Why market research is important for any London fashion marketing business.
In a world where fashion trends are forever changing, it’s never been more important for businesses within fashion hotspots to market their company. It’s important for fashion marketing in London to take place for both independent and large-scale businesses to stay current with trends; up to date with the market and generally remain relevant.
For the fashion industry in particular, trends are always changing, and as we enter the Autumn months, now is a good time to see what is appropriate and what clothing styles are ‘in’.
The team here at VerriBerri wanted to inform you about why market research is important for your business, and how it can help your business grow.
New Customers
For any business, it’s important to attract new customers. In fashion however, it’s even more vital as it’s an industry which generates advertisement on its own. Think of when you are out and see someone with an amazing outfit. The chances are you either ask them or Google the description. This is a self perpetuating marketing tool. However, there’s more you can do yourself to bring those new customers in.
Market research is the very first step. It allows you to deeply understand who your customers are and how you’re best targeting them. For example; who will buy your dress or shirt? How often will they shop in your store? Why do they choose you over the competition? The more questions you ask in your market research, the more you’ll understand your audience. It costs more to acquire a new customer than it does to maintain an existing customer which is why those businesses based in London with vast competition need fashion marketing more than most.
If you’re looking to grow your business and expand into new audiences, it’s important that you market to develop an understanding of your customers and recognise who they are.
Gain Insight
Gaining insight into an industry which has vast competition is a great way to set yourself aside from the crowd. It allows you analyse your customers and tailor your clothes and designs to what they are looking for. It’s all about data. It helps you to make decisions about how you’re going to make changes to ensure you keep and make customers.
Getting an deeper insight into your industry will also allow you to find knowledge about your competitors. You can ask customers what they find is missing and what they’d like to see more of. It might be a colour they don’t often find, a style, the material, or perhaps something you can sell which is niche.
We’ve said many times before that gaining knowledge about your competitors is always a valuable thing. Particularly with market research, assessing the market allows you to identify key players in the fashion industry and see who is on the rise. This will help you to find gaps in their work and prove to potential customers why you’re the right choice for them. This could be anything from the fabric you use to the ethics of your manufacturing process.
It’s worth noting however, that you must have clean and reliable data to ensure your insights are based on fact. London fashion marketing, as we have touched on above, is a saturated market, so the right people need to answer the surveys and manage the process for the data to be usable.
New ideas
Asking current and potential customers will give you the chance to find out what they want and need. This is important for any business to do, but for those in a competition-based industry, it is even more crucial. First impressions count.
Listening to customers shows that you care about your business and them! It encourages brand loyalty, and not only will you demonstrate the passion that you have for the business, but also gain an understanding of what work you could be doing in the future to see more customers visit. You haven’t got to agree with the ideas that are put forward, but at least it will help to tailor your future plans to some degree. The fact you want to listen will say a lot about your clothing company!
Set Targets
Having targets is the same as planning to write this blog post. You need to break it down first and come up with the ideas that you’ll do to make sure it flows well and makes sense. Remember, your goals need to be realistic otherwise you’ll never reach them and be disappointed with the progress you’ve made even if you’ve actually done really well. If you have people working under you, setting targets also shows employees what the plan is and creates unity in your business. The purpose of goal setting shows everyone in your team what the focus is, and this will be found in your London fashion marketing plan.
All businesses should carry out some detailed market research to find out more about their customers and their business. Within a hotspot such as London, fashion marketing is so important. It’s easy for you to step outside and ask some shoppers down Oxford Street what they think of your designs and clothes, and what you could do to improve. Naturally, no business wants to be criticised which is why they don’t actively look for opinions on their services, but it’s crucial for anyone working in the clothing world.
If you’re looking for some help with your market research, click here to contact us today. We will ensure your results are reliable, accurate and will see your business consistently grow.