Know-How Exchange : Advertising/PR

Hi, Eva,

Reaching customers is really the same regardless of the economy. In good times and bad times, you really execute the same way. It's just that in good times, you can afford to make mistakes and be more inefficient than you have to in bad times.

The first think I will tell you is to remove from your mind the notion that these are bad times so therefore I have to "do something different" for my customers. All that does is reinforce the idea that you can expect a falloff of business. And when you start out a sentence with a customer with, "In these economic times..." all you are doing is reminding the customer about everything she is hearing. Keep in mind this: Your goal with marketing (and sales) is to separate your customer from her money - right? If this is the case, tell my this: Is it easier to have them want to give you money if you remind them of how terrible times are or if you tell them how their life will change for the better with your product? Therefore, the first thing to do is to concentrate on the needs of your customer (in good times and bad) and to present the customer with the emotional and functional benefits of your product. Regardless of the condition of the global economy. Also, you make sure that, in knowing your customers needs, you present them with products that are in line with those needs better than the competitors' offerings.

Along this same line of thinking, never, never present "features" and let your prospect "draw her own conclusions about the product" and therefore buy. You have to be explicit with them on why they should buy and why it should be now.

Things to do to be in front of higher end clientele involve implementing multiple-touch integrated marketing plans (based on your marketing strategy). For instance, in looking at your website, I could see a "registration process" for receiving announcements. It could be there, but it's well into the checkout process and I didn't take it that far. Having observed ladies enough, I see that periodically, they seek new purses. It would seem to me that staying in touch with them on new offerings would stimulate some spontaneous purchasing. Additionally, most of the ladies I have observed enjoy being seen by their peers with a new handbag. So, a referral program as part of your customer relationship marketing (CRM) would seem in order.

An email component to your marketing like this can be augmented with direct mail to a selected group of your repeat customers. For instance, I would bet that about 80% of your sales in currency (dollars or whatever your local currency is) come from 20% of your customers in numbers If you did a direct mail component to these 20%, you will find that your overall marketing results will increase dramatically. Integrating your marketing activities and tiering them makes a significant difference in your closure rate.

In general, these kind of activities will help you reach your clients better. Doing them consistently, measuring your results, and fine-tuning your efforts will allow you to prosper in good times and will allow you to see little "drop-off" in bad times. In fact, you may see increases, as you continue to focus on your customers while your competition focuses internally (woes me - what should I do for my company to help me through these bad times...) and you take share from them.

As far as "ideal price" is concerned - this really depends on what your customer is willing to pay. The more value you giver her, the more she will pay. Value translates into meeting her needs better than the competitor does. Prada, Gucci, and Coach command several hundred dollars. They sell. Price is reflective of your positioning. Are you trying to be a Prada, Gucci, or Coach? Or are your trying to be a Fossil? This will be more of a determining factor on your pricing. I'm a bit confused by your positioning. You say you want high end clientele but your website touts a "rocker" image. I'm thinking more tweens to Gen Y (or Milleniumers, if you prefer) with that kind of statement. I wouldn't picture the wife of a CEO of a billion dollar company (high end clientele) wanting to look rock-ish. Maybe I'm wrong. Settle in on where you want to be and then you can determine price.

I hope this helps.

Wayde