Hipstik Legwear – Growing an Ecommerce Brand
Like many successful products, Hipstik was born out of a pain point… literally. Laura was tired of the uncomfortable experience of wearing tights and pantyhose. After research, we discovered that, for decades, not much has changed in this product category. We saw an opportunity/ whitespace – a product that was both comfortable and stylish and designed for women of all sizes. As the founders, we utilized all of the branding, marketing and business strategies we know…and learned a few along the way! Having launched a product on our own puts us in a unique position – to understand the full B2C process, the triumphs and struggles you have gone through as well.
2x Year-Over-Year Growth
We wish we could say 2X year-over-year growth was easy. While there were many victories, every year brought new challenges.
Things that worked:
- Facebook Advertising – video and long-form posts gave us the ability to tell a bigger story and really showcase the product visually. Learning: customers need to see it to understand it!
- Affiliate Marketing – our second most profitable marketing activity, affiliate marketing reaches new audiences through a trusted resource.
- Email Marketing – with the opportunity for high repurchase rates, email offers the ability to nurture each relationship with a personalized touch.
- SEO – a priority since year one, the development of relevant content is paying off in a big way in year four, accounting for 42% of site traffic.
- Customer Reviews – being new and unique, strong customer service has led to strong reviews and referrals which bolster sales.
Things that haven’t work:
- Google PPC – we’re still working on cracking this, but cautiously. We believe that the lack of visuals and precision targeting has led to a cost per conversion that is simply too high to spend significant marketing dollars against.
- Instagram Advertising – the world seems to be bought into the magic of influencers, but ROI positive relationships are few and far between.
- Magazine Placements – the jump from a print to digital space is too costly to overcome for a new brand/ product.
Other Hipstik Accomplishments
Hipstik Legwear is featured in The Market @ Macy’s – our first major retail presence.
Hipstik Wins an Inno on Fire Award
Inno on Fire is an annual celebration of the innovators, big and small, people and organizations throughout the Charlotte Metro area. What makes a company or individual on fire? Startups that have had a banner year — people and companies with new funding, recent product launches, hot hires, innovative approaches to solving problems and creative leaders who think outside of the box.