What People Hear When You Say “1 Percent”
A song, the early internet, and the people we wanted to reach.
Some people thought 1 Percent had something to do with a biker gang. During Occupy Wall Street, they thought it was about rich people. We’ve heard it all.
We named the company after a Jane’s Addiction song. That usually requires a little more explanation.
The business started by accident in 1995 under a different name. We became 1 Percent in 1997 during the Jane’s Addiction Relapse tour. We were looking for a brand name. Perry Farrell’s lyrics on “1%” spoke to us. Somewhere out there were enough people who cared about good music. To reach them, the internet seemed like the way.
It was an idealistic time. Perhaps music no longer needed a major label to reach an audience. We would see.
Indie music was our first passion, and we saw a path to support it. How could we reach the fans who bought the music and merch, and the tickets to shows? The internet allowed us that direct connection, and “Lifestyle Accessories” laser focused our audience.
That was our 1%.
There was also a practical benefit in the name. In the early days of the internet, in directories like Yahoo and AltaVista, a name beginning with 1 could put you near the top of the list in your category. We didn’t choose 1 Percent for the sort order, but it was a nice bonus.
The street team
We assembled a street team to promote independent music. At its peak, it reached 17,000 members. In those early internet days, that was an army.
By the early 2000s, it felt like the entire system was in turmoil. Our focus shifted toward prison reform, cannabis decriminalization, and environmental causes. We even rewarded effective participation. Think Marlboro Miles, but of course we called them Tokes.
We flooded congressional phone systems and got the attention of publications. More than once, we got a call acknowledging the point and asking us to make the calls stop. This was before automated phone attendants routinely sent us straight to voicemail. Real people calling and emailing real people got results.
Later, 1% for the Planet put the number to work for environmental causes.
As participation became clicking a heart and every cause had a “take action” page, we couldn’t get the same response. Besides the occasional NYC promos, selling was what remained. We did our best to focus on American-made goods and the work of artists.
Getting 1% better every day
What does one percent mean to people now? It seems to be about getting better. There’s James Clear’s approach to getting one percent better each day. Steven Bartlett has his one percent mindset and The 1% Diary.
Ecommerce was our wheelhouse for 30 years. We know small improvements matter. At 100,000 monthly visits, a 1% relative improvement in a 3.5% conversion rate means 35 additional orders. That’s a lot of pizza. Whether that improvement lasts and pays for itself is the useful question.
Before spending six months improving a workflow, it helps to ask whether anyone still needs it. Sometimes the valuable change is to stop doing something.
The name we kept
We didn’t invent the 1% philosophy. We named a company after a song that meant something to us. We wanted to reach people who cared about independent music. Later, we asked them to put that energy toward causes we cared about.
That was our 1%. Thirty years was a good run.