Like every other venture in the world, there are secrets to successful online boutiques. These are the small ideas that one can implement so as to rev up sales, keep customers, grow profits, increase brand identity, and build a sustainable business. Yes, there are proven ideas and strategies, which may seem so small and inconsequential, but which when put together will turn even a dying business around; making it viable.
These are not magic words; it will take work and consistency. The ideas put forward in this post were not taken from any other source; they could be unique. They may be unconventional, but the logic is unassailable. Many of us have put them to use with great success in other aspects of life, and now they will serve us well for building solid online businesses.
Five Secrets To Successful Online Boutique
Attack The Ego
People come to social media to show themselves as those living the good life. That is good for business if you can take advantage of it. Here is how to take advantage of it. When you post a fashion item for sale on social media, and you get a response, you attack their ego immediately. This is whether or not they are asking the price.
If a person asks the price of an item, go straight to the point and tell them. Many beginners prefer to give the same generic response: “DM for price.” By so doing they have just missed a golden opportunity. You see, people like to show off. They like to prove that they can afford it; so help them prove it. Instead of that answer say “$2,000, plus a token for shipping.”
Other possible answers are “Only $2000 sir, should I add it to your order?” yes, you can give that answer even if the potential customer has not made any order previously. Now it looks like he has an order and he is a big shopper. This is a thing he is going to like, and he is not going to want to lose. For this fake feeling of importance, people are willing to part with money.
Ego. That is the name of the game. People care too much about what other people think about them; and for this they want to spend money. Nobody wants to look poor and weak, everyone wants to look successful.
While these are just foundational ideas, you can certainly devise more efficient responses. Let us now consider another good idea that can generate sales; scarcity.
Use Scarcity
Scarcity is a wonderful thing; people are quick to open their wallets when something is hard to find- this much was proven during the corona virus pandemic of 2019-2020 in which toilet paper became quite expensive. Now how does that relate to an online boutique?
In two ways actually.
1 People will always fall for the panic buying trap, especially when they need an item. A person who only NEEDS to replace a worn out pair of trousers can purchase 3 if for some reason he feels it is scarce. When marketing your items online, use lines like, “this is getting harder to find.” Or “could only get 3 of these from my supplier.”
2 A feeling of exclusivity. This is something that car manufacturers have exploited for decades; they make limited edition vehicles in which there are only a handful of such vehicles in existence, and those who have them, have this feeling of having something rare.
It is that feeling of having something rare that you are selling to customers when you use lines like only 5 of these available from the factory, or only 2 of these came from my supplier. Of course the accompanying image has to look good, and when it does, and is accompanied by such lines that convey scarcity, people are going to be interested.
But don’t waste this on just any products, use it on products that people will want.
Know What Customers Want
Knowing what the customers want can seem like a tricky thing; everyone seems to have a different taste. However, it becomes a lot easier when you already have a history of selling in person, physically. That is because then, all that is needed is to keep records of what customers buy. Amazon does this already- every time you buy something, it keeps showing you different models of similar items.
It is really simple; keep records of customer’s details by what they have bought from you before. For example; open a file for gowns and then save customers phone details, whatsapp details, email addresses, or any other contact information. Do the same thing for any other item such as suits, jeans, chinos, trainers, and so on.
Whatever you sell, keep a record of it, and keep a record of who buys it. Then keep showing them similar items. Of course, there are some products that become so popular that it makes sense to show them to everyone. This is because people generally tend to follow the trend, and to wear what everyone else is wearing.
Nevertheless, some sense should be used in doing this; it is a good idea to use a formula. If you send similar items to a client 8 times, you may then send 2 trending items. This is not a hard and fast rule; feel free to play with it.
Build A Brand
The phrase “build a brand” could be quite ambiguous; it could be given different interpretations which could lead one astray. Here it simply means to build something that customers can identify.
Without a physical store, it may seem difficult to do, but it is doable. You need to design a logo that is attractive, and that is easy to recognize. You also need to make sure that said logo goes along with your brand name, which must also be catchy.
You then have to print that logo on your packaging materials; bags and boxes with which you will send the goods to buyers. This your brand is what you will put in your customers homes; on their tables and shelves, as a way of doing free advertising.
Free advertising without contact information is no good; your branding efforts must have some information leading back to you. It could be your phone number, email address, or more effectively your social media account and website.
Advertising
Advertising is one thing that business cannot do without. You do it every day when you post your products. The problem is that you could be posting the same thing to the same people all over again.
You can escape this vicious cycle by looking for avenues to post your products to fresh pairs of eyes. You can use social media and then there are two ways of doing this: paying large accounts, and paying the platform directly.
There are many ways of advertising, but it may be better to stick to online avenues for now because then you can easily get clicks which will land on your sales page, or which will lead to immediate sales.
It may not be a good idea to commit huge funds into advertising, but instead, you can set a small amount from your sales, or from your personal monthly income.
Source Your Wares Properly
When it comes to the business of clothing, people only think about selling, and give no thought to buying.
This is a big error because pricing is an essential part of selling, and therefore an essential part of what makes a boutique successful. When your goods are well priced, you are more likely to make sales, and only when that happens can you successful venture.
All of that can only happen when you know where to get clothes to start your boutique. When you follow the ideas in the preceding link, you should know how to get high quality clothes for cheap, and also know how to package them so that despite the profits you make, the goods will still be attractively priced.
Further Reading:
- Is Boutique Business Profitable?
- How To Start An Online Shoe Store
- How To Do Dropshipping In 4 Easy Steps
Closing
Those are the five secrets of successful online boutiques. This post has covered all the essential areas that will enable you to turn your boutique idea into a thriving online business. However, it is essential to be bold, try new things or do even more than what this article states. The willingness to make a few mistakes is a highly valuable quality in business.
