As seen with their latest marketing campaign, Zara is going all in to win over new customers. They are investing heavily in advertisements that directly contrast their more expensive counterparts.
By using pictures and videos of under-priced products next to identical looks or even cheaper versions of similar product lines, they create a sense of competition.
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing as it can be motivating for other fashion brands and/or shoppers. However, it also exposes some weaknesses at Zara which may hurt them in the long run.
Don’t worry though, we will discuss what you can do to avoid such pitfalls! In this article, I will talk about how you can promote your own brand while simultaneously keeping an eye out for any potential threats.
I will also share some tips and tricks for promoting your own clothing line so that you can increase traffic to your website, gain followers on social media, and get more compliments.
As much as people enjoy shopping at Zara, they will sometimes find their experience less than perfect. This is mostly due to the way the company manages its online store.
Zara currently uses an off-the-shelf eCommerce platform from Shopify that was last updated in 2011. With the ever growing popularity of mobile devices, this no longer fits the market well.
By switching over to one of the many new features for web design, Zara can improve their customer service significantly. A good source for information about such sites are marketing blogs and websites.
As mentioned before, marketing at scale is no longer about just sprinkling advertisements across all possible media channels. It now includes creating engaging written content to spread your brand message and inspire action.
Content that does nothing but tell people what you want them to do will not work very well. If your content doesn’t contain enough insights or answers, it can even backfire by leaving your audience with more questions than answers.
There are two main reasons why this isn’t the best way to market products. First, it has become increasingly difficult to create interesting, quality content that people would actually want to read.
Second, most people get overwhelmed when trying to determine which product or service is worth buying. They may feel too confused or stressed out to make a purchase, which is obviously not good for business.
So how can brands better promote their products? By providing helpful information while still sounding appealing. Product reviews have been around for a long time, so they hold special position in the field of marketing.
A review is an extended comment that tries to evaluate a specific item or category. Many people use reviews as an effective research tool because they seem legitimate. Even if someone unfairly negative about a product, their peers will probably agree and avoid making a mistake like that.
What makes a great product review?
It should clearly explain whether the product was working for who wrote it and if there were any benefits over alternatives.
As seen with their latest campaign, Zara is very aware of how powerful distributing information can be. They know that people love talking about new fashion trends, so they use this passion to get them more exposure.
By posting content on blogs and social media sites, you give other users’ hard work credit for creating inspired looks.
This boosts their reputation and followers, which are key parts in building an audience around you. It also gives you the opportunity to connect with others who have similar interests as yours!
You may even find yourself inspiring someone to try out some new look or giving tips if it is possible to copy.
One of the most efficient ways to market your business is through advertisements. This can be done via cost-effective online advertisement sites, or by investing in more expensive ads that are better targeted.
Some of these sites offer you special discounts if you are an established business so do some research and see what they have to offer!
There are many different types of ad sites out there with different budgets. Find one that fits into your budget and create an account!
Many of these sites have you as a seller who will get free advertising space for your products which is very helpful. Since their site is already set up to promote your product, you just need to add it to your inventory and you’re good to go!
This is particularly useful if you are running low on stock or want to expand your brand. You can use their platform to grow your business.
One of the most powerful ways to strengthen your brand’s reputation is by encouraging customer feedback. A lot of brands forget about this marketing tactic, but it can be quite valuable!
By asking customers to leave comments or review products on sites like Amazon, you get an opportunity to showcase not just their buying habits, but also how thoughtful and loyal they are as consumers.
The more positive reviews you have online, the higher chances people will choose to do business with you rather than competitors.
And for your targeted audience, there may even be opportunities to create content based off those reviews and link back to that site. For example, if someone mentioned the wash cloths in the description of a product, you could make your own similar ones and advertise them.
As mentioned before, one of the most effective ways to boost sales is through discounting. Companies that offer substantial discounts are seen as more attractive than those who do not.
Zara is a popular clothing company that has perfected this theory! They have consistently offered large group discounts in order to draw in new customers.
By offering weekly or monthly memberships, they also ensure that repeat buyers can re-affirm their loyalty every week or month.
By having frequent return visitors, it helps promote word of mouth marketing where people discuss your business and what products they find useful. This eventually creates more exposure for you and your brand!
With the growing popularity of online shopping, companies have adapted by creating sale events exclusively via digital platforms.
This way, even individuals without smartphone access can still take advantage of the savings! By offering mobile app coupons, you increase accessibility even further.
Heckler Media conducted an experiment using direct comparisons to determine whether or not giving away a product will create more traffic for it. What they found was that while giving away a product may generate initial interest, it does not keep people coming back.
Instead, they suggest holding a raffle or giveaway instead so participants feel like they need to come buy something after entering. The winner is then announced at the end, keeping them interested longer.
These types of giveaways should be done during off hours to avoid too much foot traffic otherwise potential shoppers may opt out.
One of the best ways to gain exposure for your business is by hosting an event or conference. This can be done at a local level with a restaurant, hotel, or private venue, or you can hold an event at a bigger stadium-style setting like in The Coliseum or Madison Square Garden.
Zara has already hosted its own fashion show so they are not too unique when it comes to this tip. But instead of having people come watch their clothes get hung up, they could have had models attend to showcase products more efficiently.
This would save them money as well as time because they wouldn’t need to hire extra model fees nor rent space to hang clothing. They could just use yours!
By doing this, they would also reach more people due to the size of the audience that event organizers usually get — even if there are no sponsorships or income generated from ticket sales, people still enjoy attending events.
People love entertainment and spending time talking about things they know about, so giving them access to some new material is great way to spread brand awareness.
As mentioned before, one of the biggest mistakes business owners make is assuming that everyone will appreciate their products or services. This is not true for most people!
If you are thinking this about a product or service that is too expensive, then you have no chance of success. On the other hand, if the products/services are either very cheap or extremely expensive, then there’s little to no incentive to buy them.
So how do you find the middle ground? You identify who your target market is and what they want.
This way, you know whether or not their needs are being met and whether or not it is worth investing in the products or services.