For years, brands like Vans have had “design your own” fortes and features, and have come close to what Alive is succeeding at right now. The model in question is a low-cut blue leather top shoe named after a French woman in her twenties who thought that a bare-bones approach and a young-looking product were going to appeal to users who also loved to try their hand at the design process from the comfort of their laptop. She sold 15 pairs in less than two weeks by using Facebook, flyers, and personal emails to her contacts convincing them it was a great product and spreading the quirky vibe of organic influence she wanted to cultivate. The fact that there are over two million design elements and 30 colors to choose from appealed to users right away, and customers loved being able to even choose their packaging. Having customers create their brand page was a step towards not just getting your pair, but having a share in post-design revenue.
Quality of craft and crew
Artisans in Italy have been known forever as experts, and true craftsfolk that have given us brands like Aldo, Santoni, and Gucci. Thought of as luxurious and post-Renaissance cultivators, This was a top-notch region to pick the people that would create the wares of the new brand. Kenneth Cole designed iconic pieces to wear like the leather Oxford, the Upscale Loafer, and their wingtip having an incredibly rich flair and luster; and Alive was well directed in choosing “The boot” of creativity as their construction base. When users joined and saw that they could design pretty much an entire shoe collection in just a few days, it became evident that anyone who had the desire to create could do so without too much of a headache. Having the means in place to produce the visual design, ship out the finished product once enough users wanted it, and provide good customer service moved Alive up the ladder in Beta stages as well. If a new user just wants their shoe, only having 7 pre-orders is reasonable, as soon as your creative flair kicks in and you get others who embrace your design.
Modeling your idea after Alive’s voracity
It could be said that not every single business model involves a design of your template, and some are for straight profit and subscribership results. But a few very dynamic ideas come across to the marketer from Alive’s success. One was having a very user-friendly dashboard that you could log in and see information about your design while it was in process. The developers already had fixed prices for the shoes, which helped alleviate dissatisfaction among customers who may not understand the discrepancies in the worldwide market. As soon as a project was ready, you could still revert to a draft to fix it, a key element in making all of the users happy for a long time. Payment is by Paypal or Bank check, and a complete sales campaign is easy to achieve, after 7 units. In their haste to be cautious, other startups in this same genre created a lot of hoops to jump through in the design approval process, shutting some beginners out in their efforts to be streamlined.
One of the biggest faults of current-day businesses is their ability to adapt to what a customer wants. With the fear of the bottom line and revenue driving every move, many business models quickly become inept by not allowing the final step to happen, or the creation of the merchandise. Especially in the publishing realm, copyright, and true user property were scrutinized and several design-your-own template models failed. The simplicity of the premium account was also a plus for Alive, as with the purchase of one, you bypass the other campaign rules. With partners like the Dutch Shoe Academy and Startupbootcamp, the brand is a stimulating portal to even use as a model in a marketing class or teaching medium. It is not a surprise that users love the interface, medium, and message; and a lot can be learned from Alive’s innovative design and follow-through of the product.
