Before constructing her brand August, Nadya Okamoto founded Period, a nonprofit that went into the community and destigmatized menstruation for those in need. Through her work with Period, she met with 1000’s of individuals to know what the vision for menstrual equity, care, and transparency should seem like. Those conversations inspired her to launch August, an organization that makes sustainable period products out of 100% absorbent cotton.
Nadya’s goal with August is to reimagine periods as powerful. Launched in 2020, the brand has a transparent supply chain and a dedication to inclusive storytelling that features everything of people that menstruate, irrespective of their gender identity. You’ll find August at your local Goal or WeWork. Her brand has stood out in the non-public care market and has develop into a preferred D2C company, partly due to strategic partnerships with Doordash, and the USA Track & Field team.
Since transparency is an element of the DNA of the brand, Nadya goes beyond using the brand’s social channels to advertise the business and likewise promotes August on her personal TikTok account to her greater than 4 million followers. On TikTok, she’s a “menses-fluencer” that documents the challenges of entrepreneurship, her work as a period poverty activist, and even her personal mental health struggles.
Constructing August has at all times been about continuing a conversation concerning the role of menstruation in society, so Nadya uses specific tactics to research and collect customer feedback, and understand her customers’ pain points. After 4 years of name constructing, Nadya has a playbook she uses to interact customers and create life-long bonds along with her community.
The perfect strategies for collecting market research and community feedback
Ask tough questions
When she began August, Nadya got on Zoom calls and sent iMessages asking friends, family, and volunteers about their period products. “What are you not currently getting? What do you wish? And the way can we do it in a way that is exclusive and different,?” she says.
Those conversations with friends, family, and strangers gave her the thought to launch her own brand. Nevertheless it wasn’t the conversations alone, it was due to the questions she asked. She was personal and detailed, and didn’t tip-toe across the material.
Select a communication platform you possibly can depend on
While you’re a startup doing all your own user research, having a technique to directly communicate along with your audience is important. Brands sometimes use social channels like Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), or Discord, others use toll-free numbers, August used Geneva. As a small business August wanted something useful that did not require a big chunk of its budget.
“We were searching for a conversation platform and Geneva really fit what we were searching for, since it was free, and simple to make use of,”Nadya says. Geneva is a gaggle chat app that connects people online. Nadya was capable of use it to poll August’s customers, run concepts by her core consumers, and have an area for others to interact with the August community, whether she was there or not.
Nadya at all times felt like August’s customers were a component of the brand, so allowing them to talk on to her and one another was never in query.
Lead by example first
In an age where transparency can feel strategic, Nadya knows that there continues to be stigma around menstruation. Her goal is for August to vary the narrative, so she opens up about her own menstrual journey online. You’ll see TikTok videos of her asking her boyfriend to grab some pads for her otherwise you’ll see her standing outside the WEF in Davos offering menstrual products to attendees. She shares personal stories, totally on TikTok, and responds with meaningful questions when people confide in her about their time of the month.
Nadya knows that if she wants to interrupt down barriers and destigmatize periods, she must do what she’s asking of her community. If you happen to want authentic, beneficial feedback, you’ll have to make people feel comfortable and secure by opening up first. Share your experience, let your community know why you’re obsessed with helping others, and be able to answer the tough questions that you just’re asking of your customers.
Making a meaningful brand takes an alchemy of user research, community constructing, and message refinement. And, while you will discover books and courses on easy methods to do these items in a silo, entrepreneurs like Nadya who understand their product and community, can achieve these goals organically.
While your product may not have the identical social stigma as discussing menstrual products, understanding your product’s unique value proposition, in addition to your personal personal value proposition can propel your brand’s success.
Hearken to more of Nadya’s advice on community constructing, product development, and VC funding in the total Shopify Masters episode.
