Started a Business - Advice to help grow it please!

[TOPPBOX]

Hello,

My name is Alham and I've recently launched a Male Grooming & Skin Care Subscription Box called TOPPBOX.

At TOPPBOX, we send our subscribers 4 unique travel sized grooming products from top brands covering all aspects of the male grooming routine. TOPPBOX is great for men who are new to grooming, are interested in finding out what's out there, keeping up with the latest products, or just want to have fun trying out different things.

We launched about a month ago and would really like to make it a national success - we want to be the Graze of the grooming and skincare world.

If you could please provide me with advice on how to successfully market the business, would it be good to seek investments, or any general advice would be much appreciated.

If you have any questions about us, I'm more than happy to answer.

Thank you in advance!

 

[terry54661]

I'm no pro but i would start by removing that huge image off your website its really off putting.

 

[Bill1954]

If you want tp be the Graze of the grooming world I hope you have deep pockets considering the amount of TV and radio advertising they have forked out for.
BTW the phrase "men who are new to grooming" is possibly one you should keep to yourself.

 

[TOPPBOX]

Thanks @terry54661 I do agree and we will ensure that the image is desktop friendly and fits in within reasonable proportion

 

[TOPPBOX]

@Bill1954 Perhaps in the future when the business starts to scale we'll be able to invest enough into advertising. Currently we are getting involved with bloggers and staying active on social media, trying to raise awareness whilst ensuring we do not run out of funds. And note taken on the phrase, thanks for that

 

[terry54661]

I know it may sound a little harsh but as a bloke I hate the packaging too it off putting. Maybe take a look at this company for ideas in the future... http://www.wbc.co.uk/small-card-suitcase-kraft

Its your brand do what you feel is best i'm just giving my opinion and feedback to help.

 

[Scott@KarmaContent]

Can you customise the contents of your own box? If one month you send me an awesome product that I love, can I keep receiving that? If not, I'd probably not want to keep trying new stuff all the time and cancel the subscription and buy the product myself.

 

[TOPPBOX]

@terry54661 No, this is great constructive criticism, I really appreciate it. Currently, as we are a small business it is more cost effective to use the current boxes, but we will definitely look into other ideas to help build on our branding and image. By packaging, do you mean the wood shavings within the box?

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Agreed about that image!

Have a look at going to Bite Sized Business tomorrow, where you will pick up some good pointers and it is FREE.

 

[terry54661]

I mean the outer packaging and the shavings to be honest I can just see me opening the box and the shavings going all over the floor Couldn't you maybe find another way of packaging your product and maybe include a sleeve that slips over the box with your logo on?

 

[TOPPBOX]

Hi Scott, we were thinking of helping our subscribers build an ultimate grooming and skincare box as the months passed by, this way every month if you liked a product then you'll have the option of freezing it so that it will appear in your next box whilst the rest of the content differs. Unfortunately, currently we do not offer this service, but with every box you do receive an insert which has the product information and where you can purchase the full sized version in case you like the product.

 

[TOPPBOX]

@terry54661 Thanks for the recommendation, we will definitely look into re-packaging it so it looks simpler and more convenient. We were originally thinking of using tissue paper as an insert but realised that the contents of the box will move too much whilst being delivered, so the shavings helped provide a sort of padding. But we will definitely alter this as you said it can cause a mess in some cases.

 

[TOPPBOX]

@consultant Thank's for the link, really appreciate it!

 

[HazelC]

Can you do something to support Movember? Maybe host an event for those that took part in Movember and give a prize to the best beard? Surely this is a great opportunity for you, but you'll need to jump on it quick!

 

[TOPPBOX]

@HazelC That's a great marketing idea, thanks! Definitely need to take advantage of Movember. The best way to do this I believe would be interacting with the general public and getting them to get active with us on social media.

Usually when we make announcements on social media, it goes largely unnoticed. So perhaps going outside and getting the general public (obviously targeting individuals that could be candidates for the competition) and asking them to post a pic of their beard/stache and to tag us.

Thanks once again for the food for thought!

 

[JandJC]

This is a stab in the dark, but if your products are that good why not jump into bed with AVON, they have a men's range already but if you have something that they may like then your products could go nationwide.

Admittedly you may have to bend over backwards but I'm almost certain if you orchestrate a mutual benefiting deal that doesn't affect your brand you could be onto a winner.

 

[TOPPBOX]

Hi @JandJC Thank you for the suggestion. But, we do not have our own range of products. We work with a variety of brands that supply us their 'mini' products to include in our boxes, which we then send to our male subscribers. Each month the products and brands change. This allows men to try out different products without committing to the full sized versions. If they like a particular product, they can then come back and purchase the full sized version from our website or from the website of the brands that we work with. Although I would agree that partnering up with a major established brand would be great to help push TOPPBOX out there, but currently it is not possible as we are much too small to get involved with the major players in the industry.

