Marketing in fashion business - Essay Example

Marketing in fashion business Introduction Marketing is the process of determining the products or services which are been wanted by customers and also laying down strategies of making the sale and improving the communications wit the customers. Marketing is such an important aspect in any business if maximum profits are to be made and many customers reached. There are many methods of marketing which will in most times be determined by the type of products or services to be marketed. In fashion businesses marketing is very important. It will determine the rate at which your commodities will be sold. There are many approaches you can use in reaching the customers but before it all you must ensure that there well laid down strategies. Without marketing strategies your business will not achieve anything since it is repeatedly said that ‘failing to plan is planning to fail.’ In marketing of fashion designs you must make sure that the market is broad and that the products or services satisfy the customers. Satisfaction in itself is a tool for marketing since when you meet the demands of the customers to the letter they will influence others extrinsically to like your fashion. Fashion is a big industry and it can be very risky to venture into if you are not ready to market your products or services. You have to make sure that you reach customers from all corners of the world or the intended area. The sale does not matter much in this kind of marketing but what will matter more is the satisfaction of customers. You should aim to supply enough that will meet the demand of the customers. Fashion marketing planning A plan is a tool of guiding and directing the marketing of your commodity. To market your fashion industry you ought to plan and act. You should not plan and then seat back, plan and then act immediately. In planning you must consider your objectives, goals, strategies and any other activities which are for the success of your fashion business. One key factor I this marketing is that you should aim at reaching many customers and not making great sales. You may make great and at the same you find that your customers are not pleased with your commodities anymore. So you should aim at satisfying the needs of the customers so that more may be influenced and then enlarge your market. In planning you ought to be realistic by comparing the plan with previous plans (White and Grifftiths, 2000 p.36). Strategies in fashion marketing One of the marketing strategies you have to employ in fashion marketing is use of the internet. This is very quick since a photograph posted on the internet will be seen by people from all parts of the world. This is very important since this fashion industry requires fast marketing before the fashion becomes outdated. You have to reach the customers that quick when their desires of the fashion are high. In the websites the customers will analyze the product or service. Therefore t should be done with a lot expertise so as to lure the customers very quickly (Vogt and Wojak, 2007 p.124). You should make use of the media in fashion marketing. This is a quick method to reach many people in a short time. In televisions you should market your produces or services. In radios it can also be done. In areas where magazines are quickly sold like in the developed countries you can use them to advertise your commodity. For marketing of fashion cloths like dresses this is one best tool you can use. You can portray varieties of features of models wearing the dresses. This has been used by the Tony Company in US and their fashion dresses are in sale unlike the situation with other fashion industries who are seated back to wait for customers. Another method of marketing in fashion industry is online advertising. In this you can post a lot of articles and photographs on your commodities (Tungate, 2008 p.98). You can also use other blogs like the email blogs to market. For those who are fans of browsing then you will reach them very fast. You can also use the social networks like Face book and twitter. In the social networks you can post photographs of your fashion design. You can also initiate chats on the commodity. In this you can extrinsically motivate the fans of the social networks to buy the fashion design. It is also clear that many fashions will always be appreciated by the youth. These are the same people in the social networks therefore you ought to reach them (Steele, 2010 p.234). You also ought to market commodities or services which are quality. The service or product should be an improvement of the previous one with more good features. This is what will see the customers rise into some questions like, “have you seen the new plasma TV?” This kind of questions when they become normal to customers such that they are moving hand in hand with your commodities then the marketing of the latest designs will become easier. This is because the customers will only require to be told that there is a new fashion of that commodity. This is one marketing strategy which can be used in marketing of phones. This is what is happening currently in US with the marketing of iPhones (Palmer and Museum, 2001 p.35). Another strategy that can be used in marketing of fashion designs is location based marketing. This is done in show grounds, through promotions, road shows and shop to shop marketing. In show grounds you can reach thousands of people and you then display your commodity to them. Promotions will also motivate the customers and attract them. You can combine all the above local based methods and you will reach many people within your locality. This is a good marketing strategy for marketing fashion designs which can only be used in your area. Some of these fashions you can market using this strategy are agricultural equipments (Mckelvev and Munslow, 20007 p.176). Fashion marketing research Fashion marketing research means conducting researches to enhance your marketing activities and also get information from the statistical data. Good market researches ought to be done if you would really want to see your fashion industry grow rapidly. You can use the different methods of research both quantities and qualitative ten collect data from your customers. In carrying out the research you must draw the stages to follow. You should begin by identifying the problem then develop a research plan. With the plan in hand go on to carry out your data collection and then conclude by interpretation of the data. This research will provide with the current market fluctuations in terms of prices, relevance and accuracy. This is very different from market research where you will only deal with the places to market your fashion. A marketing research is very important in marketing your fashion design (Ash and Wrighht, 1988 p.87). Marketing