Leaders in Customer Loyalty, Powered by Loyalty360

Inside MANSCAPED’s Members Only Rewards: How Emotional Loyalty Fuels the Brand’s Growth

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In the latest edition of Loyalty360’s Leaders in Customer Loyalty: Brand Stories series, Tara Roth-Sterger, Senior Loyalty Program Manager at MANSCAPED, shared insights into the brand’s journey and its customer-first approach. Founded in 2016 by Paul Tran, MANSCAPED has grown from a men’s below-the-waist grooming company into a global leader in men’s personal care, expanding into beard, skincare, and grooming products. Tara discussed the launch of the brand’s new Members Only Rewards program, which integrates seamlessly with its strong subscription model to deliver simplicity, recognition, and exclusive perks. She emphasized MANSCAPED’s focus on building trust, community, and advocacy, highlighting partnerships like the one with the Testicular Cancer Society, while also underscoring how emotional loyalty and personalization are driving the brand’s next phase of customer engagement. 

SPEAKER_00:

Welcome back to our Leaders and Customer Belo Case Series. It is Thursday, so we have another edition of our brand stories for you. Thanks for joining us every Thursday. And today we're going to be focusing on beauty. The beauty industry is no longer just about women. Today, more men are actively participating in all aspects of beauty, from focused fitness routines and skincare to grooming and personal style. Men are increasingly investing in their appearance, embracing wellness, and redefining what it means to be well-kept and confident. In this session, we're going to take a closer look at the growing focus on men's beauty, including the rise of clothing, a modern curated approach to male grooming and self-care. In this episode, we're going to hear from Tara Roth Sturger, the senior loyalty program manager of Manscaped. Tara, thank you very much for taking the time to join us today. How are you?

SPEAKER_01:

Wonderful. Thank you for having me today.

SPEAKER_00:

Perfect. For those who may not be familiar, can you give us a brief introduction to Manscaped? You know, how was the company started? What's the focus? And you know, what's led to the success?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, absolutely. So Manscaped is a premium brand, and we started back in 2016 as a go-to brand for men's below-the-waist grooming. And since then, we've expanded to cover every aspect of men's grooming care. We have personal uh tools, we have formulations, we have accessories, and they're all designed to help men feel confident and level up their service or self-care routine. The company was started by our amazing founder, Paul Tran. He noticed back in the day that there was products for every part of the female body, but no parody for men. So Manscaped was born. And uh he he was on a mission to provide safe, easy to use, confident boosting solutions. And um, the brand was able to take a like I would say a formally taboo topic and make it accessible to men across the world uh using humor. So that's been really fun. I'm sure you've seen a lot of our commercials out there, and uh it's one of our signature pieces, I think. And that's what uh I would say one of the things that have led to our success. Uh we've um we have things like uh innovative products called the law mower with our skin safe technology, humorous marketing that really resonates with our audience. We have a very strong subscription model that elevates the importance of routines with replacement blades and formulas, and um, and we have an amazing leadership team. I think that really makes the difference.

SPEAKER_00:

So okay, excellent. Uh your role at Manscaped, uh, would love to know a little bit more about what you're in charge of and also, you know, how did you get to where you are today? Were there stops before in customer loyalty? You know, what what led to this role?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, so I've been at Manscaped for uh upcoming uh in next month, uh, five years, which is hard to believe. Time flies. And I originally came on here as the senior loyalty manager um after spending 14 years at a company called Roadrunner Sports, uh where I ran our loyalty and subscription program there as well. Um however, before that I started in retail, I did a lot of our events and um got to know the customers really well. So, customer service, customer retention has always been where my heart has been, where I've spent all my time. So uh, you know, running the loyalty program as a natural fit, uh both at Roadrunner Sports and then coming here at Nanscaped. And um, these days I lead the strategy and execution of our very brand new loyalty program called Members Only Rewards. And then we also have our VIP subscription program that I run, uh, which was formerly uh our peak hygiene plan, um, if anybody's familiar with that. And uh, that is purely a subscription-based uh program. And now we've layered on those perks with uh rewards for all customers, not just subscribers, which is super exciting for me to be able to love every customer.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. Uh when you look at uh your role, obviously customer loyalty is more and more important uh than it may have been, you know, five, 10 years ago. Brands are very focused. We build a pretty significant brand community that discusses pretty openly uh across industries topics pertaining to customer loyalty. You know, we when you look at the importance and impact of customer loyalty, you know, what keeps you up at night? What are some of the challenges that you face?

