Dorco’s Public Relations move against Dollar Shave Club

The Wall Street Journal’s Smartmoney.com published an article called “Does Dollar Shave Really Save?” The main idea of the article is trying to determine if the YouTube sensation is it a good deal?If you remember I did a post a few weeks ago (here) in which I did the math, and determined that Dollar Shave Club does save money compared to Gillette. However, Smartmoney.com compares Dollar Shave Club to Dorco and it turns out Dorco is a better deal. No real surprise there. Dorco is a low-cost provider. What I found interesting is that according to Smartmoney.com “Dorco appears to be the supplier for most of Dollar Shave’s blades. Ken Hill, president of Dorco USA, said his firm sells Dollar Shave Club the four- and six-blade razors that are used in its packages, but not the Dollar Shave’s two-blade option.”

In a good public relations move, Dorco posted the story on their Facebook page. I believe Dorco is walking a thin line. They obviously can’t say that Dollar Shave Club razors are not quality because they are a supplier. They need to remain focused on discredited Dollar Shave Club as a money saver and convincing people that the convenience of delivery isn’t worth the extra money. Dorco sells that same amount of razors for up to 75% less. It seems like Dorco is trying to deflate the hype Dollar Shave Club was able to produce with their viral video campaign.

Overall, Dorco and Dollar Shave Club have separate target markets. Dorco is the best deal, and people that like cheap products tend to seek out the best deal. Dollar Shave Club, I feel, is more of a trendy crowd that likes the convenience of home delivery.

I plan on buying razors from Dorco the next time I need some. Mostly just to try them out. This has been fun following this story. I’d love to read your thoughts and comments. In conclusion, I was contacted by the marker of this video blog and asked to share it. I think it is really well done. Enjoy…

As always… comments are welcome and email subscriptions are strongly encouraged. Also check out @AfterThePeriod and find us on Facebook.

DORCO: Low Cost Distributor of Razors Online

So I was on Facebook minding my own business, when I noticed an ad for an online razor company. Normally I wouldn’t click on it, but sense I recently blogged about Dollar Shave Club, I thought I would check out what some of their competitors are doing.

This company is called DORCO. Headquartered in San Diego, CA, the company has grown mainly in the Asian market and is looking to penetrate the U.S. shaving market. Their website they promotes innovation and technological advancement. They call these their “core assets.” They at least appear to be very customer focused. Taken straight from their website…

 The company’s products are designed for you, the shaver.

DORCO’s website is very nice. The layout is very basic and easy to navigate. Shavers can access a virtual storefront from the home page. I find it very interesting that like Dollar Shave Club, DORCO has a simple informational YouTube video that automatically plays when you enter the site. The video answer one question, “why haven’t I heard of DORCO?” It’s apparent that they have taken a much different approach than Dollar Shave Club. I don’t think DORCO is going viral.

Unlike Dollar Shave Club, DORCO has differentiated their male and female razor lines. DORCO Pace is for males, and DORCO Shai is for females. The company even has separate Facebook and twitter pages for each. Both sides are very active with coupons and promotions. The company also demonstrates separate social media strategy for reach each customer group. The PACE pages publish content about male products along with things like…

• A quick poll: What is the WORST Valentine’s Day gift you’ve ever received?
• Unsung Manly Movie Quotes for Every Occasion
• Retweets from @MENSHEALTHSTYLE

The Shai pages publish content about female products along with things like…

• The 12 Most-Requested Celebrity Hairstyles From Coast to Coast
• Women testimonials including one from Columbus, OH!
• Retweets from @Cosmopolitan

I feel DORCO is trying to fight the notion that they are nothing more than off-brand razors. That’s why they push being big overseas. Really, DORCO has similar design and features as other razors. DORCO’s only selling point is price. The razors and the refill cartridges are priced significantly lower than major name brands on similar razors. They promote on that their prices are at least 30% less than their competitors. Moreover, DORCO sells bundle packs that provide additional savings as well as return customers.

