they wish to be? This isn’t information, clearly. Market analysis and surveys are staples of brand name growth. Nevertheless, this information of buyer habits can be utilized in another way by a life-style model: As a substitute of simply informing product growth or focused promoting, it additionally informs the particular tradition that the model creates by means of digital and different advertising and marketing—and the mission assertion that drives it.
The elements of a robust mission assertion
The mission assertion that guided Lululemon’s rise to success offers a powerful template for manufacturers growing their very own mission. It’s a press release that guides the model with out feeling unnecessarily restrictive.
A mission assertion summarizes essential data that determines an organization’s path ahead, so it’s essential to get it proper. The assertion ought to reply these questions:
- What does the corporate do or present?
- Who’s the shopper?
- How does the model handle the shopper’s wants?
Lululemon’s unique mission assertion reads: “Creating elements for folks to reside longer, more healthy, enjoyable lives.” There are a couple of important components at play right here.
For one factor, discover that Lululemon’s mission is to “create elements,” not “promote gear.” There’s a giant distinction. “Parts” would possibly embrace activewear, water bottles, and yoga mats, but it surely may additionally embrace wholesome residing suggestions, working golf equipment, yoga lessons, inexperienced juice recipes, detox packages, and books about meditation.
The truth that Lululemon doesn’t restrict its mission to merchandise reveals that the corporate acknowledges all the opposite elements of being a life-style model. The truth that it creates tradition is inherent in its mission.
Take into consideration how the corporate solutions the query “Who’s the shopper?” As a health model, Lululemon is aware of that its clients are energetic, wellness-oriented and health-conscious. From there, it may well infer different issues about them. They’re most likely eager about food regimen and vitamin, journey, self-reflection, group, holistic medication, and occasions pertaining to these matters. They’re usually well-educated and eager about bonus life-style matters similar to journey and artwork. This informs the “elements” that the corporate will create so as to construct tradition round its merchandise.
And at last, per our mission assertion pointers, how does Lululemon handle its clients wants? The reply is thru the “elements” that assist clients “reside longer, more healthy, enjoyable lives.” These elements embrace yoga gear, lessons (so clients can become involved and meet others in the neighborhood), ambassadors (to allow them to study Lululemon from somebody like themselves), wholesome residing recommendation, holistic vitamin suggestions, wellness concepts, journey, inspirational tales, and information pertaining to energetic residing.
Creating tradition by means of content material
By no means earlier than has there been such an inclusive and far-reaching alternative to construct a model’s tradition. Social media, electronic mail messaging, and video and weblog content material all help a model’s tradition. Consequently, content material is likely one of the most essential elements of a life-style model’s advertising and marketing plan. Lululemon’s weblog and social media matters embrace wellness suggestions, private accounts by athletes and outstanding yogis, data on trending well being matters, fascinating tales about artwork and tradition, and informational how-tos a few aware, energetic life-style.
All of those components knowledgeable the Lululemon Manifesto, a group of branded phrases that convey clients’ life-style and values. The manifesto is deeply knowledgeable by market analysis. It comprises inspiring, uplifting messaging that appeals to Lululemon’s energetic, success-driven, health-oriented clients. “Do one factor a day that scares you.” “Pals are extra essential than cash.” “Sweat as soon as a day to regenerate your pores and skin.” “This isn’t your follow life. That is all there’s.”
Drawing the road
With a lot room for selection, entrepreneurs are sometimes left questioning what is really off model. Essentially the most direct solution to inform is to ask whether or not or not it violates the corporate’s mission assertion. On this approach, the mission assertion serves as a hard-and-fast line for deciding what is going to carry the model worth and what is not going to.
Nevertheless, given the broad scope of the approach to life house, some points will have to be given shut examination on a case-by-case foundation. Let’s take the instance of wholesome recipes inside Lululemon’s model messaging.
Many Lululemon clients are vegetarian, a long-held custom throughout the yoga group. Nevertheless, different clients could go a very completely different route with their diets. The latest development of Paleo consuming is well-liked amongst some health gurus, as are gluten-free and low-carb consuming. How, then, ought to Lululemon deal with well being and wellness posts pertaining to dietary decisions? Ought to it create a positioning assertion detailing the place the model stands on issues of food regimen?
Most likely not. Since it might threat alienating clients if it took a place, one of the simplest ways to deal with the problem is to not take one in any respect. Whereas many wellness manufacturers provide gluten-free and meat-free dietary recommendation, Lululemon has largely opted out of this content material matter. The model hasn’t revealed a food-related submit since February 2015, when it included an interview with a preferred vegetarian meals blogger. As a substitute of together with details about vegetarianism particularly, the blogger’s recommendation was broader. In different phrases, whereas Lululemon acknowledges that maintaining a healthy diet is essential to its buyer, it doesn’t inform her the right way to do it.
Let’s evaluate this strategy to that of Crossfit, the health and muscle-building program that’s impressed hundreds to take up a Paleo-based consuming program. The corporate’s mission clearly states, “Eat meat and greens, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar.” In its first two phrases, the assertion alienates vegans and vegetarians, discouraging them from partaking in Crossfit’s health tradition. Consequently, the area of interest has been crammed not by Crossfit itself, however by unbiased bloggers and bodybuilders who can capitalize on the necessity for veg-friendly tradition throughout the Crossfit group. It falls to the model itself to find out what cultural decisions could be in direct violation of firm values, and that are merely limiting its attain to a bigger potential viewers.
Residing the life
Life-style corporations have a singular alternative to show their very own clients into strolling commercials for his or her model. By way of these clients, corporations present folks what their lives may appear like in the event that they took up the tradition of the model. Whether or not you want Lululemon or not, there’s no query of its relevance throughout the health world. Lululemon’s clients’ clearly establish with the corporate. In some ways, they construction their life-style across the merchandise and digital content material put forth by the model.
Lululemon clients aren’t simply customers, they’re devotees. They themselves are the corporate’s greatest promoting instrument, and that’s as a result of they embody its tradition, fairly than merely sporting its product.