“Listen to your customers. Be laser-focused on their needs. And if the subscription is what they need then become the best in your product category at that.”
Garron Lipschitz
The entrepreneurial journey of ConfidenceClub’s co-founders, Gavin Basserabie and Garron Lipschitz, began with their recognition of the need for products that help Australians living with incontinence.
Together, the duo recognised the need for products to help Australians living with incontinence, an often-overlooked medical condition affecting millions nationwide.
They pivoted their business and focused on building ConfidenceClub, with a goal to provide a subscription-based service that offered customers a discreet and convenient way to purchase essential incontinence products.
The ConfidenceClub journey
Garron’s personal experiences with family members and his own health struggles made him realise that continence management is burdensome for both the person suffering from incontinence and their caregivers. With Gavin’s expertise in e-commerce and Garron’s insights, they saw an opportunity to use technology and automation to create a service that would truly benefit people living with incontinence.
The business has become thriving, supplying tens of thousands of Australians with millions of high-quality incontinence products each year. The company’s commitment to exceptional customer service has earned it a loyal following and remarkable growth, with domestic revenue in January 2023 a staggering 22 times greater than that of January 2019.
“We alleviate the anxiety, stress, and energy that staying adequately stocked up demands. Most people with incontinence develop daily hygiene routines and therefore have a fairly predictable daily product need. Our unique subscription solution we call Never Run Out means that we can automatically replenish stock levels to match the individual’s needs and unburden them from needing to monitor, buy, or transport their products,” said Garron.
Customer service at the core
Gavin and Garron give customers full control over their subscriptions. “Because people’s situations can change, we make it very clear to subscribers that they are still in full control at all times. They can change, pause, or cancel their subscription at any time or ask us to do it for them. No questions asked” explained Garron.
“We were convinced that people would like us so much that they would naturally all end up subscribing. Why wouldn’t they? It just makes sense. But we soon realised that this is not the case for many others and for any number of reasons.”
When they first started ConfidenceClub, Gavin and Garron were convinced that people would like them so much that they would naturally all end up subscribing. But they soon realised that this is not the case for many others and for any number of reasons. They, therefore, offer a subscription as an option and view it as only one of the available services that they offer. Garron emphasised that customers have the freedom to choose whether or not to use their subscription service.
“Customers may or may not choose to use it. We communicate the ways it could perhaps help them, but the choice is always theirs.
“Because people’s situations can change, we make it very clear to subscribers that they are still in full control at all times. They can change, pause, or cancel their subscription at any time or ask us to do it for them. No questions asked.”
ConfidenceClub.com.au serves as their primary shopfront, making digital marketing a crucial means of attracting customers. “Our primary shopfront is our website ConfidenceClub.com.au, so digital marketing, such as Google and Facebook, is a vital and valuable way to attract people to our business,” Garron stated. “We then ensure that we communicate informatively and effectively to them during and after their shopping experience with us.”
To ensure customer satisfaction, ConfidenceClub offers many generous policies such as the ‘It Fits, Or It’s Free’ 100% money-back guarantee, a unique and better subscription option called Never Run Out, and a valuable rewards program where customers can receive discounts on future orders for not only ordering but also for liking the company on Facebook, or even just having their birthday.
Overcoming stigma, competition, and costs
Being a direct-to-consumer business with a strong focus on service means that the company is different. Garron admits that it is expensive and challenging to compete for the consumer’s attention when the other options in the market have much deeper pockets.
“It is human nature to be resistant to change, even if the change means you may likely end up with a better outcome. So, for example, if a person has used a product for months or years, it is very difficult to convince them to try our products and services, even if the product they use is ill-fitting and causes skin irritations or leaks. This means we need to put a lot of energy and money into marketing, education and free samples.”
Costs increased dramatically over the past few years, especially the cost of transportation, which spiked since the start of the global pandemic. “Costs to import containers peaked at around five times their pre-COVID levels, and the costs to deliver across Australia have been steadily on the rise despite the increase in business volumes that couriers have been getting.”
Garron noted that this was a significant challenge since many of their customers are particularly price-sensitive “This is all in a category where the customer is particularly price-sensitive, often being underemployed, on a pension, or having limited government funding.”
Over two-thirds of ConfidenceClub’s customers have never seen a health professional for their condition or received any help in choosing the right products, which made it necessary for the company to become experts in a health category that is not widely publicised. To overcome this, Garron said, “We’ve needed to become experts in a health category that is not very public and therefore hard to learn. However, we have been able to learn quickly by listening to our customers, identifying their specific needs, and building our business around them.”
ConfidenceClub invests heavily in educating customers and destigmatising the issue of incontinence. Garron noted, “We focus on removing the stigma by normalising the conversation and providing education and awareness around incontinence. We want people to know that they are not alone, and there are products and services available that can help them manage this medical condition.”
Additionally, the business focuses on providing high-quality products at affordable prices. “We are focused on providing high-quality products at affordable prices. We achieve this through our close partnerships with leading manufacturers, which allows us to provide our customers with competitive pricing,” Garron explained.
Gavin and Garron’s dedication to providing exceptional customer service has also played a significant role in ConfidenceClub’s success. “We genuinely care about our customers and want them to have a positive experience with ConfidenceClub. We have a dedicated team of customer service representatives who are always available to assist our customers with any questions or concerns they may have,” Gavin shared.
Reflecting on their journey as a business, Garron acknowledged that they hadn’t done everything perfectly, but they have learned a great deal from their customers in the five years since they started. Garron noted that their customer feedback and product reviews are mostly positive, which humbles them on a daily basis.
He also cautioned against complacency and stressed the importance of taking every opportunity to learn from customers, saying, “It’s easy to become complacent, knowing that what we offer appeals to so many, but we genuinely take every opportunity to learn from our customers. So do that.”
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