8 Eyewear: From Idea, to Launch, to Growth (And Quitting the Job)

[Vick]

That was the coolest video I've seen in a while. Pretty efficient work with Maya, it seems to be very suitable for this kind of job. Also your way of basing the design to the human head-model just seems so clever to me. It is probably industry standard, but still so cool..

Is this new frame made from the flexible material also?

Keep going strong!

Thanks bud.
No the aviator will be metal

 

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[Vick]

Can we please get a direct link because the INSIDERS forum is closed ... it cannot embed the video.

the INSIDERS forum is closed?

 

[MJ DeMarco]

the INSIDERS forum is closed?

Not closed, inaccessible to those without access. Nevermind, the link was fixed.

 

[Vick]

VOXI Concept Video
For the ladies.

 

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[AllenCrawley]

VOXI Concept Video
For the ladies.

Showed my wife. She loved it.

 

[Vick]

Quick personal video with myself showing the strength of our V.1 frame and some details. I guess the goal of this was to try and make something I can use for advertising. Well, a first attempt anyway.

 

[iizu]

Quick personal video with myself showing the strength of our V.1 frame and some details. I guess the goal of this was to try and make something I can use for advertising. Well, a first attempt anyway.

Goddamn.. watching you stompin on those glasses.

I think the best part of the video was from 2:25-3:30, where you tell your story.
I can really sense the frustration you have felt from your voice.
It feels like you just want to offer people a proper product that can be actually used in real life. Great stuff. I'm sending that video to my friend who works in the military.

 

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[Vick]

Goddamn.. watching you stompin on those glasses.

I think the best part of the video was from 2:25-3:30, where you tell your story.
I can really sense the frustration you have felt from your voice.
It feels like you just want to offer people a proper product that can be actually used in real life. Great stuff. I'm sending that video to my friend who works in the military.

Thanks buddy!

 

[Davidla]

Hi Mark,

So even though we've been facebook friends for a while, I've never really understud what 8eyewear was all about Just thought they were really cool looking sunglasses.

Checked out your website today and watched the video, and was mind blown when I realized they are basically unbreakable. Awesome work man.

Thought the beginning of the video was super cool, as well as the various demonstrations of how they are unbreakable, and that this is why you started the company. If the goal is using for advertisements, thought that some parts would be best left out, to make it a tad bit more succinct and professional.

Love to see that your hard work and execution created an awesome product and business.

 

[Vick]

Hi Mark,

So even though we've been facebook friends for a while, I've never really understud what 8eyewear was all about Just thought they were really cool looking sunglasses.

Checked out your website today and watched the video, and was mind blown when I realized they are basically unbreakable. Awesome work man.

Thought the beginning of the video was super cool, as well as the various demonstrations of how they are unbreakable, and that this is why you started the company. If the goal is using for advertisements, thought that some parts would be best left out, to make it a tad bit more succinct and professional.

Love to see that your hard work and execution created an awesome product and business.

Yes. Your def right. I'm making another vid tomorrow. A shorter more focused video. My wife suggested that too

 

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[TKDTyler]

Yes. Your def right. I'm making another vid tomorrow. A shorter more focused video. My wife suggested that too

I'll be waiting for the next Hydraulic Press Channel video on youtube to feature 8eyewear

 

[Vick]

Update.
Not a good update.

My sales have really taken a dive over the past months. My FB ads don't seem to convert anymore. I have no idea what's goin on. I've tried lots of stuff. Can't F*cken figure it out, driving me mental. We went from 80k a month down to 30k. By now I should be doing well over 100k.

I don't know what to do.

 

[#nowhere]

As I see if I visit your site, you've got the V.1 on sale..

When did you go on sale? Value Perception is one point. Value perception for the product can decrease through altering the price down.
Strengthen your message for a premium product.

Another point is market-saturation for your V.1, imo. Bring the new models, soon.

If I got something wrong, clarify please.

 

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[Jake]

Find distributors
Sales Reps
Leverage affiliates and give them a healthy percentage. Capture the spillover from their traffic on Amazon.
Roll out your new model and test a lower price point on the V.1's
Find a celebrity with a tough guy image and show him your video of you trying to smash your shades

Just some thoughts. I've been fairly slow since August but that should be changing soon.

 

[Mr.Chaos]

I agree, with @Jake I was actually thinking about your brand the other day. I work in an industry with a lot of field workers/line technicians and construction workers. How about marketing campaigns targeting those types. I heard a guy complain that his shades hardly last him in his field of work.

