How Moosejaw creates and cultivates its community

If I was handing out awards for the coolest retailers on the planet, Moosejaw would be a finalist. The company’s approach is so fresh, and the tone is so unexpected, I’m never really sure what they’re going to come up with next. After nosing around their website, filled with everything from a poll where customers can choose the company’s Spring catalog cover to a return policy that provides refunds for unworn merchandise “as long as you’re not dead” and a tongue-in-cheek Emergency Love Poem for Valentine’s Day, you may be thinking, “This approach would never work for us.”

That’s true, I’m sure. But that’s not entirely the point.

Most retailers can learn a lot from how Moosejaw interacts with its loyal community. This is one company that definitely knows its customer base and has learned how to create evangelists through a constant chatter of devoted Twitter fans, a catalog that shouts personality, and a website that had me laughing out loud. There’s no wonder why customers keep coming back for more.

During the first part of our Q&A, Moosejaw creative director Gary Wohlfeill outlined how Moosejaw makes even the delivery of its products a brand experience. In the second part of the series, get Gary’s take on the biggest mistake companies make when it comes to mobile commerce, what’s behind that ambiguous phrase “Love the Madness,” and how to land a job at the growing company (hint: you might want to work on those dance moves).

Gary Wohlfeill

First things first: Give me an overview of your marketing strategy in two sentences.

We understand every touch point we have with a customer as an opportunity to be notable, extend the brand voice and engage the customer in conversation. All three we see as critical in creating loyal and passionate customers that have a significant long-term value to Moosejaw.

The copy on your website definitely has a distinctive voice; the Moosejaw Promise literally had me laughing out loud! Has the company’s tone always been this informal? What’s the rationale behind it?

The story I usually tell is that when the original owners started Moosejaw, they did it without any retail experience. They didn’t know ‘the rules’ so they treated customers like friends. They would toss a Moosejaw Frisbee at someone who walked in the door, or organize a quick Nerf football game out back behind the shop. A lot of customers identify with the off-the-wall, sometimes irreverent approach to retail. We continue to do it because it really differentiates Moosejaw in an industry where there are many people selling the same stuff.

The nonsensical approach to retail has also defined the culture and how we work at Moosejaw. I think if we viewed it as a clever marketing gimmick we would fail.

You use existing customers as models for your catalog and other marketing vehicles. Is this also part of the overall “authentic” strategy, or a smart way to save the company some money?

We actually do both. We have very passionate customers who feel significant ownership in the brand and are constantly participating in it. We get a ton of pics from customers showcasing Moosejaw clothing, stickers and flags every week. We make special efforts to include some of these customers in our creative materials.

We keep all of our marketing in-house, which includes our location photo shoots. We are able to further differentiate ourselves from our competitors by using photography that incorporates the fun, youth and edge that is core to the Moosejaw brand. The pretty girls don’t hurt either.

Moosejaw was recently recognized for “hitting it out of the park” as far as channel integration goes. From your perspective, how is Moosejaw getting it right?

I think we have a unique perspective on multi-channel retail. Our strategy has really been defined by our customers, who tend to be  younger and more technology-savvy. They don’t think about their daily lives in terms of channels. Email, texting, web browsing, mobile, Facebook, Twitter – these are already used by our customers simultaneously and in any number of combinations. The challenge for Moosejaw is to be able to interact with customers in any way they choose.

We try to blur channels as much as possible, or take the best parts of each channel and make it available across channels. A great example is Moosejaw customer reviews. Once we realized that our customers were visiting our WAP mobile site, we saw an opportunity to bring one of the strengths of Moosejaw.com – customer product reviews – to mobile as well. We built our second mobile site with that in mind. So now a customer can be standing in our store, talking with our staff while trying on the jacket AND reading hundreds of reviews from other trusted Moosejaw customers on their iPhone. It’s the best customer shopping experience we can think of.

Let’s talk a bit about social media. What are some of your favorite examples of how the company has used social media in non-traditional ways?

We approach Facebook and Twitter with the community in mind. Anything great that we do should include a way for our fans and followers to participate. The stolen jacket example is a good one. We wanted to do something great, but were able to make other customers a part of that as well. They got to determine which jacket would be the best for Shelby.

We also do a lot of Rewards Point donations on Twitter and Facebook. Say a customer is 150 points short of making a purchase on MoosejawRewards.com. Often they contact us via Facebook or Twitter, let us know and then we go out to the rest of the group looking for donations. We usually get an overwhelming response from people willing to help out a fellow customer. Those that donate get be a Hero for the day.

You tweet. You’re on Facebook. You blog. You’ve got two mobile website. You’re even on Flickr! Many retailers five times your size can’t boast all of that yet. So, the question: Do you think Moosejaw’s journey into social networks and mobile has been a result of its size, or in spite of it?

I think the strength of the Moosejaw culture makes it easy to let many represent the Moosejaw brand in different channels and that provides great flexibility and an ability to try new things.

If the Moosejaw brand was a TV character (or a movie, or a song …you get my drift…), what would it be?

That’s a tough one. I’ll give you three. Steve Zissou from The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Wyatt from Easy Rider and Jason Patric’s hair in The Lost Boys.

What’s the biggest mistake retailers make when it comes to social media and mobile?

I think some are approaching social media like traditional advertising and using it for self-promotion only. The real strength is the ability to actively engage customers.

Also, I think an ROI-only based approach to a mobile site is a little short sighted. Having a presence right now is the most important. I think that as long as you are using mobile in interesting ways, the sales will catch up quicker than you expect.

As a part of your role, you’re responsible for the company’s mobile strategy. Tell me what role you see mobile playing in customer behavior – both now and in the next 3-5 years.

As the phones get better the hurdles for most people to shop via mobile are going to fall away. Our strategy is to continue to bring things that work well in other channels to mobile and vice versa. We’re working on doing mobile versions of our catalogs and have talked about a few concepts for apps.

Moosejaw is a growing company, and your website lists several open positions. What are you looking for when you hire new marketing talent?

Culture fit is critical. There are going to be people with great experience and talent that can do the requirements of a job, but if they don’t fit the Moosejaw culture we’re not going to hire them. I just heard a story yesterday about candidates for an assistant shop manager position being asked to show off their best dance moves.

Nearly every page on your website ends with the phrase, “Love the Madness.” Tell me about that.

The Madness is what we call our approach to the brand and unique customer engagement. Love the Madness is a constant reminder to us that we should be doing things that people are going to tell ten friends about. The Madness should be contagious and it’s a core value of the company. If it isn’t notable then we probably aren’t going to do it.

As the creative director for a company that sells outerwear, footwear and other gear, I imagine most people you work with have a love of nature. What’s your favorite way to spend time in the great outdoors?

I love to climb and try and do it whenever I get a chance. Hope I’ll get a chance to do a little ice climbing in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula this March. Like most people here I ski, hike and cycle.

What about the retail industry keeps you coming back for more?

Our motto is ‘At Moosejaw We Sell the Best Outdoor Gear and Apparel in the World and Have As Much Fun As Possible While We Do It.’ Doing new things, making it the most fun and selling amazing products are all great reasons to do what we do.

You may have heard we’re experiencing some interesting weather out here in DC. Any recommendations on a good pair of snow boots, or maybe a jacket?

The Sorel Women’s Kaska boot is very popular and kicks ass in the snow. If you’re looking for an warm around the town, the Patagonia Women’s Down With It Parka fits the bill nicely.