SPEAKER_01:

So there's a lot of challenges for sure with uh making sure uh customers are taken care of, that they are um uh, you know, that we are there for them when they at their at their pivotal moments when they need us. Um, but I would say the most current thing that keeps me up right now is when you work so diligently for a considerable time to launch the best loyalty program uh built with customer insights. Um and the day comes you go live with this program, you've worked so hard to build. Um, it's super exciting. But there's, you know, of course, some anxiety. Did we get it right? Will our customers feel the same way? Is there value that we built in this program that they see? Um, you know, where are the pain points? And we won't know all of those things until we've you know been live for a bit longer. We just launched this month, you know. So we're still in that hyper care mode. We're trying to monitor our customers' uh sentiment and and behavior uh very early on. Um, so with that early, early look so far, things are looking up. I'm excited. Um, but it definitely is you know things that keep me up at night where I wonder like, did we get it right?

SPEAKER_00:

So that's awesome.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Uh you know, when you look at the the members only reward program, what insights from your customers, uh, from other programs, you know, led to the decision to launch the program.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, we definitely took customers' insights. We did lots of research. We did um strategy sessions, we we sent out interviews with our customers. So we we definitely took their insights uh to build this program. And it's uh, you know, it definitely has that loyalty element with rewards and points that a lot of other uh programs have. It also has the three tiers with increasing benefits as you grow uh with your loyalty, um with the most exclusive benefits reserved for our valued subscribers. Um, but at the core, we we listened and customers wanted, they told us they wanted more than discounts, which of course, you know, discounts are always the top, right? But they wanted recognition, they want those um perks and a super easy program to use. I know a lot of programs out there you have to track things and you, you know, you lose points after a certain amount of time, and you it's just you know hard to hard to keep track and you don't actually get to use the benefits. So leveraging those requirements along with um, you know, we really need to also balance the fact we have this very healthy subscription program to maintain, and we needed to seamlessly kind of integrate that into the loyalty program, that really helped us guide the program structure and the benefits we're offering today.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. When you look at the member only, members only reward program, you know, how does it enhance or differentiate Manscaped's uh customer loyalty strategy when compared uh to other competitors in managers' grooming?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. So um, you know, there are lots of programs out there with point earning uh programs. And um, but I feel like ours is refreshingly simple. And uh that's because you earn points on every purchase. But once you hit 1,000 points, you uh get a$10 rewards cache that automatically gets into your shopping cart. So there's nothing to really do. You you start shopping and automatically, you know, you get to the cart, whether it's in your subscription box cart or your regular cart, that$10 is there for you to click on and use right away. There's no finding a code somewhere or clicking and you know, cutting and pasting something. It's just really an easy experience uh simply by shopping. And a thousand points is you know a fairly easy uh task to get to. We um give you points for fun engaging ways as well, like taking surveys and sharing your birthday. So you you don't even need to shop uh for all those points. You can do them by engaging with us. Uh, we also celebrate your milestones, like birthdays, um, your anniversaries with us. Um and then if you are somebody who likes to shop D2C through Amazon or retail, we all we also reward you for that. And you can uh submit your receipts uh with our program and still earn loyalty points uh from Manscaped with those purchases. Um, and finally, I think what sets us apart is the fact that we have um this reserved a top tier for our subscribers. I've looked at many loyalty programs out there, and many have loyalty, you know, the traditional loyalty program, and then they have a subscription program, but it's separate. And we really felt that need to entwine the two um to make them uh feel I feel like a whole program. And uh our subscribers really are we've really given them unmatched value with 50% off their power blades, they get 20% off everything they add to their subscription box, no matter how many products they add. And they get everyday special pricing. Uh, there's also a lot of other benefits that they get with that top tier as well.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay, excellent. So when you look at the rebrand of the Peak Hygiene Plan as kind of the new VIP tier, you kind of talked about a little bit, kind of integrating the subscription and kind of the loyalty program within this new structure. You know, how did the subscription model influence the overall customer loyalty design?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, so we've never really had a way to truly reward our subscribers uh in the past. And so launching this program where we uh, like I've said, integrating the reward side of it with a VIP subscription as a tier, um, we are giving our most valuable customers a reason to stay in the program now. Uh and once they figured out, I mean, I think the program's still new, but once they've figured out that they can unlock this value from us, they'll continue to uh get rewarded and it'll be a win-win. So I do feel like that is why we really wanted to integrate the two so that our best customers were were feeling rewarded. And this program allows us to do that.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. When you look at the men's grooming and personal care industry, how is it evolving? You know, how are you seeing your customers' needs and expectations kind of shift as a result of this evolution?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, so I think men have embraced grooming and skincare now more than ever, you know, in the last few years. And uh there's a big demand for simple, multifunctional natural products. And Manscaped has really grown with that trend. We really have. And expanding our lineup now, uh what our internal term is we've gone beyond the groin. And we've tapped into categories like beard, face shave. We even have a skincare line now. So I think um uh as the immense grooming evolve uh industry has evolved, we have evolved with it. And it's it's exciting to be in where we are today. I think we're we're an industry leader for sure.

