Startups in the space of interior design is not new. With the introduction of Shopify, several e-commerce sites have popped up overnight. Founders requiring to have a technical, food marketing strategy and product knowledge is no longer necessary. And so every other E-commerce platform seems to have the same strategy, “test the ground, fail fast, learn fast”.
While startups with this marketing strategy in the interior design space seem to have found a good solution to their problem of exiting the business with minimum losses the only loser seems to be the customer.
Thus, we set out to find a startup which presents a good marketing, product and development strategy. Today we bring to you the story of Morphico, an e-commerce platform for wallpaper and Murals.
We bring to you a short interview with the founder Ms Sujal Wade, an overview of their business strategy and our take on what we concluded. We lets begin
The interview
Question: How did it all start?
Answer: It all started when I was personally doing interior design for my new house. We faced issues when it came to selecting several items like wallpapers, curtains, floorings, and photo frames. Being a person from the working class the best option was to browse online and if possible buy online. I came across several brands on Instagram, but every site we visited did not have a great experience while the prices were too exorbitant. It seems like a good product and marketing strategy, it is a good opportunity to tap into.
Question: Why did you select wallpapers to launch with?
Answer: One of our online purchases was a world map wallpaper for a bedroom. We ordered it from an international site. The cost was much higher almost 2.5X what was in our domestic market, the sales experience needed multiple interactions over email, but the product really seemed worth it. When the product was being delivered we had t pay almost 50% of the cost in customs for import. This made the purchase way more expensive than we anticipated. So, as I did more research on wallpaper in India, I came across its grown potential. Wallpapers seemed like a good start to begin our venture Morphico for both domestic and international markets.
Question: Your team and founding partners?
Answer: There are 3 founding members with a skillet in different practices. Today we have a team of 15 members in design, marketing, technology, B2B sales for wallpapers, content, SEO and other practices like finance and HR all driving our product and marketing strategy further. At the same time, we onboard several partner resources for packaging, delivery, logistics and handling.
Question: How do you differentiate yourself from your competitors?
Answer: Our most unique offering is to break the industry practice of selling only rolls, which leads to a lot of wastage of wallpaper and thus money wastage for customers. Thus morphico sells wallpapers as per your wall requirements. A simple guide to measuring wall dimensions for wallpaper will enable the user to take measurements. This marketing strategy seems to have served us well.
while most online sellers only deliver the wallpaper to your address, we provide end to end solution. At morphico, you can purchase online, and get free delivery and free installation. Everything is taken care of by Morphico. this offering and strategy give our customers a great experience.
Quality is paramount for us. One drawback of online sales is the product’s lack of touch and feel. Thus, cheap quality products never make their way into our catalogue. We understand that selling low quality is eventually detrimental to business strategy. While this proposition may not be unique to us we do provide a 1-year warranty on the installation and a 2-year Warranty on the wallpaper.
Question: As a start-up what do you think is most essential to set up a successful business?
Answer: Patience, consistency and organic growth are some of the things one should keeping mind while hoping to set up a business and define a marketing strategy. In today’s competitive world there is no quick success. Many brands have spent years making a name for themselves through organic methods.
A product or offering that disrupts the standard model of operations should find a base. Without a strong proposition, you will easily be lost in a crowd no matter how good your marketing strategy is or how high your expenses are. In this case, morphico introduce selling as per wall size, free installation and warranty to the product.
Our take
Selling a product without understanding the product is never going to work and for enthusiastic customers, knowledge about the product is just as important as the product itself. Morphico seems to hold by this principle and looks to keep growing.
Their consistent effort is evident in their wallpaper collection as well as murals collection. With 350+ products since launch and more in the pipeline, the design catalogue looks as strong as any other established players.
The comprehensive product offering seems to be a worthwhile investment. Their do-it-yourself journey for customer wallpaper printing from images and customer wallpaper printing from internet images is truly the industry’s first end-to-end buying journey.
Focusing on direct online sales and creating offerings for an interior designer is something we found a great growth strategy.
Our conclusion,
Only time will tell whether Morphico becomes a successful venture or purge like many others. What stands true is that the product and marketing strategy is a textbook case to set up a successful company. It is certainly the road less taken these days but the one that has shown fruitful results for one who has cared to venture through the strategy of the long and patient path of brand building.
Read more: Visit Morphico – wallpaper & murals