Introduction to the Brand
Victoria’s Secret is the largest lingerie seller in the United States. It has been in the public spotlight since the late 1990s, and it is definitely one of the most talked-about brands in history. Even though it was earlier owned by L-Brands, it is now owned by a private equity company after its CEO (former) and Chairman Lex Wexner stepped down from the company.
When Roy Raymond founded Victoria’s Secret, it was founded to appeal to men who were shopping for women’s lingerie. However, when Victoria’s Secret came under the control of Les Wexner, it started targeting women themselves after a complete revamp of the brand.
The Target Customers of Victoria’s Secret
Victoria’s Secret has a rather wide base of target customers. They have a wide range of products appealing to different age groups. For example, Victoria’s Secret Pink is produced to appeal to a younger crowd between 16 and 24 years of age. Moreover, Victoria’s Secret offers products that include lingerie and cosmetics that appeal to an age group of around 24–40. While someone around the age of 24–25 might be mostly interested in the lingerie products available for sale, women who are over 35 could be interested in the cosmetic products available for sale, such as body lotions, fragrances, etc.
Considering the price point, Victoria’s Secret products are premium-priced. Hence, they are not affordable to everyone. It can be argued that Victoria’s Secret products are affordable only to upper-middle and high-income groups. However, given that Victoria’s Secret products are of high quality, the price paid by Victoria’s Secret customers is well worth it, and they get what they pay for. Moreover, the Victoria’s Secret Pink brand has slightly reduced pricing that is suitable for the younger crowd.
Victoria’s Secret stores are only available in select countries around the world, mostly the United States, Canada, and Europe. Therefore, a larger proportion of their customer base is limited to such countries. However, customers from the rest of the world can purchase through their online store, which allows shipping to any country in the world. However, given the premium price range, only a few countries have a customer base that can afford those products. Moreover, cultural practices that might consider anything sensual to be taboo might prevent women from some countries from purchasing these products even if they can afford them. Therefore, it can be concluded that the majority of customers are restricted to Western countries.
How Victoria’s Secret Customers move through each stage of the Process
Identification of the Need
The first stage of the consumption decision-making process is the identification of the need. It is well known that Victoria’s Secret invests heavily in attractive and innovative marketing. They have glamorous fashion shows every year involving many celebrity models, singers, etc. They also have music video collaborations with pop stars and Victoria’s Secret models. Whenever a potential customer sees these, the need to own Victoria’s Secret products arises. Victoria’s Secret marketing is always geared towards the customer wanting to feel seductive, as the models taking part in such campaigns do. Hence, the need to feel sexy and empowered arises in potential customers whenever they encounter such marketing procedures.
Information Search
Once they have identified that they need beautiful products that make them feel sexy and empowered, they will go on to search for information about the products they want. Potential customers have several options to do this. Visiting a Victoria’s Secret Store is one of the ways to get information about Victoria’s Secret products, their quality, and their prices.
Another way would be to browse the Victoria’s Secret website, as information regarding the products and their prices is shown on their website. Furthermore, potential customers could ask their friends about Victoria’s Secret products.
Evaluation of Alternatives
Victoria’s Secret stores are unique as they are designed in such a way that they create a mesmerising shopping experience for potential customers. Visiting Victoria’s Secret stores in person gives any potential customer the chance to fit the items on as well as feel the texture and quality of the items. It would not be incorrect to say that Victoria’s Secret stores have an edge over their competitors in terms of in-store experience. The in-store experience tempts potential customers to stay with Victoria’s Secret rather than go out looking for other brands.
Victoria’s Secret also has an online store. Unlike the physical stores, the online store is accessible to customers from a wide range of geographies. It further lets potential customers search for information on Victoria’s Secret products from the comfort of their homes. However, the online store comes with its own drawback, as it is easy for potential consumers to go and look up other brands just by opening a new web browser tab. Therefore, it is important for Victoria’s Secret to use online marketing strategies on their websites, such as offering Free Shipping, discounts on bundle purchases, etc.
Furthermore, potential customers could ask their friends and family for recommendations on the price and quality of Victoria’s Secret products. Moreover, peers of potential customers could recommend other competitive brands or reinforce the potential customers’ decision to go with Victoria’s Secret.
Alternatives for the Victoria’s Secret brand include Panache Lingerie, Hanky Panky, Aerie, etc.
Purchase
If potential customers are satisfied with the products Victoria’s Secret has to offer,
They may proceed to purchase the items. Victoria’s Secret has also introduced various incentives to its customers to encourage purchases. Victoria’s Secret has deals and promotions both in their online store and in its physical store. Customers are more inclined to purchase in bulk if they are given discounts on purchasing multiple items. Furthermore, Victoria’s Secret has introduced a loyalty card named Victoria’s Secret Angel Card, which gives rewards to its customers when they make purchases. Such practices encourage customers to make repeat purchases.
Post-purchase behavior
After the purchase of Victoria’s Secret products, customers would share their opinions on Victoria’s Secret products with their peers. They might share their opinion about whether the products are quality and if they are worth the price paid. Moreover, they would even share their experience while shopping in the physical stores. They would also post pictures on social media, recommending and encouraging their peers to shop at Victoria’s Secret.
