Innovation that gets traction will quickly be copied by competitors.
It happened to ThirdLove, a Direct To Consumer bra company.
ThirdLove pioneered the idea of an online fit assessment, with its Fit Finder quiz.
Launched in 2016, the Fit Finder cut to the core of ThirdLove’s mission: comfortable bras for all women. The Fit Finder offered an alternative to the in-person bra shopping experience, and the frustration that went along with finding a bra that fits comfortably.
To date, nearly 18 million women have taken the quiz, and helped the brand aggregate over 100 million data points on women’s fit.
The data gathered in the quiz has become ThirdLove’s competitive advantage in three key ways:
- Customer Experience: Customers try ThirdLove for the promise of a more comfortable bra. This ultimately comes down to finding the right fit. And after taking the quiz, 70% of women are recommended a different fit than they normally purchase.
- Marketing: The customer data from the quiz — sizing, style preferences, challenges — all help ThirdLove hone in on sending personalized messaging and offers.
- Data-driven Product development: The quiz helped uncover the customer demand for half-cup size, something that didn’t exist before. The brand offers over 80 sizes, which is nearly double what other brands have
Quizzes, and the benefits that come with it, have become a de facto standard for eCommerce brands, from Victoria’s Secret, Lululemon and newcomers like CUUP.
Here’s a video on our breakdown of the quiz, along with some insightful nuggets from Heidi Zak on how ThirdLove strategically approaches the quiz and the data gathered.
The Fit Finder Quiz As the Cornerstone of ThirdLove’s Success
The Fit Finder quiz is one of the most important ways that ThirdLove can address customer objections.
Zak realized that the main reason that prevented people from purchasing the product: finding the right size: “What is hindering the most people from trying your product? For a bra you’re buying online, it’s women worried about finding their size.
[During the quiz] we educate her on why the size is better for her and we create an environment where she’s much more comfortable making the decision to purchase because we helped identify the right size for her.”
And the quiz has performed well, in terms of conversions: 80-85% of ThirdLove’s bra customers took the Fit Finder quiz before buying a bra from the company.
Moreover, customer lifetime value is improved: on average, those shoppers that took the quiz were happier with their resulting purchase and proved more loyal and valuable long-term customers.
Lessons from ThirdLove’s New Fitting Room Quiz
In January 2021, ThirdLove unveiled a brand new quiz: The Fitting Room.
The updated quiz has slick 3D animations and conversational tone, but the core value remains the same: recommend the ideal product based on customer needs.
ThirdLove may have resources and funding beyond what most brands do ($69M in venture funding).
However, studying the details of ThirdLove’s quiz reveals actionable strategies that are applicable to all quizzes.
Let’s take a look at the quiz, and what is an applicable takeaway for any ecommerce brand:
The Hook – One of the most important elements of the quiz — without a compelling reason, the quiz is ineffective. The hook should be short, direct, and clearly state the benefit to the user. ThirdLove’s captures this: Take the quiz, and find a bra that is comfortable and actually fits.
Understand the Problem – What is the customer’s current situation: why are they shopping for a bra? Where is there current discomfort? In order to offer the right solution, you need to know exactly what problem you are solving for.
What Does the Customer Actually Like – The details are where good personalization shines. This includes the style, color, and coverage. These are easy questions to answer in the quiz, but thy add to customer delight when the recommendation is in line with what the customer actually likes.
Prepare for the Upsell – ThirdLove makes the smooth transition to learning about the customer’s underwear size and style preference to prepare for a relevant upsell. Underwear is an appropriate upsell, as it is reasonably priced to be an impulse purchase, it is convenient, and it adds value to the experience of buying the bra. And of course for ThirdLove, it increases the Average Order Value.
Educate the customer – Small details matter. The quiz is fundamentally about adding value to the customer, and helping educate them. The snippets of information shared during the quiz educate shoppers, in the same way that a knowledgeable sales associate would if this were an in-person fitting. This demonstrates authority and influence, key pillars to influencing the customers’ purchase decision.
Make the Value Compelling – Customers spent a few minutes (a long time, these days) going through the experience. The exchange at the end should be commensurate to that commitment. And ThirdLove needs to make this compelling, because this is the moment that matters, when the customer adds their email address and officially opens the lines of communication.
Bonus: ThirdLove’s Personalized Homepage experience
The homepage is where a majority of visitors will begin their journey.
But visitors are at different stages of their journey based on previous interactions and whether they were new visitors or returning visitors.
ThirdLove created different website experiences based on new vs. returning visitors, as well as device type (desktop, tablet and mobile).
New visitors were encouraged to complete the Fit Finder quiz and presented evergreen content around the core products and messaging (every day comfort).
Returning visitors were shown newer products.
Creating specific experiences based on customer journey increased increased its Fit Finder quiz completion rate by 75% and overall conversions by 3%
The Takeaways
- Personalize the experience
- Address Customer Objections
- Provide Value
Personalize the experience – The quiz captures the necessary customer data to allow them to speak with customers on the individual level.
Personalization can be as simple as including the customer’s size or name in the email subject, which Zak said had increased open rates and engagement.
This is the follow up email that I received after I took the quiz:
In completing the quiz, I provided lots of information about myself — my size, problems with fit, preferences with style, and my email address. This is a strong data set to use to ensure that I get relevant campaigns and offers to convert me into a lifelong customer.
Address Customer Objections – ThirdLove knows that their customers are skeptical. And 70% of women who take the fit quiz are told to get a different size than they normally do. This creates anxiety around the purchase. On the recommendation page, there is rationale for why the size was recommended, particularly if it is different than what the customer normally purchases.
And to further reduce anxiety around the purchase, ThirdLove offers a “Try Before You Buy” program and a 60 day return policy.
Some of the reassurances to address potential questions or objections on the Product Description Page.
Create (and exchange) Value – We love to learn about ourselves. And this is where the best quizzes succeed, by providing value in self-discovery. In the case of ThirdLove, it’s a curated collection of bras and underwear, in exchange for information about the customer (and of course their contact information).
A quiz is a powerful tool to create a uniquely personalized customer experience, while gathering important customer data and driving more conversions. ThirdLove has leveraged their quiz to create a competitive advantage in the lingerie niche, but this strategy is applicable to any niche.