An avid action sports enthusiast, he was unable to capture his adventures up close and personal.
Fast-forward 15 years, and GoPro has solidified itself as the number one action camera in the market.
As an eCommerce brand, they have also grown into something so much more than a camera company.
They have created an incredible sense of customer community around GoPro, encouraging users to share footage from their adventures with people across the globe.
We spoke with Jon Haroskiewicz, Senior eCommerce Merchandiser at GoPro, about how building customer relationships through user-generated content fuels eCommerce growth.
Understanding The Importance Of Customer Relationships
GoPro understood early on that customer relationship marketing was going to be a critical component to their success.
GoPro strives to build relationships with customers, without distancing themselves from their core audience of action sports enthusiasts.
“We don’t want to leave them out, but we want to attract other users as well. We now have families and people on vacation using GoPro cameras in unique ways we hadn’t necessarily explored before.”
Finding that middle ground between sport and leisure audiences helped propel the company to where it is today.
Looking To Leverage Reviews And UGC
As GoPro experienced incredible growth via social media, they needed to provide an outlet for customers to share insights about their products.
In order to create this sense of customer community, GoPro needed a platform that would allow their customers to easily share and post reviews. They quickly realized that Yotpo was the missing piece to their eCommerce puzzle.
How Yotpo Helped GoPro Grow An Online Customer Community
When GoPro starting using the Yotpo UGC platform on their website, they saw immediate and substantial results.
Jon said Yotpo’s reviews moderation feature is particularly useful for them.
“We’re fairly strict on how we moderate reviews. Sometimes they are not a coherent thought, and we want to publish reviews – both good and bad – that help customers make important decisions.”
Since using Yotpo, GoPro has gained some impressive insight by collecting reviews and content from customers.
“I’m shocked at how many reviews people write. It really is a community – our fans are so dedicated and ardent about the products we make and what we do. They can’t wait to see what products we release next.”
“More diverse buyers are now buying GoPro products. Grandparents are buying cameras for their kids. Parents are using GoPros at their kids’ soccer games or on their family trip to Hawaii. It’s pretty cool to see.”
GoPro’s Advice For Fellow eCommerce Retailers
GoPro has been fortunate enough to see plenty of eCommerce success.
A few of Jon’s personal tips for fellow brands looking to tap into online success are:
- Stay true to your brand and create a good product story
- Make your site easy to navigate and provide a great online shopping experience for your customers
- Whether they buy the product directly online or somewhere else, it is still a win for the company
Jon also sees the importance of a visually appealing eCommerce website.
“At the end of the day, your eCommerce shop is the face of the company. If people are looking to find out more about your products, it will be the first place they will go.”
Conclusion
In the very crowded camera industry, GoPro saw an opportunity in the market that no one else had cornered.
By integrating Yotpo into their online platform, GoPro was able to build a customer community and reach an entirely new online audience with the incredible amount of reviews they were able to generate.
Reaching this wider audience allowed the company to significantly increase their online sales and solidify their status as the go-to camera for capturing and sharing life experiences.