It would be safe to assume that after purchase, most consumers will be happy with their purchase, given the quality and the relative price of the products. Customer satisfaction is evident in the promotion of customers returning to make purchases at Victoria’s Secret.
External and Internal influences on the customer’s decision-making process
Many external as well as internal factors might influence Victoria’s Secret customers in their decision-making process. There are internal influences such as personality, attitude, motivation, and perception, while there are external influences such as reference groups, family, culture, and society. Class: the product Mix which includes price, place, promotions, etc as well as technological, sociological, economic factors, etc.
Victoria’s Secret is a brand that has built a brand image as a premium brand that offers products that make women feel sexy and empowered. The majority of the target market for Victoria’s Secret is young women who also have the same need to build their self-image and self-confidence, to feel empowered, and to feel attracted. Moreover, young women are more inclined to pay a premium price for their undergarments to satisfy their need to feel empowered. Moreover, young women are more inclined to use social media and the internet. It is well known that Victoria’s Secret has a good presence on social media. Ex: music video collaborations with popular artists. Young women always have the need to keep up with the latest trends, and when a potential customer watches one of such songs, they might immediately be motivated to purchase Victoria’s Secret products to feel inclusive and be wearing something even celebrities wear.
Moreover Young women value freedom. Victoria’s Secret products always give off a vibe that resonates with personal freedom and liberation.
Therefore, it is clear that Victoria’s Secret product line matches th personal attitudes, values, and beliefs of young women, which is the target audience of Victoria’s Secret.
Furthermore, recommendations from friends and family are also one of the major factors driving Victoria’s Secret customers towards purchases. Friends of potential customers could post on social media about their purchases and might wear Victoria’s Secret products for social gatherings, making potential customers want to try those products as well. Recommendations by friends are much more trustworthy to potential customers than advertisements, and thus they are really powerful in influencing potential customers to make a purchase. Moreover, culture could also play an important role when someone decides to buy Victoria’s Secret. Freedom and empowerment are two of the values that the brand always portrays through its products and advertisements. Almost all of the Western countries, and especially the USA, have sociopolitical systems that prefer liberal values, such as those promoted through the Victoria’s Secret brand. Hence, western culture has been in favor of promoting Victoria’s Secret as a brand.
The marketing mix also has a considerable impact on the demand for Victoria’s Secret products.
As mentioned earlier, Victoria’s Secret products are priced premium. Therefore, it might only be affordable with a certain promotion of the population. However, Victoria’s Secret has great promotional scheme, especially with their loyalty card, the “Angel Card”.
Moreover, the place where Victoria’s Secret products are sold, i.e., their physical stores, is also one of the major factors that influence potential Victoria’s Secret customers. Victoria’s Secret stores are built with an interior resembling an English vintage look, along with classical music in the background, creating an elegant vibe to the shop, justifying the premium prices and reassuring the quality materials. Moreover, they are mostly located in busy shopping centers, allowing customers to reach them easily.
Are customers satisfied with Victoria’s Secret as a brand?
A Victoria’s Secret customer is known to spend around $40 to $60 more than the average shopper who shops intimate apparel. This could be a very good indication that Victoria’s Secret has a more loyal and satisfied customer base.
However, in recent years, Victoria’s Secret has been accused of not being able to appeal to its female customer base. There has been a serious uproar from women about the marketing style of Victoria’s Secret ad campaigns, which predominately promote very thin supermodels who are far different from the average woman. While an average woman would be 5 feet 4 inches tall with a bra size of 34DD to 36DD, a Victoria’s Secret supermodel (Angels) would stand 5 feet 10 inches tall with a bra size of 32A to 32D. These advertising campaigns
Therefore, it could make potential customers feel as if the brand is not for them.
As a response to this backlash, Victoria’s Secret has now shifted to using models of varying body types and colors in their advertisements, promoting female empowerment, body positivity, and acceptance.
Improvements to be Made in Marketing Attempts
celebritiesVictoria’s Secret is a brand that is known for its distinct marketing attempts involving celebrities, supermodels, fashion shows (that are more festive in nature), and attractive advertising campaigns. However, as mentioned earlier, their marketing attempts can sometimes be out of touch with reality, which might distance many potential customers. They can adjust their marketing campaign to make women of ordinary skin shape, color, size, and different values and sexual orientations more inclusive. However, it must be noted that they are already attempting to make that shift. Furthermore, they can work on expanding their store locations. That would be influential in expanding its reach to the target market.
Summary
As explained above, Victoria’s Secret began as a lingerie brand that initially targeted men buying lingerie for women; however, it later turned into a brand that catered to women themselves. Even though at first Victoria’s Secret only used supermodels for their advertisements, at present they have begun to involve models who can more closely relate to the average woman.
The customer decision-making model for Victoria’s Secret starts first with the identification of the need, which could be triggered by many factors, including advertising, followed by an information search, which could be either from personal sources or through marketing. Then, a customer may evaluate the alternatives before making a purchase. After a purchase, a customer can either be satisfied or not. Data shows that while customers are generally satisfied, there are issues with Victoria’s Secret’s marketing attempts that distance women. However, lately, Victoria’s Secret’s management has attempted to tackle that issue as described above.
Interesting ! Well written once again Sharannya !
thanks a loot❤️