How Go-in-Style.nl became successful thanks to their community

Jan Jaap is the founder and owner of Go-in-Style.nl, a webshop for truck styling parts. The success of his webshop is largely due to the strong community of truck enthusiasts that surrounds it. With over 100,000 Instagram followers from around the world, they have become a major name in the world of truck styling. And that brings real benefits for the business, as the community builds both visibility and trust.

Kay visited Jan Jaap to find out how he built and maintains this community.

Go-in-Style.nl started in 2013. Jan Jaap and his family went on a road trip across the US and Canada in a truck. They shared videos of the journey on Instagram, and it quickly took off. The follower count grew fast. Since Jan Jaap had quit his job for the trip, he decided to make something of that online attention. With his passion for trucks, the idea came naturally: a webshop for truck styling parts.

"We are our own target audience"

Go-in-Style.nl’s customers are truck drivers who are passionate about their trucks, just like Jan Jaap. They take pride in their ride. They want to give their truck a personal touch, and Go-in-Style.nl offers the tools to do exactly that. At Go-in-Style.nl, they call these people the 1 percent of us.

They understand their audience so well because many of their team members have driven trucks or come from the transport industry themselves. Jan Jaap says, “We are basically our own target group. When we design something, it’s because we find it useful ourselves. And usually our customers feel the same way.”

New team members often come from their own network, which means they share that same background. It’s not a deliberate hiring strategy, but it is a major advantage. “When you call us, you’ll probably get a former driver or transport employee on the line. Someone who understands what life on the road is like, and what you need.”

Social media community

The Go-in-Style.nl community started when people followed Jan Jaap’s road trip. But they’ve continued to grow it since. They attend truck shows across the country to meet their followers in person. That’s where they first saw how popular their travel content had become. Jan Jaap: “People even knew our kids’ names.” Since then, they’ve stayed active on social media: “We post what we like.”

So what exactly do they share? Jan Jaap: “We post daily photos and videos of trucks. Not necessarily trucks we supplied parts for. Just the most beautiful ones. More from passion than for sales.” That means they even post content from competitors. They do that on purpose, to stay one of the guys. “We don’t try to be that way, we just are.”

The Instagram feed of Go-in-Style.nl: “Just the most beautiful trucks”

Bringing the community together

Go-in-Style.nl is present at the biggest truck shows and also organizes its own events. Last year, they launched the Retro Truck Tour, specifically for their audience. Jan Jaap: “That’s the kind of truck we got our licenses in. Today’s drivers love that.” It’s not just a great way to connect with the community, it also generates weeks of content on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

Of course, they also host commercial events. Every year, they organize a barn sale, inspired by the ones Jan Jaap saw on their road trip. At the end of the year, they run a big clearance sale. Truckers can place their orders online at a discount and pick them up on site—in the barn. Jan Jaap: “They come by for a bowl of tomato soup or a doughnut. It’s just a nice moment to connect. We noticed that people just want to stop by and check it out.”

The role of branding

Branding is crucial for Go-in-Style.nl. Their logo and website are visible everywhere. “We include them on packaging, in handwritten notes with each order, and we often add a few stickers too.” But it goes even further. “A great example is our mud flap, which sits on the back of a truck. It says Go-in-Style.nl, and you can see them all over Europe.”

Merchandise also plays a big part in their branding. They regularly have a stand at major truck shows. Jan Jaap: “Not at a lot of events, but the right ones with high turnout.” There, they sell small items, maintenance products and their merchandise. And it sells well. They even had to create special uniforms because so many visitors were already wearing their merch. “It became hard to tell who worked for us and who didn’t.”

The Go-in-Style.nl mud flap, spotted all over Europe

What does the community bring in?

It’s hard to quantify exactly what the community contributes. “But,” says Jan Jaap, “3 of our top 10 customers are from Japan, and 1 is from New Zealand. We didn’t go there to promote ourselves. They found us because people shared our posts.”

Jan Jaap: “The power of the community is that people start trusting your business. We don’t have Trustpilot on our website, we have our community. When someone orders from us, you’ll see a photo on Instagram of the box, then a photo of it being unwrapped, then one showing it on the truck with a happy caption. That builds real trust.”

Final tip

Jan Jaap ends with an important piece of advice: “Our team members do what they enjoy. One example—our salesperson owned the most beautiful truck in the Netherlands in 2014. That doesn’t mean he’s the best at selling, but he knows what’s good and what looks right. People believe him when he says something. He often tells customers, ‘I wouldn’t go with that.’ That may not be great for short-term numbers, but we want customers to come back.” He adds, “I’m the same way. We always speak from the heart. I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

Read how Go-in-Style uses Picqer to stay organized in their warehouse