Setting up an apparel brand is easy. Making it successful is not. The digital world has leveled the playing field for marketers, and only the shrewdest are making good in the rather chockablock space. If you are a marketer or entrepreneur in the clothing and fashion industry, the list of demands is even longer. Success calls for more than just technical skills and original ideas. You have to keep up with the trends as well and ensure you are stocking only what has a decent chance of selling. There is also the need to keep tabs on the market leaders and trendsetters, so you are among the earliest to adopt crazes. The following tips will improve your marketing skills and help increase the reach of your clothing business.
1. Build an online presence
Whether you run a brick-and-mortar store or your business is entirely online-based, you need a kickass website at the core of your marketing arsenal. Everyone is on the internet these days, and expecting people to just walk into your shop without first checking you on the World Wide Web is a pipedream. Not even the most established businesses, let alone startups and SMEs, can survive the current market conditions without a website.
That being said, building a website alone is not enough to see you compete favorably in the apparel industry. There are over a billion sites that users have to check through to find that specific page they are looking for. Search engines have, thus, become extremely popular as they help link users to the content they are seeking by pre-studying all webpages and knowing what they are about.
You need to impress both the search engines and the users by adopting a great web design, adhering to all SEO rules, and posting useful content.
2. Get on social media
Creating business profiles on popular social networking platforms such as Facebook and Instagram gives you the opportunity to interact with prospects on an informal level. The power of social media marketing is still strong, and an apparel brand, which most likely targets fashion lovers, is bound to reap more benefits from the youth-dominated platforms than regular businesses.
What makes social media even more advantageous to the apparel industry is the fact that sites such as Instagram have been designed with visual content in mind. Of course, users looking for clothing are going to be more inclined towards pictures and videos than textual content. This makes your brand and such platforms a perfect match.
3. Provide quality and be honest
You can prepare the greatest marketing strategy in the world, but you will barely make any sales if your product or service doesn’t match your description of it on social media and in blogs. Match all the hype, at the very least. If possible, exceed it!
The apparel industry is full, and the bulk of the entrepreneurs are conversant with the most workable product promotion strategies, much like you! What really separates the great from the good is the ability to walk the talk.
So, how do you ensure you don’t lose prospects right at the final stage of your sales funnel?
The first step is to ensure you provide the best quality possible. If you sell customized shirts, use the best printing solutions there is, and outsource your services from a seasoned printing company with a decent track record.
Secondly, make sure you are honest with your customers and prospects about the basic details of your product or service. If, in the case of our example above, you use plastisol printing on all your products, specify it in your marketing messages. This will filter out prospects with specific needs and leave you with individuals who are less likely to drop out of your sales funnel because of a misunderstanding.
4. Invest in influencer marketing
The use of celebrities and people with huge followings to market brands is the marketing trend of the moment. Among the earliest adopters of this strategy is the apparel industry, and it is not hard to see why.
We live in an age where our dressing habits are influenced by fashion icons who switch from trend to trend in no particular order. Thankfully, fashion buffs don’t have to buy expensive monthly magazines to stay up-to-date with the trends. Everything is available on social media, and for free! Celebrities update their handles with photos and videos of themselves sporting the latest apparel designs, obliviously influencing thousands and helping shape the industry. Social media personalities with large follower bases do the same, with some even taking it upon themselves to review trends and offer fashion tips to their followers. Gradually, they become fashion guides with loyal fan bases, just like Hollywood stars.
As the platitude goes, people don’t trust brands; people trust people! Many businesses have seen the emergence of social media stardom as an opportunity to reach target audiences without looking like they are marketing their products. Brands pay influencers for positive product reviews and endorsements in a bid to elicit interest from the influencers’ followers.
As casual a marketing strategy as it may sound, influencer marketing works nine times out of ten. All you need to do is find an influencer with a follower-base similar to your target audience and get them to endorse your product. Some ask to be paid in cash, while some are okay with free gifts, so it’s advisable that you weigh your options and find someone willing to take what you have to offer.
Summary
The apparel market is exceptionally dynamic and demanding, and so is the digital world. Successful business promotion may call for the implementation of niche-specific practices on top of conventional marketing tactics. If you are new to the fashion industry or have plans of setting up a clothing brand or any business in the apparel market, the above tips are an excellent place to start. Consider consulting a fashion expert and keep a close eye on the market leaders for insights on how to implement and react to changes in market dynamics.
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