research will also highlight you on the competitor’s objectives and abilities. When you know toe objectives of your competitor in the fashion industry it will be easy to win her since you will only need to make sure that you are better and in more favor of your customers than her (Barbar and Guje, 2010 p.56). Market segmentation This means the division of the customers according to their needs and wants. There may be two different products which will act to satisfy the needs of different people. For instance, in Tony’s firm of dresses there are dresses for youths and dresses for adults which are different. In marketing of fashion industry you must do thorough market segmentation. This will help in drawing up the accurate marketing strategies. Different people can be reached through different methods. With good market segmentation you will know which methods to use to reach your customers. For instance if you find your fashion design satisfies the youth more then you can use the social network to expand your market. You should serve to satisfy the different tastes and preferences of the customers. With segmentation you will also where to market you fashion designs. It would be funny to marketing costumes in rural areas and thus you ought to do good market segmentation to know who, how, when and where to get customers (Dejean, 2005 p.457). Use of technologies in fashion business marketing Marketing management is involved in use of technologies. The main technologies that are widely used are computer based information systems. These technologies will help in better processing and storage of data. You can therefore always refer back for any information on fashion business. These technologies can also be used in marketing research. They help in quick gathering and interpretation of data. The technologies you have will control the decisions you will make before taking the marketing research. You must employ these technologies in your fashion industry (Labor Department and Labor statistics bureau, 2010 p.66). You should ensure that your commodity has undergone all treatments which could make it look more technological. Fort instance in marketing of smart phones it is very important to use all possible technologies. You can use the previous models of the phone to market the current. This is possible through use of some software where you can reach all your current customers in a matter of seconds. You can send those SMS, MMS, photographs or video which are related to your current phone model. This is a good technique however it will not apply in the marketing of all fashion designs. You should analyze your fashion and then look at the various technologies which you can employ in marketing your product (Engle, 2008 p.65). Branding and pricing These are key areas in any kind of fashion industry marketing. You should make sure that you brand your commodities well. For instance in marketing of Nokia phones it is very easy to market the latest phones. The reason for this is because there is a trend which is used for branding. In the E-series Nokia phones many people will be aware of the current fashion through the previous one. This is due to the branding sequence they have developed. Many people for now know of the Nokia E-97. So when there is a new fashion of this series then it will be Nokia E-98. This is good way of branding since customers will only need to hear of the release of thee new make and they immediately flock the market. Brand names are therefore very important in this marketing(Fernie and Nobukazu, 2004 p.256). Pricing should also be considerable and realistic. Good pricing of your fashion design will be achieved through proper calculations of your profits. These you get by deducting the cost of production. If the prices are comfortable to the customers then it will be very effective to market it.You can also begin the marketing of the fashion industry through some promotions or offers. Some offers like if you buy three you get one free will motivate customers to buy your commodity. They will always to get that added advantage. Fort instance in marketing of new smart phones you can add offers like the inclusion of memory cards, t-shirts and other offers. This will entice people and they will be attracted to buy your good. This is just easy since you can add the costs of the offers in the total cost of the fashion design (Easey, 2008 p.229). Marketing or sales in fashion marketing business Many people will have their businesses oriented in making of huge sales. This is not the case with fashion designs since you are required to make large marketing rather than the sales. Imagine two scenarios where in the first one your commodity gets high sales in one district and then another situation where your commodity receives small sales from many districts. The last scenario is the scenario required in fashion business marketing. When you reach a few but wide spread people then they will do the marketing for you. The nature of human beings is that they will want things which they have seen with their friends, therefore the widespread already established customers will enlarge the chain and with some time the commodity will have spread like fire in a dry bush. This is unlike in a situation where you make large sells and yet your marketing is only limited to a small are (Christopher, Lowson and Peck, 2004 p.232). Conclusion Marketing is such a key factor in any fashion business to extend that it should be given the first priority. With good, reality, observable and open marketing plans then your fashion will get marketed very fast. The idea with this business is extend of marketing and not the number of sales. You should aim at enlarging he market for your commodity and not making huge sales. A key factor you should observe in fashion business marketing is branding. Brand your products with a lot of technique so as to attract your customers. You also need to do good pricing for your fashion designs. You should be realistic in making the price for your fashion. Above all the main thing you should consider is a plan. You must make a strategic plan to advertise your commodity to different corners. A plan should be open such that it can be adjusted with the changes in the market. Objectives should be drawn and then strived to be achieved. You ought to be careful in fashion design marketing since if you do not take it wit the seriousness deserved you may end up regretting. Apply technology and you will reach many people since the world has become global. Market segmentation is also very important in fashion business marketing. You should divide your product to satisfy the needs of different people. This can be in age difference, location, body size or other things which will make people have different tastes and preferences. 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