ThinkGeek.com takes the unbeaten path to marketing and merchandising
At ThinkGeek.com, double-digit growth in sales stems from an unusual mix of marketing and merchandising techniques that builds loyalty among its targeted geek audience while also extending sales to the broader public.
ThinkGeek, the brainchild of Scott Smith and several partner entrepreneurs previously involved with Internet access services, caters to computer technology experts with an unusual mix of products promoted with an unusual mix of marketing and merchandising.
“In 1999, we were living and breathing geek stuff all day long, and realized there were a lot of others out there like us,” Smith says. “This site is all about the geek community; if you think like a geek, you’ll like this site.”
With products ranging from a keyring-mounted Ethernet cable tester to air-powered marshmallow guns and t-shirts that proclaim “No, I will not fix your computer,” ThinkGeek engages shoppers with merchandising that emphasizes the usefulness of products rather than promoting them on price (including when usefulness means a source of stress-relieving fun).
“The beauty of ThinkGeek is that I almost feel like I`m visiting a community site as opposed to an e-commerce site,” says Matthew Berk, a former JupiterResearch analyst who is co-founder of OpenList.com, a travel-and-entertainment search engine. “They lead with the products and product descriptions, as opposed to the prices.”
ThinkGeek got its first big break shortly after it formed in 1999, when it sent some sample products to SlashDog.com, a popular information site frequented by computer technology experts. “We got 10 orders after the first 10 minutes, then the site crashed,” Smith says. Being a staff of geeks, however, his team re-configured the site to handle heavier loads and had it up again within an hour. “We got 800 orders in the first 24 hours,” he says.
The growth hasn’t stopped, as ThinkGeek has continued to cater to the demands of its clientele while finding unusual ways to engage its customers and become more widely known. The retailer has been growing about 30% per year for the past few years and expects to do $18 million in web sales this year, Smith says.
While “office cube weaponry” marshmallow guns, Star Wars light sabers and Air Zooka air blasters may be just for fun, they’re part of a planned merchandising strategy of catering to customers who often deal with the stress of long hours of generating computer code, Smith says. “Our products can help make the office more fun, support team-building and keep morale high,” he says, adding that as code-writing geeks graduate into management positions, they often recommend the site to their staffs.
To help geeks get through the long hours of code-writing and other chores, ThinkGeek specializes in an assortment of caffeinated products and lets customers set up automatic deliveries every six weeks of popular products like Jolt Cola.
While shying away from heavy marketing efforts, ThinkGeek has leveraged its unusual collection of gadgets and apparel to get national media exposure in print and on TV – expanding its customer base to the general public as well as geeks.
Although that runs the risk of diluting its appeal to the geek community, ThinkGeek is careful to maintain a mostly geek-focused merchandise strategy, Smith says.
“We’ve always tried to keep a balance of a geek focus with some mass market appeal,” Smith says, noting that ThinkGeek won’t expand into products that geeks wouldn’t call their own. “We haven’t strayed far from the original idea of keeping focused on the geek.”
Back...
