Sephora exec discusses the ROI of social media

Within retail headquarters around the country – and even here at NRF - there have been countless discussions about cultivating communities through social networks. Conversations that start with “How do we do it?” and “Who owns it?” are often followed by the inevitable, “But what’s the point?” Certainly there’s no use in leveraging resources for social media if there isn’t some kind of pay off. And if it isn’t increased sales, well, it had better be something.

Julie Bornstein

One company making serious headway in the social media landscape is Sephora. With over 437,000 fans on Facebook (up 5,000 from the last time I checked) and 53,000 Twitter followers, in addition to a robust mobile site filled with ratings and reviews, Sephora is a company that seems to be doing all the right things and – more importantly – knows why they’re doing it. In advance of her session at next week’s Retail Innovation & Marketing Conference in San Francisco, Sephora Direct SVP Julie Bornstein discusses how the mobile revolution will impact catalogs, what other retailers give her social media inspiration, and how the company strives to take care of its “fans”.

You’ve been significantly involved with web and catalog merchandising and marketing throughout your career. As retailers move toward mobile, how do you think mobile will impact print catalogs?

Print Catalogs are more important to some businesses than others. For certain categories (ie: furniture), they are a pretty critical part of the shopping cycle. Even for apparel, the ability to market an image on a big glossy page is hard to replace on the web or phone – at least for generations who didn’t grow up with technology. While mobile gives businesses yet another way to reach their customers – when it comes to marketing an image and getting your catalog in front of your best customers, it’s hard to give up. Reductions in frequency and page count will continue. Will they ever go away? I doubt it.

At the Retail Innovation & Marketing Conference, you’ll be speaking about “Driving ROI through Social Selling.” I know many retailers find it challenging to measure the ROI on social media. Can it be done, and how?

First of all, one of the great things about social media is that it doesn’t cost a lot to play. Getting the internal resources focused on it is one of the major costs. Clever ways to build your base can save a lot of money. Testing offers and measuring redemption helps provide a base. Start small. Test some things and measure sales from these channels—but know that the part you measure is only a piece of the value. There is also great value in the customer feedback you receive daily from your customers. That alone is worth something. And use this audience as a focus group to help drive business decisions. We’ll talk a lot more about this subject on Wednesday.

Sephora recently launched a mobile application that allows customers to view product reviews on their mobile device. How did you make the decision to move forward with this?

Have you ever tried to decide which moisturizer to use while standing in front of a wall of options? Our category is so well suited to ratings and reviews. When we first launched ratings and reviews two years ago, we set a new record for speed of amassing hundreds of thousands of reviews within weeks of launching. Our customers love to talk about beauty and they love to hear what others have to say. It’s the “beauty” of the category. So this was a natural. In addition, we had a great partner (Bazaarvoice) to launch this with us and make the implementation very easy.

When it comes to social media, what other businesses are you watching and learning from?

I’d say some bigger brands, like Starbucks and Nike, have built some great communities with a real purpose and authenticity. I also admire some smaller brands like ModCloth and Threadless.

Sephora is also on Facebook, with a fan base that is 437,000 fans strong (and growing – quickly!). In what ways are you nurturing this community and what’s the end goal of how to leverage all of these fans?

We are obsessed with our Fans. We listen to them daily. We talk to them. We ask them questions. We take their input very seriously. We make changes as a result of them. Given that the people who tend to interact with us are our more serious beauty mavens, they really know what’s going on. It makes us realize how in touch our consumer is! We send treats to some of them, thank you notes… and have some exciting (confidential) activities planned for them in the future. We want to make sure there is value in being our fan.

Throughout the course of your career, you’ve worked with prominent retail brands including Urban Outfitters, Nordstrom and DKNY. What have you taken away from those experiences that you can use in your current position at Sephora?

I would say that the one absolute that crosses all of these companies is that it really is all about having the right product. The role of the merchant is as key as it is for a reason. The other lesson is to know who you are as a brand and what makes you special, and make sure everyone internally is clear and focused on what that means.

Retailers are still trying to get a handle on Facebook and Twitter, but are there any social networks that you think could be next on the horizon?

I think the intersection of Search + Social Media will help make the promise of social shopping come alive. I think TheFind and Polyvore are interesting. A new site called Blippy allows people to log their purchases for their friends. That concept will evolve and play into much of shopping going forward. If the first generation of “user generated content” was Ratings & Reviews, I think the next will be around filtering that input by your own network and friends.

Tell me three Sephora products you couldn’t live without.

Ah, the most important question! But I’m not sure I can limit it to 3. How about 5? I’d have to say: Makeup Forever Duo Mat Powder Foundation, Lancome Oscillating Mascara, Nars Laguna Bronzer, La Vanilla Healthy Deodorant, and Oscar Blandi Dry Shampoo.