Just a thought. Holiday season is also approaching so hopefully that should help.

and +1 to the Distributor Router

Your product is too good to NOT be in stores!!

Dicks sporting goods i.e

Cheers, Friend!

 

[RHL]

Hopefully you've run tests, etc. so this is just empty speculation, but the one thing that stuck out to me was how the whole V.1 line was on sale, while very little is teased about future models. I think having everything on sale is a bad look; says more "unloading this stuff" than it does "selling a luxury product." When you did such a good job of positioning your brand in juxtaposition with Ferraris and Bugattis, "fire sale" seems off-key.

Second, I'm sure you must be aware of this by now, but there is a very large segment of the sunglass-wearing population that openly avoid this style of glasses. That's why I thought the aviators were such a good idea-because while Oakleys and glasses styled like them are still very desirable among a big population segment, there's a growing backlash against their popularity that prefers simpler frames, and sometimes even a dollarstore-chic kind of look (even if they're $140 Ray Bans).

New models could capture that market too. I wonder if it's just the slump before Christmas, or the pool of people who want to buy glasses styled like the V1s that are accessible through your current ad channels is getting exhausted.

 

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[LateStarter]

I agree with the points listed above and would like to add more. Please excuse the gratuitous use of cascading bullet points.

• Unfortunately you're in the fashion industry... so you've got to try to keep the line looking fresh.
  • New colours are great, but they're not enough to keep customers interested.
• Hinting at new upcoming products can be a double edged sword.
  • Upcoming products help to show that you're viable and growing but people may wait to buy from the new collection.
• Putting everything on sale while not having a second line available looks like a 'going out of business' sale where you're dumping inventory.
  • I personally wouldn't put anything on sale unless there's another product in the lineup
  • And even then, I'd only put on sale a handful of offerings at once.
• I'd also look at your ad traffic vs web traffic
  • Are the ads just not converting? But you're still driving traffic to your site?
  • Recall you refreshed your site recently too...is that impacting your conversion? Check your analytics history and see if it's related.
  • From what I can see on your site there are a few things I would look at:
    • Your site is very clean and 'product' focused rather than 'experience' focused.
      • This may be too clinical looking and possibly is not helping customers make an emotional connection to the product or brand.
      • Try adding a 'look book' type of page (not an instagram gallery) where people can see the different styles on people. Think 'catalogue images' instead of a 'product line card'. Capeesh?
      • Your site is simply...here are your choices...pick one from the 21 offered.
      • Also remember that when confronted with too many choices, people generally prefer to not choose and elect to 'think about it' instead (ie. they don't convert). That's why many web pages have product clusters with 10-12 products per page as a default. Look at your layout...maybe help encourage decisions with a 'most popular' grouping or some other way of making sub-collections within the V1 line.
        
      • There's also no copy on the product page to help sell the version they're looking at. I know this can be a big task, but hire a copywriter to put some text there. Give the customer a reason to linger and look at one product a little longer to give it more consideration. Product specs don't do it.

Anyway...that's all I've got for now. Hit me up directly if you want to chat more about any of these.

PS. Can someone get prescription version of these lenses? I've had friends who work in Pro auto-racing (tough environment) ask.

Good luck!

 

[LateStarter]

I just remembered another element you should try.

Have you read some of the comments here? People think this is an epic thread (me too of course). But what do people love about this thread? And what do they love about your video?

Your story!!

Frustrated by expensive sunglasses that were breaking for stupid reasons, so you said F*ck it and made a better pair, 18 months to develop, $8k+ crap shoot of an investment, and look how how they perform! Then there's the look of them... killer... with great, high-end lenses... you weren't F*cking around or 'dabbling" (TM @LightHouse ) when you made these. A company 4+ years in the making but really still just 'starting out' with so much more potential in your future...

None of this is on your website. To your customers your brand is hollow. They see the product but don't see the back story that we all know and connect with.

People who know me, know I'm big on this... so I might start sounding like a broken record...but you don't have an emotional connection with your potential customers right now. Instead you're letting them create their own connection after they buy and experience the value first hand! Why? Sure you've got the "Premium Quality", "Universal Fit", blah blah blah... these are just bullets that people skim. It's not powerful enough.

Give your story to your customers and let that be the opportunity for them to connect with you. A lot of us know the frustration and disappointment of breaking an expensive pair of sunglasses. That's a common bond. Most people just piss and moan about it then go buy another pair. Not you! Hell no! You made your own pair and built a company! Get a brand story video on your main page that auto plays. Sell the brand, not just the product.

