The difficulties of those many been-and-gone fashion brands aren’t meant to dissuade you from launching your own brand. They’re designed to prevent you from experiencing a similar fate.
One way to set your brand apart from the crowd is to cultivate a premium look and feel that’s in line with your vision. In this post, we’ll run through a few tried-and-tested strategies that can help to give your brand a luxury feel, without breaking the bank.
Establish Your Visual Identity
Your brand’s visual identity is the face of your business. It’s what tells your potential customers what you’re all about long before they ever see the products you have for sale.Done correctly, your brand’s visual identity establishes trust with your customer base, sets you apart from your competitors, and demonstrates your values. On a simpler level, it just helps to show that care and thought have gone into the brand.
All too often, you see online clothing brands that haven’t put as much effort into their visual branding as they might have, and while you can understand that from their perspective, there are many other jobs on the to-do list, customers notice.
Focus On Your Website
Would you buy premium clothing from a real-world store that was disorganized and had decor that looked like it hadn’t been updated in years? Probably not. Your website is your digital storefront, and it’s sending a message about your business, so, what is it saying?A quality, well-designed website provides instant credibility and gives your potential customers the sense that yours is a brand worth their time and effort. Plus, working with an experienced web designer has benefits that extend beyond making a positive first impression. Strong UX also streamlines the buyer’s journey, reducing cart abandonment rates and increasing sales.
With a limited budget, it can be easy to take the DIY approach to website-building, but a great site will provide the foundation of your success.
Source Quality Clothing
Successful brands aren’t built on the back of one-time customers. They’re built on having repeat customers. For that, your customers can’t just be happy with the look and feel of everything around your clothing, they have to be happy with the item itself.Customers can tell, almost instantly, whether the product they’ve bought is of premium or low quality. Working with a reputable wholesale clothing supplier known for its quality can be the difference between your customers feeling happy or disappointed when they open their package. In other words: taking the time to find a supplier that can do your brand justice should be considered non-negotiable.
You’ll pay slightly more for higher-quality items, but it also allows you to charge more. Plus, quality clothing can have far-reaching, long-lasting brands. Your customers will wear your items more often, and for longer if they love them, increasing the chances that others ask them, where did you buy it? It’s not an exaggeration to say that your customers really can become your biggest brand advocate if you give them a chance to.
Professional Photography
Having an online store, rather than a real-world store, brings the advantage of not having to spend a small fortune on rent, but it does have some notable drawbacks. For one thing, customers of real-world stores can see and feel the quality of the store’s clothing up close and personal.Online stores can’t offer that experience (yet). In lieu of advanced virtual reality changing rooms, it’s the store's imagery that has to do the heavy lifting of communicating the quality of the items. As with the website, it can be tempting to take the budget option when creating images and videos of your store’s products, but it’s worthwhile working with a professional photographer (or investing in a good camera and doing it yourself). Sleek, glossy imagery can be a powerful marketing tool that not only grabs your audience’s attention but also encourages them to take action.
Packaging That Makes a Statement
Many online fashion brands go through the process of making their brand appear premium, only to then undermine a lot of their good work by delivering their products in basic packaging that is more in line with the style of an eBay seller than a premium brand.It’s the quality of the clothing itself that counts the most, but the packaging can play a major supporting role in providing an overall premium experience, and that really can count for a lot. The best brands don’t view packaging as a simple means to deliver an item; they see it as an opportunity to make a lasting impression on their customers.
It’s worth noting that the cost difference between basic and premium packaging is pretty minimal in the grand scheme of things. Plus, investing in quality packaging increases the chances that your customers will record and upload a positive unboxing video, which can serve as a powerful marketing tool.
Keep Collections Limited
Take a look at any luxury fashion brand’s website, and you’ll be unlikely to find hundreds of items for sale. You’ll see a refined, curated collection.Premium clothing brands have an air of exclusivity, and it’s unlikely that the customer will form that impression if they’re bombarded with a never-ending list of items. Having a curated core list of clothing items, as well as launching limited edition collections, is a good way to create a sense of urgency among your customer base. Plus, limited edition collections can provide a good way to test the waters for new types/styles of clothing you’re considering adding to your store. If it sells out, then you’ll know that there’s demand.
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