Under The Hood: Alexandra from Dame

Welcome Alexandra! Dame launched in 2014. What's been key to retention and increasing LTV?

No.1 is our community, but beyond that our products have a retention factor because of their quality. For example, our vibrators are very durable. Another part of this answer is expanding our product offering because people want new experiences. Now we sell lubricants, massage oil, gummies. We’re mindful of creating products that are more geared to a subscription model. The other thing that’s really helped increase our LTV is email communication and conversations with our customers outside of just sales.

Dame’s “Get In Touch with Yourself” campaign almost didn’t run on NYC’s subways. After all was said and done, would you have done it again?

Well, the lawsuit certainly helped the effectiveness of my ads, but at the same time, it didn’t because I couldn’t run the creative that I wanted to run. It was pretty frustrating.  Also, it’s very challenging to track the effectiveness of an OOH ad.

‍

‍

What tools are you adding to your stack as Dame expands into retail?

We want to offer a great retail experience and simultaneously bring people back to our digital space, which is where we really shine! We’re going to be using this tool called Brij, and I think it’s going to be very useful in directing customers back to our website, integrating them into the Dame community, and capturing that data.

‍

How does the return process work for Dame?

We can’t restock our products, but we want our customers to be happy with their purchase so we give store credit. We are really proud to offer store credit. Overall, I think most of our customers are purchasing with intent and are very considerate when making one!

‍

What’s Dame’s most successful ad to date?

I used to run Facebook ads for my press interviews. I’d run these ads, not Dame, but I was tracking to Dame. I was using my interviews with the NYT, BBC, and W Magazine as a way to promote Dame, myself, and my mission. The ad would say “Thank you so much New York Times for writing this article about me.”  I had about a 4:1 first-time purchase profit to CAC.

Is Dame exploring live shopping?

I’ve been looking into live shopping, and I'm excited about it. It seems like it’ll definitely take some time to figure out how to do it, especially when it’s still a challenge when it comes to the distribution of Dame’s message.

What’s your view on patents?

We have utility patents on some of our products and design patents. Patents are important. Having that protection is the first step to not getting ripped off though. Of course, social pressure can prevent brands from copying each other, but I’ve witnessed some examples where I've really seen one brand truly, truly knock off another brand. Patents are important!

What role does 3D printing play in the world of Dame?

3D printing allowed us to get started. We saved a lot of money and time with 3D printing because we could iterate quickly and make little tweaks. It’s allowed us to optimize our product, and it still plays that role for us today.

Any method behind the color selection of Dame products?

No, they're the colors we find arousing! Here's what I will say - we’ve done a lot of research on what kind of colors people in our community like. There is a trend of what people like and what they don't like, but there's also such diversity. Overall, I want to make sure we have products for everybody.

What retailers have you noticed that are committed to sexual wellness?

It varies among retailers. I loved Sephora's commitment to growing sexual wellness. I think Free People also does a great job. Free People has been an amazing partner and very committed to the category and telling the story. Of course, you can’t forget about Goop!  

‍

Awesome thanks for talking to us Alexandra!