Thanks to COVID, this year has been a bittersweet experience for fashion brands. For some, there was zero customer demand, especially the top-tier luxury fashion brands since everyone was locked down in their homes and didn’t have a reason to invest in expensive clothes.
For others, it was quite the opposite.
Whatever the target audience of a brand, customers are now looking for authenticity. This brings to light the need for building trust in their customers through unique marketing strategies. It helps in building a loyal customer base that keeps coming back for more.
Another thing that became absolutely essential for fashion brands this year is resource management. Since the customer demands have been low for quite a few months and companies need to manage budgets, it has become important to understand if a resource is valuable to the company or not.
The market is rife with digital tools that help you create professional reports which are well-detailed and customizable for your company specific needs. For instance, with a payroll management system, you can easily create a detailed report to give you insight on any aspect of your employees labor.
Let’s look at some of the most authentic customer retention strategies that help fashion brands build customer loyalty:
Build a top-notch website
It is impossible to build an interest in a customer without giving them a full view of what you offer. A strong eCommerce presence is necessary to give consumers access to your brand information as well as products and allow them to purchase with just a click of a button.
Some brands have totally bloomed by existing only in digital format due to their top-notch websites that are very easy to navigate. Although customers do face fitting issues when buying clothes online, a lot of brands provide the flexibility of hassle-free exchange & returns.
Offer a personal shopping experience
This advice is mainly for luxury brands which offer curated designs and make bespoke garments. For enticing the customer to be willing to explore your products and become a loyal customer, it is crucial to provide a personalized experience that is more hands-on.
For instance, a lot of luxury label owners are now meeting customers individually, spending time with them to understand their needs and customizing garments accordingly. They are even giving high priority to the garment trial sessions for complete end-to-end support.
Give equal attention to online & offline requests
In this day and age, a customer has most probably checked out a brands online presence through social media and engaged with them before walking into their store. This makes it crucial to build a positive image both online and offline.
It’s not important how the customer reaches you; they may have looked at your products online and then walked into the store to try them out, or vice versa. What matters is that they get equal attention and a satisfactory experience at every front.
Build loyalty programs
Although a lot of brands have had loyalty programs for quite some time now, this has become increasingly popular during the pandemic. Brands must get creative about the kind of rewards they provide customers in order to stand out from their competitors.
In order to promote customer loyalty, a fashion brand must ensure their reward systems are accessible everywhere – whether customers shop through their physical store, their app, social media, or eCommerce platforms.
The Bottom Line
A brand is successful and thriving only because of their strong customer base. If you’re providing them exclusive value-for-money services to retain them, then you are doing it wrong. A loyal customer that keeps returning is going to influence others through word of mouth publicity, bringing more value and business to your brand.
Photo Credit: Henry Jose
