#5 Ways to Make Your Apparel Brand Stand Out
One is no longer competing against just the direct competitors, but against all the messages that bombard people's lives
By Tina Narang •
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In a landscape constantly cluttered with competing apparel brands, we strive to communicate with consumers in ways that they prefer to get an edge over other players. In fact, the entire ball game is becoming increasingly consumer-driven. As all try to keep pace with the ever-evolving customer mind set, here are a few ways in which you can distinguish yourself from your peers.
Creating an Edge - On an average, consumers receive over 3,000 marketing messages every day from a variety of brands. One is no longer competing against just the direct competitors, but against all the messages that bombard people's lives. In a cluttered market with innumerable products in various sectors, it is important to create an edge, a unique position in the discerning customer's mind. This not only helps establish the brand U.S.P. effectively, but also creates long lasting recall for the brand.
The Best of Both Worlds- While it is pertinent to be digitally present in today's day and age, it is also important to support that with a strong offline element. Always be available to answer your customers' queries, or help with suggestions and styling advice. Your online portal should be user-friendly, responsive, and have an easy to understand interface. Any touch point, which looks at answering customer queries, should steer clear of template-like answers and deal with each concern differently. Never let your customer feel "lost' or "ignored' while interacting with your brand.
Experimenting with Designs- When we look back over the past 10 years, the evolution that fashion has seen has been exponential. With more and more brands producing indie and fusion wear clothing, it is a great time to experiment with designs and play with silhouettes. Globalization has helped widen the perspective of Indian audiences and one must use this opportunity well to unleash the creative streak within.
Creative Campaigns- Storytelling, the backbone of most campaigns, is a great tool that helps in humanizing one's brand. In this fast paced, highly competitive industry, one needs a compelling narrative to showcase the product in a unique way. One should create campaigns that incite the right emotions and help in forming deep connections with the desired TG. Brands which reflect qualities of being delicate, vintage or elegant help in bringing the product alive, thus staying ahead of the curve.
Leverage Your Strong Points –It is a paradox of human psychology that while people remember criticism, they respond to praise. Brands that build up their strengths can reach their highest potential, allowing them to tap into strengths they may or may not be aware of and thusdeliver more effectively to the audience. By recognizing the customer response, one can tweak the strategy for a more targeted approach and get better results.
Dare to be Different – It is a common myth to associate only couture with uniqueness, as opposed to pret-a-porter (ready-to-wear) as well. While pret is factory made for the masses, one can definitely add a distinctive element to one's designs to stand out from the crowd. It is the idea of being unpredictable that really makes one "sui generis' for an apparel brand. The best players are creative and keep the competition guessing in the industry. Intricately designed apparel has an ability to weave beautiful dreams in textile and surprise the consumers with an exquisite offering.
