Casper became a $100 million company in only two years, while WinkBed is a luxury mattress brand that sells over 300 mattresses a month! So how did they do it? How did these brands manage to achieve tremendous success in a niche that’s basically mature and difficult to break?
Below we’ll go through the top five elements that helped the bed-in-a-box industry grow beyond the wildest dreams of its founders.
#1: Disrupting the Traditional
Before Casper went on the market with their concept, mattresses sold online were not something easily accepted. But Casper made it so easy to buy a new bed that it suddenly had no logic to go through the entire hassle of dealing with a salesperson.
WinkBed played on the same idea when they started a company that sells luxury hybrid designs online. Before WinkBed, a luxury mattress was an untouchable product, something for the rich and famous. Nowadays, other producers followed in their steps and the regular consumer can have their pick.
#2: Simplicity is the Key
As a consumer, would you go for a buying process that’s frustrating and convoluted or would you go straight for the one that’s simple and easy to follow? We already know the answer and so did the big players in the online mattress industry.
When you buy from a showroom, there are several steps to follow starting with the road to the showroom, the so-called trying of various products that seem the same, and the uncomfortable conversation with a salesperson who is hell-bent on selling the most expensive product.
When you buy online, you simply select and order. That’s it! No other steps are required. While it may take a bit longer for the mattress to get to you, it is worth your peace of mind.
If you read an in-detail review about WinkBed, you’ll notice that they implement this strategy and everyone loves it. Also, Casper is well-known for its revolutionary NYC bike delivery system!
#3: Fewer Products, More Features
The thing both these brands did best is taking the responsibility of making a choice from the consumer’s shoulders.
Before online mattresses came along, you had a showroom filled with 30+ bed designs, all with different labels and lots of promises. However, if you did a quick test, all felt the same! The buyer was presented with confusing numbers such as the number of coils in the mattress, the type of materials used, and firmness settings. While these are indeed important, people who know squat about the industry didn’t get it.
Casper and WinkBed understood this frustration and used it to create one product with all the features that matter. Furthermore, they created their ad campaigns around features that are easy to understand such as back support, cushiness, support for various types of sleepers, ventilation, and overall comfort.
#4: Lower Prices
Who would think a business can develop sustainable growth by slashing the prices by up to 30 or 40%? Well, Casper and WinkBed did and this got them tremendous profits in just two years!
Their secret stands in removing the middleman (which is the showroom and salespeople), but they also act more like a tech startup than a mattress company. To this extent, both brands are highly focused on marketing and customer experience, which paid off quite nicely!
Even more, if you research Casper coupons online, you’ll find several sources. So, besides cutting off the initial prices, they also encourage buyers through other methods.
#5: Focus on The Customer
These two brands understood that the customer must feel comfortable with buying their product. To create an image based on trust, both brands offer free shipping in the country, extended trial periods, and free returns with a full refund if the customer isn’t happy with the product.
This may sound like a recipe for failure, but it shows an unprecedented level of trust in their own merchandise. And if the producer is comfortable enough with buyers testing the mattress on their own terms, what other reason is there not to give it a shot?
In Conclusion
So, there you have it: trust, low prices, easy-to-understand features, a simple purchasing process, and active disruption of the traditional. This is the recipe for success used by the strongest brands in the online mattress niche.