Service and Marketing Tips in Fashion Retail

Selling in the modern sense is not just solving a customer's problem, it is creating a positive emotional customer experience. And 86% of customers are willing to pay more for a positive experience.

Marketing of impressions now works not only for offline shopping, but also for online purchases. And when are our impressions the brightest? When our expectations diverge from real experience, when the wow-effect happens. Regular author-expert of SR on purchases and sales in fashion business Elena Vinogradova shares interesting, original examples of marketing of impressions and gives recommendations on where to get wow-ideas for retail shoe business.

Elena Vinogradova -

Elena Vinogradova, expert in purchasing and sales in the fashion business, more than 20 years of experience in the fashion industry from buyer to commercial director of a retail chain of 30 stores, retail consultant, business coach, speaker at industry conferences.

https://t.me/fashionbusinessblog

In the last few years, only the lazy have not talked about emotions in shopping. Meanwhile, the book "The Experience Economy: How to Turn Shopping into an Exciting Action" was written back in 1998. Its authors are James Gilmore and Joseph Pine. So, Joseph Pine - an American strategist and author of the concept of the "experience economy", who consults the most successful international companies from the Fortune 500 list - first used this term back in 1994, writing his first article about this phenomenon in 1996. That is, this topic has been relevant for the retail business for almost 30 years.

Agree, simply exchanging goods for money has long been uninteresting. The client first of all, and, therefore, it should not be indifferent to the business. Marketing of impressions now concerns not only offline shopping, but also online shopping. Everywhere, at any point of contact with the buyer, we create a unique customer experience, form loyalty and commitment to the brand and company values.

When are our impressions the most vivid? When our expectations differ from real experience, when the wow-effect happens.

For example, a customer came to the store, chose shoes, and was offered to treat them with moisture and dirt impregnation for free and given a coupon with a 50% discount on the first SPA treatment in a shoe repair shop. The service exceeded expectations. The customer experiences vivid emotions and remembers this for a long time or even forever.

People get used to good service and marketing, and their expectations are constantly growing. And what was a wow-emotion yesterday is now the norm. Meeting expectations leaves the buyer indifferent to the store. Now this is only the minimum that allows you not to cause negative emotions. But if you exceed the buyer's expectations, he is yours.

I really like collecting such ideas-"tricks" of service, marketing, assortment and sharing them in my vlogs on the YouTube channel, in work social networks, in courses and trainings for clothing, footwear and accessories stores. This always resonates with the audience, my clients implement this in their work practice and regularly replenish their arsenal of ways to surprise the client.

In this article I will share some examples from my bank of ideas, in my opinion, the most striking and memorable.

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1. In honor of the second anniversary of the Novosibirsk E-optics store, the team not only decorated the space with balloons and organized drinks and sweets for guests, but also congratulated loyal customers, including brand ambassadors, on the holiday, giving a package with a vitamin set with the purchase: apple, banana, celery, lemon, and also included a recipe for a spring smoothie and a postcard with a cool inspirational quote.
Photos and videos of these bags spread across social networks in Novosibirsk and attracted a new audience to the store.
2. Tatyana Shaydullina's knitwear brand adds a pinch of round confetti glitter to each order, in addition to a beautiful package, for a wow effect and a bright mood. Personally, as a client, I experienced incredible emotions when opening such a parcel.
3. The resale platform The Cultt organized a brunch for its customers in collaboration with partners and offered a piece of butter in the shape of a bag, the company’s key product, as an addition to the menu.
4. The jewelry brand Balkon not only offers to use its necklaces, pendants and keychains as a trendy decoration for bags, but also offers additional carabiners, with which you can do this quickly and easily. And you, colleagues, use this trend in selling bags in your stores? It's not too late to implement it!
5. In the new concept store Kate Spade saw a piano as equipment at the entrance. It turned out that it was real and you can play it! I had a real wow-effect when the staff offered me to press the keys.
Selling in the modern sense is not just solving a customer's problem, it is creating a positive emotional customer experience. And 86% of customers are willing to pay more for a positive experience.

According to foreign statistics, customer-oriented strategies give:

• Increase in repeat purchases by 66%.
• Reduced customer losses due to dissatisfaction by 77%.
• Increase in the influx of new customers by 51%.

It is also estimated that:

• The cost of attracting a new client is 5 times higher than that of retaining an existing one.
• Increasing customer retention by 5% increases a company's profits by at least 50%.
• About 50% of customers are unprofitable due to inefficient interaction with them.

These statistics show that we earn more from satisfied customers.

Where to get wow ideas for business:

1. Regularly visiting retail (and not only fashion) and collecting interesting ideas that caught your attention as a client. Both in your hometown and while traveling – this is enormously enriching.
2. Participation in specialized communities, exchanging ideas with colleagues in specialized channels in Telegram, for example.
3. Books, business literature, courses, trainings and expert channels that you trust.
4. Survey your customers. Feedback can give you interesting ideas and push you to make changes in your business.
5. Think about the last thing you did while shopping that made you smile while buying something or visiting a store – brainstorm with your team and do this periodically.
6. I recommend my YouTube channel Fashion Business Blog (search for it on YouTube), where live reviews of retail in different cities and countries are released every week. You will definitely find solutions for yourself.

Develop and maintain visibility, create unique emotions and experiences for customers that will make them loyal to your brand/store for a long time.