 

[Sparetoolparts]

run social media campaign with user generated content, get your subscribers to send in their best /Most Wacky hair/beard styles when using the products, the most liked/shared pics get full sized version of the product, this type of campaign is self generating, it works wonders for your SEO, just make sure that the posters share your URL in there posts/updates

 

[TOPPBOX]

Hi @Sparetoolparts that's a great idea! I can see how it can help generate organic growth and awareness, which is exactly what we are looking for. Thanks so much, we will definitely implement this idea into our social media campaign!

 

[NathanJ]

Have you considered -:

Partnering with bloggers?

Working with mail order companies; catalogues etc to include your own literature within their deliveries? Perhaps too costly that one, but worth the question.

Good luck. I like the concept, personally.

 

[TOPPBOX]

Hi @NathanJ Indeed, we have had a few bloggers covering our service offering. Bloggers in the Grooming & Skincare niche, a few other general bloggers. We have found that bloggers are very effective as they provide a honest opinion on the product/service that we offer, reviewing our service from a customers' perspective, which in effect helps potential customers see the benefit of the product/service prior to subscribing. So bloggers are always great!

We have not looked at mail order companies? I must admit, I haven't heard of this before, but thanks for bringing it to my attention!

Including our literature in some catalogue deliveries is a really good idea, and I have come across many other subscription boxes doing the same. Unfortunately, this is something we will have to invest in the near future, as you said this can be potentially costly, but effective never the less!

Thanks once again, and I'm glad you like our business model

 

[Wellington-Duarte]

TOPPBOX sounds like the name of my website, Blogthebox hehe

 

[Chris Ashdown]

I seem to miss the point, you want to get me to pay £10 per month to get about 4 samplers each month, I can only see people buying a maximum of a couple of months and then moving on if that

Mens products are badly stocked I agree for most towns and major retailers, but I think most people interested would look in relevent magazines or word of mouth for the products

Sell the products online by all means but the box and subscription I think will be a failure

 

[fisicx]

We launched about a month ago and would really like to make it a national success - we want to be the Graze of the grooming and skincare world.

Great idea but how often to men change the products they like? I've got a razor for which I buy new blades when I need them and I've got a shaving cream and moisturiser that work with my skin. Sending me new products each month isn't really going to help as I don't need new products every month. If as you suggest I can use if to trial products then I'm going to stop my subscription once I found the one I like. And them I'm going to buy it from whoever sells it the cheapest which probably won't be you.

It's not going to sustain itself as a sample box but it might just work if you become the preferred supplier of the products.

 

[TOPPBOX]

Morning @Chris Ashdown @fisicx The idea is for you to sing up and be introduced to new grooming and skincare products, and we do not expect men to subscribe for a prolonged period of time, as you said there is only so many products that an average individual would like to be introduced to, otherwise it can get overwhelming. Once you're satisfied that you have found the products you love (which may take 1 box, 2 boxes, or 3 boxes etc), you would then proceed to purchase the full sized version. This is where we can offer our members discounts when purchasing from our shop and also provide competitive pricing in order to retain our customers.

So the aim isn't to just work off the subscription, but to offer a discovery platform from which we can help customers purchase the full sized products in confidence. (We'd like to introduce you to the product, and then have you purchasing the full sized version from us).

What do you think? Does it still sound viable?

 

[TOPPBOX]

Morning @Chris Ashdown @fisicx The idea is for you to sing up and be introduced to new grooming and skincare products, and we do not expect men to subscribe for a prolonged period of time, as you said there is only so many products that an average individual would like to be introduced to, otherwise it can get overwhelming. Once you're satisfied that you have found the products you love (which may take 1 box, 2 boxes, or 3 boxes etc), you would then proceed to purchase the full sized version. This is where we can offer our members discounts when purchasing from our shop and also provide competitive pricing in order to retain our customers.

So the aim isn't to just work off the subscription, but to offer a discovery platform from which we can help customers purchase the full sized products in confidence. (We'd like to introduce you to the product, and then have you purchasing the full sized version from us).

What do you think? Does it still sound viable?

 

[AllUpHere]

It sounds to me like you have decided what you want to offer, and how you want it to work, and now you are trying to work out how best to make that fit what your potential market might want.

Have you paid for any proper market or marketing research to be carried out for this project?

 

[GeoMal]

I assume you've read this? https://www.reddit.com/r/Entreprene..._inner_workings_of_a_subscription_box_company

 

[TOPPBOX]

Hi @AllUpHere The business model is like that of Birchbox, who offer a personalised male grooming box to their subscribers. They have not yet introduced the male grooming box in the UK but did bring forward a limited edition male grooming box. They have major success in the US and have proven the viability of the business model.

