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Connecting to customers by helping them reconnect

How Solo Stove drives organic experiences between the world and nature.

Since the dawn of civilization, fire has been a gathering spot for people to enjoy others’ company , share exciting news, entertain one another, and cook meals. Solo Stove is driven by the desire to make it easier for busy people to find an easy way to connect and reconnect with the people and places they love.

From spark to flame

In 2010 , the idea of Solo Stove was born in a garage, starting life as a single, simple , and unique cooking stove. The focus was building an easy-to-use product that simply worked really well for burning wood and other organic matter as fuel. The business started small but grew quickly as customers began sharing their experiences of hiking and camping trips. Stories poured in about how well the Solo Stove worked to cook meals using whatever twigs, sticks, and wood could be found out in nature. Word of mouth began to spread and , in 2014 , Solo Stove launched their first Kickstarter campaign to expand their offering of stove products. “We were really humbled with the positive response from that first Kickstarter campaign,” John Merris, CEO at Solo Stove, said. “In many ways, Solo Stove is what it is today because our customers have helped guide us. The passion and excitement around our new products was encouraging and exciting.”

To the backyard and beyond

In 2016, behind the success of a second Kickstarter campaign that far exceeded expectations, Solo Stove launched the Bonfire fire pit. Focused on the same goal of making easy to use and well-designed products, Bonfire instantly helped excited users get outside and spend time with friends and family. “While customers were emailing and calling us raving about the fire pit, what they were telling us is that the product was easy and worked well, which encouraged them to spend more time reconnecting,” Merris said. And once again, more customers were sharing their experiences reconnecting with friends and family. Solo Stove followed up the Bonfire with the Ranger and Yukon fire pits. “Today , we still love hearing from our customers who brave the trail and thrive in the outdoors , s tate d Merris . “We also enjoy hearing customers share experiences connecting at tailgates, on RV trips , and just simply hanging out in the backyard. Time outside with friends and family is time well spent!”

Hosting the campfire

From the beginning, Solo Stove has been extremely involved in connecting with their customers wherever they are. They answer consumer questions in a timely matter, whether it’s an inquiry about the product or a customer service request – from pre-purchase all the way through to product use. As part of their move towards meeting their customers where they are, they started a Facebook group to connect their customer conversations, so both the company and other customers had visibility to questions and posts.

Solo Stove also uses product videos to do more than merely showcase their wares – these videos are storytelling tools that embrace an authentic, user-driven voice. Their offerings aren’t simply a tool for cooking or keeping warm in the great outdoors; instead their videos effectively position the company as a tool to “make it easier for you to spend time with family and friends outdoors.”

Recently the company refreshed their brand and in-store experience with the goal of building a “stronger sense of trust with existing customers,” as well as appealing to new consumers. For Solo Stove , part of that trust was the introduction of Amazon Pay at checkout, offering their customers a reliable, familiar payment solution for easy purchase.

We’re very excited that Solo Stove will be joining Amazon Pay’s 2019 holiday gift guide. To learn more about their customer-first products and experiences, visit their website right here.