SPEAKER_00:

Are there any macroeconomic changes that you're seeing that are you may have a concern with uh from a customer experience, customer loyalty perspective, uh kind of the tariffs, no tariffs, uh, economic uncertainty in certain groups. So yeah, are you seeing some things that uh that you uh can at least have on the radar?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, for sure. I mean, obviously, um inflation and uncertainty, people are careful with where they spend their money. So we um we've pivoted with our strategy and focused less on acquisition and really focus more on maintaining our long-term relationships with our valued customers that we already have. And that retention uh business is is a huge key for us right now. It's um it's more important than ever. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. What does customer loyalty mean to you and Manscape? You know, we have again a growing brand community. We love to understand kind of how they're defining things from a qualitative and quantitative perspective. So we'd love to know what customer loyalty means to you and to Manscape.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, for us, it's not it's about the not just about the repeat business. Of course, that's super important, um, but it's about trust, uh, community, advocacy. You know, we um Manscaped has a very um deep partnership with a company or with an organization called TCS or Testicular Cancer Society. And we love to give back to that society, um making sure that you know we're we're part of that. And we've been donating uh money and our time and effort for years now with that uh organization. And I feel like that's a big part of who we are. And uh we want every customer, whether they're on their first purchase or their 15th, to feel like they're part of something bigger. And so um we're really gonna, you know, working hard to create that community.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. When you look at a direct customer product, uh, you know, how is customer locally different? How is the kind of the life cycle different? You know, engaging with that customer, especially uh where there could be some overlap from direct to consumer, but also you can maybe pick it up in a Walmart or other locations as well. How do you balance or how do you kind of look at kind of that whole engagement paradigm?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, well, obviously, um, you know, direct-to-consumer business, we uh loyalty is is very personal because we own that relationship from the start to the finish, which means we can listen closely, we can adapt, we can tailor the experience because we know who that customer is, which is super exciting and a very unique aspect for the D2C business. Um, we also want to reward our customers where and how they shopped, you know, because we don't want them just to, I mean, of course, someone who's focused D2C uh mostly, um uh I want them to come to see us, but if they prefer to shop in Amazon and retail, we want to also acknowledge that and reward them because an omni-channel customer is only a better customer, right? So if they have the choice and we still can reward them, that is the ultimate.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. Uh when you look at uh loyalty programs, there's a big discussion right now, kind of elevating the discussion uh with the customer, uh kind of leaning into customer loyalties you talked about versus acquisition. But when you look at uh creating emotional connection with customers, very important. Uh just did a big research paper on it. What does emotional loyalty mean to you and your brand? And and you know, how uh are you going beyond just discounts to drive some of that emotional connection?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, we I feel like it's the little touches, right? So um we've sprinkled in those things like the birthday surprises, manners, we call them mannersary uh perks, which are anniversary gifts every year. You're with us, we give you something special. Um, we it all adds up with that. And then uh we are rewarding our loyalty subscription or sorry, our um VIP tier subscribers with uh a gift um every fourth box. So that's a kind of a surprise and delight. Um and we're aiming for those wow moments, and we'll continue to find those as we launch and learn from our customers what resonates, what what doesn't resonate. But we will be continuing to add those wow moments as we move along this journey.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay, excellent. When you look at uh customer loyalty, customer experience, what's the next big thing for you in Manscape?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, we're excited about maybe some more gamification, more personalization, uh, even some community-driven events or experiences. Uh that's definitely been on uh many of our strategy discussions about how we can create that community feel and you know where we can step in. So that'll that'll be a phase two, uh, more to come there. Uh but the goal is to make loyalty feel more uh more than just rewards, but more like a lifestyle. And uh we are we will be marching towards that goal.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. When you look at your customer multi-programs, customer loyalty efforts, you know, what are two or three things that you're most proud of?

