I recently ended my contract as an Educator at Lululemon. It was a job I never thought I would have. Not in a million years. But, in fact, I did learn a lot from what is actually a pretty cool company.
I always say this, but it’s because I truly believe that everything happens for a reason, and you can take something valuable out of every single experience, good or bad. With that said, here are my take-aways:
1) Bring real insight to product development.
The company became famous for its yoga wear. How do you know what good yoga wear is when it doesn’t really exist yet? Well you go out an talk with yoga instructors, become a yoga instructor, you let them use your stuff, and then you get their feedback. You design and iterate *with* the end user. It’s a process that can never end, no matter how big the company gets. I’m not sure where I heard this, but it’s true: A good company talks to it’s customers, but a great one listens.
2) Create a product story because you know what is meaningful to your market.
Everything has a story behind it. Stories bring meaning and make things easy to understand — from the founding story (it started out of a yoga studio in Kitsilano) down to the layout of the retail space (pants are arranged from least technical to most technical). When a company’s narrative aligns with, and becomes a part of, its target market’s personal narrative, that’s when you get great word of mouth and brand evangelism
3) Make meaning.
Ok, ok… This one I learned from Guy Kawasaki. But it was reinforced at Lululemon. Clothes are everywhere; meaning is not. You are not buying clothes, you’re buying into something deeper. Their mission: creating components for people to live a longer, healthier, more fun life. Notice how it’s not something like “create the best yoga gear.” Without meaning, a company has no soul. What’s more, without meaning, there is no overarching direction, which means innovation will stagnate.
4) It’s the experience that matters.
Experiences become building blocks of how consumers think about themselves and define themselves to others in conversation; a social currency that makes them valuable – from the book Conversation Capital: How to Create Stuff People Love to Talk About
People who shop at Lululemon are called “Guests,” not customers. You’re “Educated,” and not sold to. In the fitting room, you’re called by your first name. Beyond that, there’s the lighting, the colours, the smells, and the music — they all contribute to a retail experience.
5) Product development and marketing should always be an integrated process.
The best form of marketing is to create products people love. All aspects of the product’s design affect the user’s experience, and therefore have an impact on the brand. So, creating a product should be a holistic process; thoughts about who is going to use and and why should not be an after thought. Great companies out there do this — Apple comes to mind. Of course, Lululemon does this too. Their products are definitely customer-driven. In fact, even as a “Guest,” you can give product-feedback right out of the fitting room.
6) Make something you can be proud of. And then stand behind it.
If you don’t believe in your product, don’t expect anyone else to. Those who make and sell your product must use it and love it. For that to happen, you need to make a quality product that is desirable, practical, and useful.
7) Mass Media is Expensive and Ineffective. Earned Media is Cheap and Effective.
Lululemon does not buy media; it’s all earned. A great example is Cheer Gear, the line created for the “cool global sporting event that takes place between 2009 and 2011.” The product line created buzz when the Olympic organizing committee, VANOC, threatened to following through with legal action against any businesses trying to hone in on Games trademarks.
Beyond cheeky marketing, the company reaches out to key influencers in the community (yoga instructors, fitness trainers, etc..) and makes them “Ambassadors,” employees workout in the community, and retail locations host weekly yoga sessions.
Disclosure: I’m not being paid to write this. Therefore, this blog post is another form of earned media.
9) Details are important. Very important.
No doubt, style — and success — is in the details; those subtleties that go beyond people’s expectations and make them say “Wow!” Details will set you apart and keep people coming back. They send a message to your customers that says, “I care about you, and I’m always thinking of ways to make your life better.”
10) Culture is important. No. It’s HUGE.
The manifesto. The language . The goal setting. It all contributes to way of thinking that brings a large organization together. Creating a keeping a strong culture is essential to the long-term success of a company. It also keeps employees motivated and acts as a hiring filter.
So that’s it. Not bad, eh? So, here’s my challenge for you: The next time you’re in a situation that seems like it doesn’t fit into your life’s master plan, try to see what you can learn from it. If you’ve experienced something similar, I’d love to hear about it.