Latest / The Marketing Funnel Podcast with Fexingo: Awareness, Interest, Decision, and Action Stages / How Glossier Built a Marketing Funnel on Community Feedback
Transcript
- Lucas: So Glossier — the beauty brand with the pink packaging and the Instagram aesthetic — it hit a billion-dollar valuation in 2019. And the fascinating thing is, it barely spent a dime on traditional advertising to get there. Luna: Right. I remember reading that their entire marketing funnel was basically built on community feedback. It almost sounds too good to be true. Lucas: It does. But the numbers back it up. The founder, Emily Weiss, started a blog called Into the Gloss back in 2010. She interviewed — I think — over a hundred women about their beauty routines. Just asking: what do you use, what do you wish existed? Luna: So the awareness stage of the funnel wasn't a billboard or a TV spot. It was a blog with obsessive, detailed conversations. Lucas: Exactly. And those conversations generated a specific insight. Weiss noticed that readers kept talking about wanting a more minimalist, skin-first approach. They were tired of the heavy foundation and the ten-step routines. So in 2014, she launched Glossier with just four products — a cleanser, a moisturizer, a serum, and a balm. Luna: That's fascinating. So the product itself was born out of the community's interest. That's like collapsing the interest and decision stages before you even have a product. Lucas: Exactly. Most marketing funnels start with awareness — you get people to know you exist. Glossier started with a product that people had already told the founder they wanted. So when the brand launched, the interest was already baked in. Luna: And then what? How did they move from that initial launch to the 11 million Instagram followers they have now? Lucas: This is where the funnel gets really interesting. Glossier didn't use paid influencer campaigns in the traditional sense. Instead, they turned their customers into micro-influencers. They created a program called the Glossier Reps — basically, fans who got a discount code to share with friends. But the key is, they didn't pay for the content. Users posted their own photos with the products, and Glossier reposted them. Luna: So user-generated content became the engine for the interest and decision stages. When you see a real person — not a model — with the product, it's way more convincing. Lucas: Right. And they made it incredibly easy to participate. The packaging is designed to be photographed — the pink bubble wrap pouch, the millennial pink aesthetic. It's literally Instagram bait. So the customer does the work of creating the ad, and Glossier gets the organic reach. Luna: But there's a risk there, isn't there? You're giving up control of your brand image. Lucas: There is. But Weiss was very deliberate about it. She said in an interview — I'm paraphrasing — 'We don't push product at people. We invite them into a conversation.' And that conversation includes criticism. Glossier famously launched a foundation called Perfecting Skin Tint that some customers said didn't have enough coverage. Instead of defending it, they listened and reformulated. Luna: That's a great example of the feedback loop working. But let's talk about the action stage — the actual purchase. How did they convert all that engagement into sales? Lucas: Mostly through a direct to consumer website. But they also opened pop-up shops and eventually permanent stores in New York, Los Angeles, London. And those stores are designed as 'experiential' spaces — you can test the products, but they're also just cool places to hang out. The line at the Soho store used to wrap around the block. Luna: So the store itself became a destination — another awareness driver. People posted photos of the queue, the store interior, the products. Lucas: Exactly. And that brings us to the decision stage. The social proof is everywhere. You see a friend using it, you see a stranger in the pop-up, you see 50 user photos on Instagram. By the time you consider buying, the decision has been made for you by your network. Luna: It's almost like a decentralized sales force. But I want to push on something. Glossier's model worked brilliantly for a few years, but recently we've seen layoffs and slower growth. The company cut about 80 jobs in 2024, I think. Is the community-driven funnel sustainable long-term? Lucas: That's the big question. Glossier's valuation dropped from $1.8 billion to around $1 billion after those layoffs. Part of the issue is that community-driven growth can hit a ceiling. Once you've saturated your early adopter base — the superfans — you need to reach mainstream consumers who might not be as invested in the community aspect. Luna: So the funnel narrows naturally. The people who love the brand become a smaller percentage of the total addressable market. Lucas: Right. And to reach the next tier, you might need traditional advertising — TV, digital ads, more conventional influencer partnerships. Glossier actually started doing some paid Instagram ads and even a billboard campaign in 2023. So they're supplementing the organic funnel with paid tactics. Luna: But that changes the brand's essence, doesn't it? The 'we're not like other beauty brands' vibe. Lucas: It does. And that's the tension. Weiss stepped down as CEO in 2022, and the new leadership is more focused on profitability. They've pulled out of some international markets, closed the London store. The question is whether you can scale a community-driven model without losing the community feel. Luna: And that's something a lot of startups face. You know, speaking of keeping things sustainable — a couple of dollars a month is genuinely what keeps these conversations going. If you've gotten something out of our marketing funnel deep dives, buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It's a small thing that makes a real difference. Lucas: Yeah, honestly, listener support is what allows us to stay ad-free and keep drilling into these specific cases. So thank you to anyone who's contributed. Luna: Alright, back to Glossier. So the takeaway here is that the classic AIDA model — Awareness, Interest, Decision, Action — can be reordered and even collapsed. Glossier started with Interest and Decision from the blog community, then built Awareness through user-generated content, and finally Action through a seamless DTC experience. Lucas: Right. But the second takeaway is that no model is permanent. The same community that fueled Glossier's rise can also limit its growth. The challenge for any brand that builds a funnel on a specific identity is how to evolve without alienating the core fans. Luna: So what's the lesson for marketers listening? What should they take from Glossier's journey? Lucas: I think the biggest lesson is to listen before you launch. Weiss spent four years building a community and understanding the pain points before she ever sold a product. That's not a shortcut — it's a long game. But when she did launch, the funnel was primed. Luna: And the second lesson: user-generated content is powerful, but it's not free. It requires a product that's worth photographing, a community that feels invested, and a brand that's willing to share control. Lucas: Exactly. And if you're building a marketing funnel today, ask yourself: is your product something people want to talk about? Because if it's not, no amount of advertising will fix that. Glossier proved that the funnel works best when the product itself is the marketing. Luna: Well said. That's our episode. Thanks for listening. Lucas: And if you want to share your own marketing funnel stories, find us on social. We'll catch you next time.