SPEAKER_01:

I'm proud of the generous structure we built here for our members. I feel like uh uh when they really start to understand the the give back that we've uh shared with benefits for in particular our subscribers, they get earn up to 10% back. Um, they will feel feel that love and understand how amazing the program is. Um, we also uh, you know, expanding beyond subscribers to every customer and making sure they all feel included. Uh I'm very proud of that fact that we we are whether you're just coming in for the first time and spending five bucks with us or you're spending 200, we are going to reward every every customer. And then honestly, it's the team. We built this from scratch and it's been a massive effort. And I couldn't be more proud of what we've created together. So I feel like those are my top three.

SPEAKER_00:

That's awesome. And last question, somewhat self-serving. You know, what can Loyalty 360 do to help you and your uh team with your customer loyalty efforts?

SPEAKER_01:

So, well, today, thank you for having us. This is uh maybe one step and maybe more of these type of chats. I would love to come back or someone from our team to come back and share as we've been uh live for a little longer with uh some updates of where the program has gone and how we're doing. Um, and uh getting insights from uh, you know, your research and staying ahead of the curve and connecting us with peers, uh sharing your best practices and doing what you what you all do best.

SPEAKER_00:

Absolutely. Well, thank you very much for that. Uh and now we have our wonderful quick fire round questions. Uh, we'd like to keep these to a one-word or short phrase answer. Uh, you know, what is your favorite word? Energy. Excellent. What is your least favorite word that either you or others use?

SPEAKER_01:

I can't.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. What do you find exciting?

SPEAKER_01:

New programs.

SPEAKER_00:

Um, what do you find tiresome?

SPEAKER_01:

Standing still.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. Is there a book that you've read or you read often that you like to recommend to colleagues?

SPEAKER_01:

Well, I read a book called Loyalty Programs, a complete guide by Philip Schelper, and he is uh somebody we worked with back in the day, and it's a it's a great read. So I would highly recommend it.

SPEAKER_00:

Uh if you had the opportunity to uh be in another profession, uh what would you maybe like to attempt?

SPEAKER_01:

I think event planning.

unknown:

Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

Pretty good at that.

SPEAKER_00:

And what do you enjoy uh in doing, uh, a passion, a hobby that you may not get as much uh opportunity to do?

SPEAKER_01:

Listening to podcasts.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. Uh who inspired you to become the person that you are today?

SPEAKER_01:

I feel like my team here at Manscaped. They're amazing.

SPEAKER_00:

Uh perfect. Uh and what do you typically think about at the end of the day?

SPEAKER_01:

My action items for the next day.

SPEAKER_00:

And lastly, how do you want to be remembered by friends and family?

SPEAKER_01:

As someone who is a connector and who cares.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, excellent. Well, Tara, thank you very much for taking the time to speak with us today. It was great getting to know you personally, uh, getting to know a little bit more about the Manscaped customer loyalty approach and program. Uh so very informative, and thank you very much for taking the time.

SPEAKER_01:

Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_00:

Absolutely. And thank you everyone else for taking the time to leave us back every Thursday for our Leaders in Customer Loyalty series. Until then, make sure you subscribe and like and look forward to having uh you back soon. So thank you very much.

SPEAKER_01:

Thank you.