The evolution of brand awareness and marketing in Retail.
How times have changed.
It was only 5 years ago that we could shop in major towns across the UK and walk into department stores such as Debenhams, House of Fraser, Beales and many more independents, and find brands that no longer exist - to go one step further some the departments stores that we used to shop in no longer exist.
Are the days of marketing your branded products via in store concessions with 3rd party partners over?
Moreover and strikingly, dare we suggest that the days of marketing and selling your brand with 3rd party websites such as ASOS, FarFetch, Zalando, Net-a -Porter amongst others have lost their appeal?
Why fuel their own private label designs with a brands intellectual design ideas?
Why give them the Intel on customer shopping behaviour?
Is the kudos now about gaining a credible CRM than the having your brand affiliated with these websites perhaps?
These are the questions that many of the smaller brands today that we consult with ask themselves, as we all become aware of the power of internet shopping and not fully understanding the backend algorithms that make it happen we have relied on these 3rd part sites with the big market budgets, customer databases and know how to sell our brands, but is this a short term solution?
Social media influencing is paving the way forward, with clever brand positioning and targeted campaigns you can just as easily make sure your brand is in front of the right eyes with only one click away from a sale. Facebook and Instagram is much more than a ‘Voyeurs’ journey in what ones friends are up to, where they are and what they eat! They are a means to adapting to a different type of selling. These social media platforms know more about us than we think, but in a positive way so that you the audience, are presented with products that you actually want. If you are a user of these platforms, you will no doubt have purchased from seeing a product first on social media and then buying via direct or a link. These platforms engage with their audience differently, we are a nation with less patience; thanks to Amazon when we see something, we want it now. It’s clear that the offline marketing days of print don’t allow instant buy in contrast to when you are 35,000 miles in the air browsing Facebook and Instagram you can buy instantaneously, better still if you have purchased at the airport and about to board a long haul flight there is a good chance that it will be waiting for you when you get home! Crazy but true.
Notwithstanding the above, the clever brand that exploits these platforms gain benefits of building a rapport and loyalty with their customers in a newer more effective way, whilst the brand continues to drive campaigns and content it delivers what we call the ‘halo effect’ with their customers, by implanting brand awareness subconsciously in the customers mind that proves invaluable, more importantly it allows the brand to understand
1. What your customers purchase
2. When they purchase
3. How often they purchase
4. What products are selling
5. The rate of sale
Leading back to the all-important function within retail - Merchandising.
This vital information allows you to plan your range and OTB, gain better insight into introducing new lines crucial to the growth of a young brand and understand what their customers like as well as manage returns and calculate margin more effectively.
V&C Digital Marketing Services have successfully delivered Paid Social and PPC campaigns to our brands, working closely with them on strategy and getting their campaigns exactly right.
With over 20 years of analytical and brand experience we can deliver measurable growth via your online presence buy having strong knowledge in the fashion retail sector partnering up with your digital team giving you un-apparelled level of service navigating in this challenging and exciting arena.
Additionally we are excited to be hosting our next V&C event/workshop in October together with the Head of Retail from Facebook/Instagram, date and time to be announced...
To register your interest in our Facebook/Instagram event or for further information on case study's and how we can help your brand, please feel free to contact us on 02036681466.
