ONTARIO, Calif.–A company founded to serve women looking to dress more fashionably and attractively both in professional and personal environments–and then watched as the pandemic reduced the premium on appearance—offered some advice to credit unions on how to pivot quickly.
Jennifer Fleiss, the co-founder of Rent the Runway and as of 2018 is also head of Jetblack, a firm operating within Walmart's startup incubator, told the California and Nevada leagues’ REACH 2020 Conference the company has been able to successfully evolve and prosper during the pandemic in large part due to its constant communications with customers and testing of various aspects of its operations.
Rent the Runway is an online service that provides designer dress and accessory rentals that was launched in 2009 by Fleiss along with Jennifer Hyman, when both were in their 20s.
Among the company’s initial sparks of insight, said Fleiss, came after it was testing the concept and one woman tried on a dress, looked in a mirror and said, “I look hot.” She called that kind of feedback “magical.”
The ‘Emotional Moment’
“That is our business. It’s about that emotional moment and seizing it. And we built the brand around that feeling,” she said. “Our brand is smart shoppers spending their money in a smart way.”
Fleiss said Rent the Runway has worked to do a thoughtful job of building its brand around that concept as well as sustainability; she emphasized the appeal of sustainability numerous times during her remarks.
Fleiss said Rent the Runway’s customers have built a community of speaking to each other she said is a “very effective and authentic form of marketing.”
“As we have evolved we have kept up the conversation with customers,” Fleiss said. “The first thing we heard was people wanted more ways to engage with us, so we started to add items.”
But the pandemic has had its effects on Rent the Runway, especially given that the events that are the very foundation of its name are no longer taking place. Rent the Runway has closed four physical locations temporarily, and has found success with a subscription model, especially from women who are seeking to look better during Zoom meetings and other virtual gatherings.
The Key Buckets
Fleiss urged CU leaders to give attention to developments in three “key buckets,” based on the fact consumers are ready for shopping to be “smarter, more effortless and delightful.”
- Efficiency. Consumers are getting used to one-hour shopping and delivery, she noted. “What are ways you can make consumers feel you have helped them?”
- Personalization. “This is actually a big time saver. It relies on a foundation of trust. When you recommend something, they believe it is the best item for them. Brands can be a form of personalization. Home devices like Alexa can make things more personal.”
- Experiential. “As much as we do have AI and machine learning making our world more efficient, customers still want touch points that are experiential.”
Don’t Waste the Crisis
Quoting Winston Churchill’s admonition that a crisis should never go wasted, Fleiss recommended credit unions:
- Learn to increase flexibility. “Businesses that have had an omnichannel approach, digital and physical, have been the ones to persevere.”
- Give permission to take risks. “There has been a dramatic impact to core business, and as a result we need to take risks. This can be really empowering to your team.”
- Force innovation & scrappiness. “ There are ways to save cash and be scrappy that you may not have tried. You can do things now you should have done years ago.
- Be opportunistic. People who make the most of this moment will be the culture carriers. Shine a light on those individuals.
- Build perspective. “This is about the importance of making sure our teams remember to take care of ourselves and to constantly reflect upon how we care about them as individuals and are going to make it through this tough time.