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 there is this brand that basically let its customers design the product, write the ad copy, and recruit new buyers. And it worked incredibly well until it didn't. Luna: You're talking about Glossier. The beauty brand that came out of Emily Weiss's blog, 'Into the Gloss'. Lucas: Exactly. And the reason I want to look at Glossier today is because they didn't just use the marketing funnel the normal way—they inverted it. Most brands start with awareness, then interest, then decision, then action. Glossier started with decision. They asked a small community of readers what products they wanted, then built them. Luna: So the decision stage—where the customer chooses to engage—happened before the product even existed. That is a wild inversion. Lucas: Right. And the origin story is a masterclass in leveraging a niche audience. Emily Weiss launched 'Into the Gloss' in 2010. It was a beauty blog where she interviewed women about their routines. Not influencers—just regular people with interesting perspectives. The comments section became a goldmine of unmet needs. Luna: She was literally reading the market research in real time. People would say things like, 'I wish there was a cleanser that didn't strip my skin but still felt like it was working.' Lucas: Yes. And that specific comment—from a reader named Rosie—became the Milky Jelly Cleanser. Glossier launched in 2014 with just four products: the cleanser, a moisturizer, a face mist, and a lip balm. All of them directly tied to reader requests. No advertising. No PR blitz. Just a blog post saying 'We made what you asked for.' Luna: And that post went viral within that community because the readers felt ownership. They had literally contributed to the product brief. Lucas: Exactly. And that ownership loop is the engine of Glossier's funnel. From day one, the awareness stage wasn't driven by paid media—it was driven by word of mouth from people who already felt invested. The interest stage? That was the blog itself, where readers spent hours reading comments and routines. The decision stage was the ask: 'What do you wish existed?' And the action stage was the launch. Luna: So the traditional AIDA funnel—awareness, interest, decision, action—wasn't a linear path. It was a cycle. Each launch fed back into the community, which then generated more awareness for the next product. Lucas: And the numbers back that up. By 2019, Glossier was valued at $1.2 billion. They had a waitlist of over a million people for some products. Their customer acquisition cost was a fraction of what traditional beauty brands paid because their customers were doing the marketing. Luna: But then something changed. In 2024, Glossier laid off about 14% of its corporate staff. Emily Weiss stepped down as CEO. What happened? Lucas: The short answer is that the community model scales beautifully until it doesn't. As Glossier grew, they had to expand into retail, increase SKU count, and compete with brands like Rare Beauty and Fenty. The direct line between reader comments and product decisions got stretched. Luna: So the feedback loop that made the funnel work—the tight connection between customer input and product—started to loosen. Lucas: Exactly. And here's the specific tension: Glossier's early products had this aura of authenticity because they were co-created. But when they launched a sunscreen that got mixed reviews, or a body lotion that nobody asked for, the community felt it. The magic is fragile when your entire funnel relies on trust. Luna: So what's the lesson for other brands? Can you build a Glossier-style funnel without the blog and the cult following? Lucas: I think the core principle is replicable: start with a listening channel that is genuinely two-way. Doesn't have to be a blog—could be a subreddit, a Slack community, even a well-run survey program. The key is that customers see their input reflected in what you make. Luna: And that creates a decision shortcut. Instead of 'I saw an ad and researched and compared,' the decision is 'They asked me what I wanted. I told them. They made it.' Lucas: Right. But the cautionary tale is that you can't scale the intimacy. Once you have a million customers, you can't ask each one what they want. The challenge is to institutionalize the listening without losing the sincerity. Luna: So Glossier's funnel is a case study in both the power and the fragility of community-driven marketing. Lucas: If these marketing conversations have sparked something you've actually used in your work or just thought about, honestly, if today was worth a coffee to you, that's the link—buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Luna: Yeah, it's a tiny gesture that keeps these episodes ad-free and independent. We appreciate it. Lucas: Anyway, back to Glossier. One thing that still fascinates me is how they handled the launch of Boy Brow. That product became their bestseller, and it was directly inspired by a comment from a reader who said they wanted a brow gel that didn't make their brows feel crunchy. Luna: Which is such a specific, relatable pain point. And they named it 'Boy Brow' because the reader said she wanted brows that looked 'like a boy's but better.' Lucas: Exactly. That kind of naming and positioning can't come from a focus group. It comes from listening to the actual language customers use. Glossier's funnel didn't just capture attention—it captured vocabulary. Luna: So the awareness stage for Boy Brow wasn't a TV ad. It was the phrase 'boy brow' spreading through beauty forums. The interest stage was people asking 'What is Boy Brow?' The decision was the community validation. And the action was buying it. Lucas: And that's the blueprint. But here's where the funnel breaks: when Glossier tried to replicate that magic with a more conventional product launch—like their perfume, Glossier You—the community felt less involved. The perfume was developed with a traditional fragrance house, not through reader input. Luna: And it still did well, but it didn't have that same viral co-creation story. It was just a good product from a trusted brand. Lucas: Right. And that's fine. But it highlights a strategic choice: as you grow, do you double down on the community model, even if it limits your product categories? Or do you become a more conventional brand with a community arm? Glossier tried to do both, and that's partly why they hit turbulence. Luna: So the marketing funnel for a community-first brand is inherently different. It's not a funnel; it's a loop. Lucas: Exactly. And that loop is powerful because it reduces the friction at every stage. Awareness comes from advocacy, not advertising. Interest is built through participation. Decision is based on ownership. Action is just the logical conclusion. Luna: But when the loop breaks—when customers stop feeling heard—the funnel collapses back into a traditional one, and suddenly you're competing on price and convenience with every other brand. Lucas: And that's the real lesson. Glossier's funnel worked because it was authentic. Not because it was clever. Brands that try to copy the tactic without the genuine listening layer end up with a bunch of user-generated content that feels hollow. Luna: So what should a marketer take away today? If you're building a brand, start by finding a community you can genuinely serve. Listen before you launch. Lucas: And when you do launch, make sure the product is a direct answer to something you heard. That creates a story so compelling that your customers will tell it for you. Luna: Which is the most cost-effective marketing funnel there is. Lucas: Alright, that's Glossier. Next time, we'll look at a brand that took the opposite approach—built a massive audience first, then monetized it with products nobody asked for. Spoiler: it didn't end well. Luna: Looking forward to it.