Question

Topic: Advertising/PR

Online Children's Boutique Marketing Advice

Posted by Anonymous on 2/16/2013 at 12:45 AM ET 250 Points
I am looking for advice and recommendations prior to our online children''s boutique going live. I have wrote a business with the assistance of a small business development counselor. He provided no feedback regarding marketing. I have attended one workshop "Marketing on a Budget" and received a great 2 page strategic marketing plan guide. It''s guide has prompted me to layout my entire marketing year plan. Of course I will utilize social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. I have been playing with ads on Facebook regarding how you can focus on a certain target market. So question 1 being a new store should I drill my market down or try to reach as many people as possible at first?<br />My marketing plan consist of joining the chamber, putting a float in the local parades, hosting a beauty pageant and donating all of the proceeds to the local cancer center. Question 2 am I focusing to local? <br />I plan to send out Thanksgiving cards to all previous customers with a coupon in hopes of capturing business before Black Friday. Good idea? <br />I had thought about a blog containing information that parents are interested in such as health, school, sports, pageants, college funds and etc. I would ask local experts to write the blogs. Good idea or over the top? <br />I plan on purchasing google ads, what approach would provide the best ROI? <br />I look forward to reading responses. My goal is to start off with the right mindset.<br />
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Moriarty on 2/16/2013 at 3:11 AM Accepted
    Brandi.

    Well done for getting the idea of marketing under your belt. Most people march in and wonder what went wrong later. Getting it wrong now means you don't have to - and believe me, marketing is all about making mistakes. Because when you do you can learn from them.

    In a marketplace as tightly fought as yours you need some way to make yourself stand out. Niche marketing in this respect is targeting a niche of customers who happen to like what you do. Now the ideas of parades and the rest don't quite match in with this - those are local. Do you have a brick and mortar business too? If you do you can speak to your customers directly and their interest will spark ideas for your blog - which is a great way of getting new customers (just ask their questions, because this is what they put in the search bar, nobody goes looking for answers). Anybody can write your blogs, only be careful of experts as not all of them are natural communicators.

    If you go to Howie Jacobson's site, https://askhowie.com you can get real advice on how to target your very best customer. There are several hours of videos that will give you a real flavor of what he does. Enough for anyone to start with.

    Does this help?

  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 2/16/2013 at 8:07 AM Accepted
    Not everyone in your region is likely to want to buy from you, even if you had a storefront and had a great selection. Assume that all of your competition is already using Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, blogs and other social media platforms (these are tools, not a strategy). Joining a Chamber, hosting a pageant, etc. are all nice things to get connected to your local community - which can be valuable, if what they're looking for (and not finding) is what you're selling. If you're offering handmade clothing, then focus your message on that. If you're selling brands that others are selling, then you need to get clear on why someone would buy from you (and you don't want to start a business based on having the guaranteed lowest prices). If you're offering sizes, or styles, or colors, or fabrics that few others are offering, focus your message on that. In other words, specialize in an unmet (or hard-to-meet) need by a community.
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