There are multiple ways to grow your clothing brand, depending on what level of clothing producer you are. Today I’ll walk you through the different methods of growing your brand.
Table of Contents
8 Steps to Grow Your Clothing Brand:
1. Get the right software for your business.
The right software can help you manage your store, orders, inventory, and customer relationships. It can help with marketing, business finances, and even selling your products on social media. Here are some of the best options that offer more than just sales:
- Website hosting/builder
- Tech pack software
- CRM software
- Affiliate marketing software
- Analytics software
- Accounting solutions
- Partner relationship management software
2. Identify your target customers.
While it’s tempting to say that you should focus on finding products that will appeal to a wide audience, the truth is far more nuanced than that. It’s not enough to simply offer something people like; if you want to make your brand successful, you have to know exactly who your target customer is and what they are looking for.
In a nutshell, identifying your “ideal shopper” means knowing what they want and how much they are willing to spend on it. For example, if you sell luxury leather handbags online, it may be helpful for you target consumers who regularly shop at Saks or Neiman Marcus because this suggests that these shoppers are willing (and able) to spend more money on their purchases. You should also think about where those customers hang out—would they shop at an upscale department store or would they rather order from a website? How do they search for products? What keeps them up at night? This can help you determine how best to reach them online so you can get more sales.
Painting an accurate picture of your ideal customer as well as knowing where he/she hangs out will help increase relevance in both marketing strategies and product features significantly!
3. Create a website that sells.
In this digital age, you are your brand’s biggest marketing tool. Here are some things to make sure your website has:
- A clean aesthetic and a simple layout
- High-quality images of your designs (preferably on real people!)
- An “about” page that shows off your brand and tells its story
- Secure payment options (like PayPal or Stripe) that customers feel confident using
- Free shipping! This much you can offer because it’s easy to automate, and it’s the best way to encourage potential buyers to become actual buyers.
4. Make sure you have a slick online store.
A good shopping cart is a necessary component of any online store. It should be easy to use and mobile friendly, and it should provide shoppers with a secure transaction. Consider the following:
- Shopping carts are the most common way that customers add items to their online orders. They should allow your customers to review what they have ordered so far and make sure they haven’t forgotten anything important to them, as well as adjust their order if needed.
- It’s important that your shopping cart works on mobile devices like smartphones or tablets, especially since people tend to use these more than desktop computers for web browsing nowadays.
- Your shopping cart must be easy for shoppers to find and use, otherwise you will lose sales!
5. Build a brand people believe in.
You’ve probably heard the phrase “people buy brands, not products.” What this means is that people will spend more on items they believe in. As an example, both Apple and Microsoft make laptops, but they don’t charge the same amount for them. That’s because customers are willing to pay a premium to support things they love. Now let’s look at how you can apply this to growing your clothing brand.
There are two key parts of building a brand:
1 – Know who you are as a brand. Are you classic? Are you edgy? Are you vintage? Is your target market young or older? What kind of customers do you want to attract? (Check out part three for strategies on narrowing down your target audience.)
2 – Tell that story consistently through every touch point! This includes digital marketing (social media, emails, e-commerce site), in-person marketing (storefronts and staff, types of clothing manufacturers you use and everything in between (business cards, signage, packaging).
6. Use social media to sell clothing, show off your brand, and engage with your audience.
Social media is a great way to connect with your audience and sell clothing, but there are other benefits as well. When you use social media for your business, you can:
- Promote your brand
- Engage with your audience
- Create a community of brand loyalists
- Give your brand a personality that people can relate to
- Create hype and excitement around product releases and sales events
- Build trust with consumers by establishing yourself as an expert in the field
7. Create a strong image for your clothes.
- Find a target market – Who is your clothing line for?
- Choose a brand name – Is it memorable?
- Create a logo – Does the logo represent your brand’s identity?
- Find a niche – (Be in touch with current trends)
- Build beautiful clothing business cards to share with your audience.
- Make sure your brand is memorable – This goes hand-in-hand with the brand name, but if you can find the perfect balance in both, you will be on the right track to being unforgettable!
- Using amazing tech pack services to get the design of your products right the first time!
- Be original – Don’t copy others, or try to be something you’re not! If you’re running a punk clothing line, don’t put out pink flowery designs that are more fitting for preteens and teens…it will just confuse people! Be true to your style! It will show through in the work and people will respond better to authenticity than they would to trying to please everyone by being everything all at once.
- Don’t give up! Giving up after one failure is never an option if you truly love what you are doing; giving up won’t get you anywhere—especially if creating clothes is what’s going to make you happy!
8. Learn from the best fashion brands out there.
While you may have the talent to design a fashion line, it’s important to learn from the best in the industry. All successful brands have their own unique style and aesthetic that they are known for. You can learn a lot by identifying what makes their brand so successful.