After blogging about Dollar Shave Club and DORCO, I feel like I’ve been overpaying for razors my whole life. I feel like I should give one a try. As always… comments are welcome and email subscriptions are strongly encouraged. Also check out @AfterThePeriod and find us on Facebook.

Dollar Shave Club: Viral Marketing and Subscription Sales

I’m on a start up company trend right now. It might be because college graduation is fast approaching, and I’m coming the realization that if I can’t find a job I might have to create one. Regardless, I few weeks ago I found PowerCoco… this week it’s Dollar Shave Club.

Dollar Shave Club ships razors directly to consumers on a monthly bias. It’s a very simple business model. Customers can simply go to their website and select 1 of 3 razor options. Dollar Shave Club offers…

• 5 cartridges of 1 blade razors for $1 per month
• 4 cartridges of 4 blade razors for $6 per month
• 3 cartridges of 5 blade razors for $9 per month

In the first few seconds of being on their website, you begin to notice the image of the brand. They like to use humor. Almost every element of their website incorporates humor in some way. I courage you to explore their website and find them for yourself. The main focus of their home page is a YouTube video that describes their business.

I really like their use of a viral marketing. Viral marketing uses social media to produce brand awareness, increase sales, introduce promotions or to achieve other marketing objectives. Viral market, such as Dollar Shave Club’s YouTube video, creates word-of-mouth advertising because their message is spread by others via social networks. People love to share this kind of stuff. Dollar Shave Club also adds to the word-of-mouth by offering incentives if you sign-up a friend. For every friend you sign up you get one month free. Again they use humor to promote it.

Now, this advertising concept is not original to Dollar Shave Club. This ad seems like a rip off of Old Spice, but nevertheless this will effectively spread the word at little cost to the company. Dollar Shave Club is also very active on Facebook and twitter. I feel they use these sites very well.

The danger in using humor in advertising, is making sure your message comes across. Not all companies do this well. In my opinion, the more simple your business model or product is, the easier it is to use humor. For example, Bud Light could use humor, whereas, Boeing could not (see what I mean?). I think Dollar Shave Club has done a really good job of using humor to get their message across. I think their message has 3 parts…

1. Our blades are high quality
2. Our product is convenient
3. Our product will save you money

They claim their blades are f***ing great. I can’t say from first had experience that they are. I image they are, or they are at least comparable to other razors (overall I think their are some good razors out their). Not sure this is a good selling point.

Convenience might be a better selling point. It would be nice if someone shipped me everything I need. Since Netflix the number of home subscription business has really taken off. I think the reason for this is because you are adding value to the customer. You bundle the product along with the convenience of having it delivered directly to your door. However, some people may hesitate to commit to something that is that long-term.

Dollar Shave Club is a money saver. I use the Gillette Fusion razor. It’s a 3 blade razor that I have found to be rather effective. The handle costs about $8, and Gillette sells refill cartridges in packs of 8 for about $27. I use on average 3 cartridges per month, which cost me approximately $10.125 per month ($27 ÷ 8 cartridges x 3 cartridges per month). Dollar Shave Club would see me 4 cartridges of 4 blade razors for $6 per month. That would provide me with an additional cartridge per month and savings of almost $4. Over the course of the year that would be 12 extra cartridges and a savings of $49.50 ($121.50 – $72). Sounds like a great deal. Dollar Shave Club may have found a significant competitive advantage compared to it overhead heavy competitors. Sense Dollar Shave Club doesn’t have storefronts or retail locations and operates exclusively online they operate very efficiently. Much of the savings are passed on to the consumer. It will be interesting to see how they can manage their costs as the business grows. I feel it’s risky to enter a market as a low-cost provider, because then that’s what people expect from you.

Overall, I think this is a cool company. I’m interested to read what you have to say.  As always… comments are welcome and email subscriptions are strongly encouraged. Also check out @AfterThePeriod and find us on facebook.