Shoe stores aren’t necessarily the first things that spring to mind when thinking about innovative online businesses, but this Australian start-up is proving there’s plenty of mileage in moving online.

Launched in October 2009 by ex-Google employees Jodie and Michael Fox and Mike Knapp, Shoes of Prey is an online store that allows customers to design their own shoes. In less than two years, the company has won a slew of awards, featured heavily in the national and international press and expanded operations across three continents.

Social Media

Director of fashion, Jodie Fox attributes the company’s success to a combination of customer choice and creative social media strategies. “When we launched, we didn’t have a social media strategy in the traditional sense, but it informed everything we did. We noticed the impact social media was having on us as consumers as well as socially, and used this to expand ideas for the site.”

Shortly after launching, Shoes of Prey released a promotional YouTube clip of 17 year-old US video blogger juicystar sampling and reviewing a pair of custom shoes. The video went global and attracted over 500,000 hits to the Shoes of Prey website, which translated into a 300% increase in sales. The company also maintains an active blog, a Twitter account and a Facebook page where customers can share their favourite shoe designs. Jodie explains that engaging directly with customers is essential to the Shoes of Prey experience.

Engagement and authenticity

“My favourite way of communicating with customers is on our Facebook page. We have a strong community there and it’s such a nice way to get into a conversation about shoes while getting to know our customers. We do form genuine relationships.”

At Shoes of Prey customers are able to design an almost infinite variety of shoes from different materials, colours and price-points. This level of choice allows Shoes of Prey to compete on a global scale, and currently 60% of all sales are to customers outside of Australia. Jodie sees the appeal as a natural extension of social networking sites, where everything can be customised.

“With sites like Facebook, people choose profile pictures, their likes, dislikes, whatever interests them. We’ve been in a mass-produced world for a long time, but with the variety of options available online, people are empowered and are looking for something that means something to them. Shoes of Prey offers customers a chance to design a shoe that is exactly what they want: which I think, is a meaningful connection.”

Marketing mix

While Shoes of Prey uitilises social media as a marketing tool, Jodie acknowledges the benefits of more established methods. “It’s fair to say that social media is our focus, while we have a PR push happening on more traditional paths. We saw a big spike after appearing on A Current Affair last year, which lead to coverage in newspapers and magazines. There is a lot of value in the more conventional media. You just have to pick the right avenue”

And if running a successful online business wasn’t enough, Jodie helps fellow co-founders Michael Knapp and Michael Fox run business blog 22 Michaels, which details the marketing strategies behind Shoes of Prey campaigns. Recently rated one of the top 25 business blogs in Australia, Jodie sees the site as a valuable way of engaging with other entrepreneurs. “We have a really generous and exciting bunch of people who read the blog and share their thoughts on what we’re doing. After blogging about our YouTube campaign, the story was picked up by the Wall Street Journal. It’s been a great way for us to be involved in the industry.”

Act Now!

And Jodie’s advice for online businesses? “Do everything before you’re ready to, because it’s such a fast-paced environment you’re best to get whatever you’re doing out there as quickly as possible and beg for forgiveness later. Get things out and make them work.”

_________________________________________________________________

Twitter role:

Featured: Jodie Fox: @jodiefox, Mike Knapp: @mikeee, Michael Fox: @mmmichaelfox, Shoes of Prey: @shoesofprey

Article by: Dan Kuseta: @dankuseta