Rutger Houweling – Bever

Rutger Houweling is Manager of Marketing & Communication at Bever, a Dutch retailer of outdoor clothing, shoes, and gear. Bever opened its first store in 1977 and has since grown to 40 stores across the Netherlands. Together with his team, Rutger is responsible for carrying out the brand’s story through all its marketing and communication.

PERSONAL CONTACT IS THE MAIN DRIVER

Bever’s main driver of growth is personal contact with their customers, mostly through the stores, but also online. Rutger: “Personal contact allows you to make a difference in keeping your customers happy and connecting them to your brand. Over the years, we positioned ourselves as ‘The outdoor store of the Netherlands’, and we struggled with how we could realize growth. We saw opportunities in expanding the number of categories we offer and our product range, and invested a lot into e-commerce. We tried to cater towards a broader audience by for instance offering more lifestyle-oriented products.”

“In that process, we found that practice often works very different”, Rutger continues. “We noticed that this vision didn’t align with our customer’s needs. It led to us re-thinking our positioning. We are celebrating our 45^th anniversary this year, and back then we were known as a unique formula in the market where people went for products they couldn’t get elsewhere. They visited our store to get advice and to buy the right product which would last them for years. We are now trying to recapture that feeling. We are not just the outdoor shop, but the outdoor specialist. Our shops are an important factor in re-establishing that personal contact. This also means that you have to continue to invest in recruitment. Especially on the shop floor, the knowledge needs to be there. When you talk about the moment of truth, those are the moments where you can make a difference. We believe in personal contact and taking the time for the customer to provide them with the best advice. Of course, we try to do that online as well, but the real contact and experience in the shop are hard to capture in an online environment. That is also something you need to come to terms with, and the reason why our shops are so important for our positioning.”

“You don’t just want to inspire people, or just talk about service or products, so we make sure that our moments of truth are balanced in our communication.”

FOUR MOMENTS OF TRUTH

Bever’s positioning is based on a love for the outdoors. Rutger: “For Bever there is not just one key moment of truth, I think there are four on which we should base all activities; from campaigns to online to the look and feel in the store.” For Bever, the first moment is inspiring people to go outside by showcasing great adventures, but also products. We understand like no other how you can enjoy the outdoors, and we try and reflect that feeling throughout our marketing. The second moment is that we have the right expertise to give our customers the best advice. Our outdoor experts know exactly what will fit your needs and are educated accordingly. Our third moment of truth is offering the best, highest-quality products from the best brands that will last you a long time. Our fourth and last moment is keeping in touch with our customers by allowing them to give their product a second life. When you buy something, you need to treat it with respect, maintain it and repair it when it is broken. A new sole can be replaced, there is no need to buy a new pair. If a product is truly at the end of its run, you can return it to our stores and we give it a second life. We donate sleeping bags to Sheltersuit, a foundation that makes sleeping jackets for the homeless. We make travel products from old tents, use recycled materials for t-shirts and jumpers. In this way, we ensure that we do not waste any material and that no new raw materials need to be made.

FACILITATING EXPERIENCES

Everyone at Bever identifies with our positioning, and all our activities are tested against these beliefs. Of course, you don’t just want to inspire people, or just talk about your service or products, so we make sure that these moments are balanced and evenly shared in our communication.” Rutger reveals that Bever’s biggest challenge is conveying their positioning and what they stand for to their target group: “When people go out hiking, we want them to think of Bever, not just when they want to buy new hiking shoes. You buy an experience and our outdoor specialist can tell you why this product is the best choice for your hike. I believe that you experience the greatest adventures outside. Our role as the marketing communications team is to facilitate those experiences by sharing the Bever story through all our channels. We also find it very important to create a community among our customers. Our ‘outdoor friends’ all share the same values and it is our job to bring them together through events we organise in local stores. We also look at how we can partner with our brands as they also have great expertise and it allows them to connect with customers in a new way. I believe the most important role of marketing communications is to showcase our added value and share why you should go to Bever for your outdoor experiences.”

“You need the outside world because that is where you are at your best, but the outside world needs you too.”

When it comes to Bever’s campaigns, Rutger shares how there are so many different stories to share, but you can’t share them all: “You can’t create a campaign for everything, so you need to make decisions within the team. This year we will be focusing on sustainability, our fourth moment of truth. Textile waste is a huge problem, but as a retailer, we also know that we are part of that problem. Our mission is to be as sustainable as possible. A shoe can be produced sustainably, but it can hardly be recycled because of the many different materials it contains. But sometimes it is much more sustainable if a product lasts 25 – 30 years. You need the outside world because that is where you are at your best, but the outside world needs you too. We are now focusing on that reciprocity.”

“An example is ‘For Future Fridays”, Rutger continues. “Every year, we used a commercial approach and offered discounts during Black Friday. This year, we thought about what we as Bever stand for and find important. So, we didn’t offer discounts. Instead, you could get your products repaired for free in 6 stores, and all stores offered free servicing of hiking boots. It was a real success, we polished over 6,000 shoes and repaired over 1,500 clothes. When you talk about the moment of truth, those are the most valuable moments. It is about inspiring people, giving them the best product, the best advice, and how they can use it for as long as possible.”

DATA VERSUS GUTFEEL

When it comes to measuring the impact of their marketing activities, Rutger shares how data is important, but the shared belief of Bever’s positioning and gutfeel within the team is also crucial: “We believe in our positioning and what we do, so not everything needs to be thoroughly measured and proven. At the same time, we believe in using data-driven marketing to personalise our content. To a certain degree, you can replicate that personal contact in-store, online. If you know their interests, you can send customers personalised messages and newsletters. We are working on developing that aspect of our communication as it allows us to service and help our customers better. Of course, we measure and test our big campaigns to uncover the impact on KPIs like consideration and preference. Using these metrics also helps us understand how the brand is seen by consumers. In the end, it is more about sharing our vision and translating that story into our campaigns. If more people come to the shop and more is sold, then we know our efforts paid off.”