 

[iizu]

I think having everything on sale is a bad look; says more "unloading this stuff" than it does "selling a luxury product." When you did such a good job of positioning your brand in juxtaposition with Ferraris and Bugattis, "fire sale" seems off-key.

True. With such a high-quality product you should just be able to declare the price, like:

"This is the price of sunglasses that will last you a lifetime. We don't feel the need to trick you into paying a "lower" price. No. We provide value that is far greater than the price of these sunglasses."

Your story!!

Frustrated by expensive sunglasses that were breaking for stupid reasons, so you said F*ck it and made a better pair, 18 months to develop, $8k+ crap shoot of an investment, and look how how they perform! Then there's the look of them... killer... with great, high-end lenses... you weren't F*cking around or 'dabbling" (TM @@LightHouse ) when you made these.

Exactly. I get a very strong "This guy is not F*cking around"-vibe from Vick's videos.

 

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[Scot]

Another suggestion piggy backing off of @Mr.Chaos. Certain professions, you can write off purchases of eyewear on your taxes. I know I claimed my ballistic Oakley on my taxes when I was still in the Marines.

You've got the durability aspect, market to guys who need durability and don't be afraid to mention it can be a tax right off.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Your story!!

None of this is on your website. To your customers your brand is hollow.

I spoke about this at the last summit, but it must be restated.

A powerful story is a huge anchor to branding.

As humans, we cling to narrative structure. When you assign your product to a story, you give your customers the chance to become APART of the story.

And significant evidence exists that demonstrates a product/service with a STORY attached will sell for MORE over one without.

Check out

SignificantObjects.com

Not suggesting this will overcome your recent sales slide, but every little bit helps.

 

[AllenCrawley]

@Vick,

1. Take over your listing on amazon.com and boot the other seller. The seller you're allowing on there is not providing good service. The sunglasses have 6 reviews, 2 of which are negative. (If people are seeing your FB ad and going over to amazon they may very well be turned off by the negative reviews.) That listing is horrible and must be optimized. Amazon could be a huge revenue generator for you. It will take work because of the cheap looking knock offs on there but it will be worth it. Amazon PPC should work wonders. I believe it was mentioned earlier in your thread here that your FB ads could be funneling buyers to amazon and that seller reaping the benefits. Take over your listing.

2. Allocate a percentage of your FB ad spend to building your prospect email list. Do the same on IG using sponsored ads. You can run a gift card giveaway or contest to build the list. Then have an email sequence that draws them through the sales cycle. I'm sure, no matter how well your FB ads did, that a very small percentage were purchasing directly from the ad. What about the thousands of others that need a few more touch points before pulling the trigger? Email would be perfect for that. I run several types of FB ads to build my prospect list. Currently running a $10 gift card giveaway. They then go into an 8 email follow-up sequence.

3. Segment your email list into non-buyers. Develop a follow-up sequence to convert them to buyers. If you do not have non-buyers on your list, point 2 above is even more important.

4. Are you staying in touch with your buyers via email? Your products may not be consumables but you can certainly deliver great content to them on a regular basis. Staying top of mind. Very important especially when your customers consider gift giving.

5. Start implementing complimentary products to your lineup. Adding branded T-shirts and hats would be relatively quick and easy when using a shopify app. What other types of products could you add? Put that email list to work. Having additional, complementary products also allows you to run promos like "Free with Purchase" which doesn't dilute the brand like sales do.

6. Consider hiring a PR agent. @Eskil has one and seems to be pleased with the results.

I just remembered another element you should try.

Have you read some of the comments here? People think this is an epic thread (me too of course). But what do people love about this thread? And what do they love about your video?

Your story!!

Frustrated by expensive sunglasses that were breaking for stupid reasons, so you said F*ck it and made a better pair, 18 months to develop, $8k+ crap shoot of an investment, and look how how they perform! Then there's the look of them... killer... with great, high-end lenses... you weren't F*cking around or 'dabbling" (TM @LightHouse ) when you made these. A company 4+ years in the making but really still just 'starting out' with so much more potential in your future...

None of this is on your website. To your customers your brand is hollow. They see the product but don't see the back story that we all know and connect with.

People who know me, know I'm big on this... so I might start sounding like a broken record...but you don't have an emotional connection with your potential customers right now. Instead you're letting them create their own connection after they buy and experience the value first hand! Why? Sure you've got the "Premium Quality", "Universal Fit", blah blah blah... these are just bullets that people skim. It's not powerful enough.