At TOPPBOX we are currently also working on providing a personalised service, so you will only receive the products that match your profile. For example, if you've got very short hair/or are bald, then we will not introduce you to any hair styling products. And if you're between the ages of 18-24 then we will not send you any anti-ageing creams (unless you tell us otherwise of course).

We are definitely flexible and are not concrete on what we do, but we do have a clear vision of what we want to achieve. We understand that the British market/consumers may be slightly different to that of the US and thus we able to adjust our service offering in response to this. Therefore, we welcome any recommendations as there is always room for improvement.

 

[TOPPBOX]

@AllUpHere We have not carried out any paid market research, but we have done market research ourselves. We found that the male grooming and skincare market is growing rapidly. A lot of men are becoming ever more concerned about their appearance (perhaps due to the media and social pressures), and are spending lots of money on their appearance. We also found that lots of men don't really know what to use, and many borrow their other halfs' products. Some of those that do tend to purchase their own products feel embarrassed to go into stores as it is often seen as a more feminine thing to do. They are left with purchasing products online, commiting to full sized versions, and then realising that the product is not for them, hence wasting their money. We offer a solution to this by offering travel sized products, which gives you enough use for a month, giving you a good feel of whether the product is suited to you (especially for skincare products, where a difference can usually be noticed after a few weeks of usage). Please note that everyone is different and this is not a generalisation of all men.

 

[TOPPBOX]

Hi @GeoMal Thanks for the link, and indeed that was one of the first articles I read. What an inspiration!

 

[Chris Ashdown]

I fully understand selling on the internet and think that you have a good market to sell the products but feel the subscription is just a bad idea and you are wasting so much time and effort on that side

I therefore suggest stopping the whole samples and subscription side of the idea and just get into being the number one shop for men's products

That way you are only marketing and advertising one thing, you can get far better SEO and search engine results and far lower costs, shipping will be smaller so les cost to you and less cost to the customer

Keep things simple when you can

 

[Chris Ashdown]

I fully understand selling on the internet and think that you have a good market to sell the products but feel the subscription is just a bad idea and you are wasting so much time and effort on that side

I therefore suggest stopping the whole samples and subscription side of the idea and just get into being the number one shop for men's products

That way you are only marketing and advertising one thing, you can get far better SEO and search engine results and far lower costs, shipping will be smaller so les cost to you and less cost to the customer

Keep things simple when you can

 

[TOPPBOX]

@Chris Ashdown Thanks for the advice. I do agree that keeping things simple is the way forward and we will definitely take your suggestions on board. We are not deterred by the subscription side of our business as we already have a great number of subscribers who are happy with our service, and various brands who would like to work with us and include their products in our boxes.

Thanks for the advice once again, much appreciated.

 

[Scott@KarmaContent]

@Chris AshdownWe are not deterred by the subscription side of our business as we already have a great number of subscribers who are happy with our service, and various brands who would like to work with us and include their products in our boxes.

Sounds to me the brands you are promoting will get a lot more out of it than you in the long run.

 

[NewGardenStyle]

we already have a great number of subscribers who are happy with our service, and various brands who would like to work with us and include their products in our boxes.

That's excellent, but why then are you asking random people on UKBF that are not your target market if they think your business model is a good one?

Appreciate male grooming is a growing market so you could be one to something. Expect to spend a lot of money attracting new subscribers, as it's unlikely that subscribers will stay with you for long. You therefore need a constant 'churn' of customers and replacing them will be a big challenge.

 

[NewGardenStyle]

we already have a great number of subscribers who are happy with our service, and various brands who would like to work with us and include their products in our boxes.

That's excellent, but why then are you asking random people on UKBF that are not your target market if they think your business model is a good one?

Appreciate male grooming is a growing market so you could be one to something. Expect to spend a lot of money attracting new subscribers, as it's unlikely that subscribers will stay with you for long. You therefore need a constant 'churn' of customers and replacing them will be a big challenge.

 

[Mark S Elliott]

Hi, might be worth looking at the 'Unique' model too....although this product/franchise is female product orientated could their model work for you? Just a thought.

 

[Mark S Elliott]

Hi, might be worth looking at the 'Unique' model too....although this product/franchise is female product orientated could their model work for you? Just a thought.

 

[Mark S Elliott]

Hi, might be worth looking at the 'Unique' model too....although this product/franchise is female product orientated could their model work for you? Also what about 'Corporate Xmas Gift Boxes' targeting those who provide staff gifts? Just some thoughts.