Give your story to your customers and let that be the opportunity for them to connect with you. A lot of us know the frustration and disappointment of breaking an expensive pair of sunglasses. That's a common bond. Most people just piss and moan about it then go buy another pair. Not you! Hell no! You made your own pair and built a company! Get a brand story video on your main page that auto plays. Sell the brand, not just the product.

^ Agreed.

 

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[Scot]

Also following on @AllenCrawley, are you retargeting? Set up a Facebook pixel on your ads to capture unconverted shopping carts or bounces. If someone liked your ad enough to click but didn't buy, you can serve that specific audience with FB ads to try and get them to convert. That way they're warm leads. You can cycle through different ads, split test to see what converts better.

 

[pgtownsyou]

Talk about a barrier to entry! Very cool, thanks for sharing the process.

To reiterate what others have said, I know you've had great success with your simplistic website, but I've always thought it may benefit from an "About Us" page with a strong story that could help potential customers develop a more emotional connection with your brand.

 

[Vick]

Update.

Sales are back up, was rough there for awhile, all thanks to a new Video I made, which gets a CTR at about 5-9%
Video seems to be doing awesome.
Did well again on Black Friday and over Xmas.

Our new VX model cargo is shipping on the 15th so we should have that for sale in about a week. Takes forever to make a pair of shades. Anyway, fingers crossed on the launch, hopefully it does well.

I'm working on our "story" page should be up soon.

I was able to grab to web domains for 8eyewear.com and 8eyewear.ca. The 8eyewear.com was unavailable when I first started the venture. I got a PM from a forum member mentioning it was available. So ya special thanks to that individual for letting me know Not sure if I want to use the domains yet or not, but at least I have them.

2 more models are going into production soon. A Wayfarer model called the VERD which I haven't shown yet until now, pics below. And possibly a mens Aviator or a Female frame. haven't decided yet, or maybe both, if we have great success with the VX.

Apparel is in the works. Working on designs at the moment. I really want to do something unique with our apparel. So i think i'll be having stuff custom made for some things.

I had a huge deal in the works about a month ago, but it seems to have fell through, not sure whats goin on. It was with a company called BATTLBOX
They wanted 10,000 units to ship with there membership Box products. We would've made a killing on that deal. Not sure why they decided to pull. Anyway, I'm sending a follow up email today, maybe I'll hear back from them on the issue.

Working on a new business. It should be up in a month or so. Just a test for some extra cash flow. Its pretty simple and the turn around time for product is about 30 days, which is great. Instead of waiting 8-10 months for a pair of sunglasses to be made. Anyway, haven't decided if I'm going to share this venture yet or not. We'll see, lots of copycats out there.

Here's some pics of the Concept for the VERD. A few things here and there may change. I'd like to get this one into production within a few weeks.

 

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[Scot]

Great update @Vick ! That's something I never really thought about, getting into the sub boxes. Have you tried getting into other ones? There are so many designed around apparel or accessories that I can definitely see your eyewear making a good fit with.

 

[Vick]

Great update @Vick ! That's something I never really thought about, getting into the sub boxes. Have you tried getting into other ones? There are so many designed around apparel or accessories that I can definitely see your eyewear making a good fit with.

yup im looking into that thanks!

 

[MJ DeMarco]

membership Box products

How would that work for a luxury brand? Aren't subscription boxes like $29/mo? Or are you talking about an advertising insertion or something? That might be worth investigating.

 

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[Vick]

How would that work for a luxury brand? Aren't subscription boxes like $29/mo? Or are you talking about an advertising insertion or something? That might be worth investigating.

they have a variety of boxes at different price points. some are expensive. but ya, i think that has something to do with the deal falling through possibly.

 

[PaulRobert]

they have a variety of boxes at different price points. some are expensive. but ya, i think that has something to do with the deal falling through possibly.

I did a deal with a subscription box company back in 2015. It was for a few thousand units as well. A lot of these sub box companies are now trying to keep expenses to around 1/3 of the price. Cost of box $10, sell at $30

I made a decent profit off that and included an exclusive discount code for their members. I've only had a few people use it out of the thousands. IMO, the subscription box consumers never want to pay full retail for a product. They see better value in paying $30/$60 a month to get 3-5 items for that price instead of one.

But don't let that stop you. If you can get that deal closed then do it. BattlBox looks like a different demographic than my audience.
Great job Vick!!