Clothing Boutique...

[Miss_Kalli]

Hello, I have a clothing boutique and I am a 19 year old college student. I have had it for a year now, and I want to make my business grow significantly this second year. What suggestions does anyone have about marketing and advertising effectively on a budget...??

Thank you... I would love any suggestions!!

-Kalli

[shoestringbride]

Yelp about it. Send it out to all the blogs. Have an online presence.

That is just stuff off the top of my head

[spenserb14]

Kalli,
Do you deal with designer jeans? Rock & Republic, True Religion, MEK, etc? Let me know. I can make you a killing if so.
Thanks,
Spenser

[graphic designer]

You should put your profile on linked in if you havent already and make contacts with other linked in members. It has worked well for me.

[ncgal83]

Hey Kal. How did you get started with your clothing boutique. I need some ideas for mine. Thanks.

[escapethejobbox]

Hi Kalli,

Good for you for starting your own business while in college, I wish that I had thought of that when I was going to school. Here are some of my thoughts:

Do you get customer information - like email addresses - from those who have purchased? You can keep in contact with them to let them know about any sales that you have. It's easier to sell to people who've already been your customer than to always be looking for new customers.

You should also try the social media. Do you know who your target market is? Are you primarily for younger women, middle aged women, both men and women?? Knowing who exactly your market is will help you to identify where to market. Where do they hang out? where are they already buying?

What have you currently done for marketing? Do you know if it's been successful? If it has, do it again, and again, and again....

Let your customers know when you get new stock. Keep in touch with them. Talk to them about you and perhaps add personal details to your communication...like for example how the exam studying is coming along, or what your roommate is up to, or your dog (if you have one). Adding personal touches helps to build a relationship with your customers.

I learned this from a recent marketing retreat: you're customers make not remember all of the things that you told them (or sold them), but they will remember how you treat them. So treat them well.

Janice

[suz_akinz]

Kalli-

what is the name of your boutiqe and where are you located?

[JMediaConsulting]

Are you still in college? If so, you're in the middle of a large potential client base.

Perhaps your college can orchestrate a fashion show on campus. Try convincing them to help you by cutting them in *generously* on ticket sales, and you can work together to get the local press involved by promoting it as an example of school-sponsored entrepreneurship. The better you can make your school look, the more access and leighway they will grant you. Have local students be your models -- the most popular ones will be able to draw a crowd.

If you're able to book some talent do so. Ultimately your goal needs to be to generate as much buzz as possible.

Marketing aside, you should try your best to be mentored by industry vets in your area. Learn, learn, and network. It's key for your industry.

And, Janice is right, you should listen to her regarding your existing customers.

[ToyiahMarquis]

Hi Kalli, I had a boutique in Chicago and what I would do was make my boutique the "IT" place to be... I'd bring in local and national celebrities on any given day just so, customers would feel like one day they'd come in an possibly meet their fav celeb. Celebrities influence alot... I tried to stick with some of the "celeb" trend items and lots of one-of a kind pieces.. this technique kept people talking about my store. I would hang pictures throughout the store of the celebrities who came to visit me.
it was a good conversation piece and word of mouth technique.

[JackFromTexas]

I agree with JMediaConsulting and the others - you need to maximize on the facts that you are very young and in college. The college would be very interested in helping you out, and making sure you succeed, if they knew that the local paper was planning to write a story about you. The college would get good publicity if the story mentions how supportive they were.

Do you have an SBA (Small Business Administration) officer near you? They can be helpful in many ways and they have volunteer retired executives that can mentor you. The local Chamber of Commerce is also a good place to network.

You need to consider forming alliances for mutual benefit. Forming strategic alliances is one of the most fundamental keys to success. Are there any local fashion designer that you could promote and organize fashion shows with? If not, what other groups could you work with? Maybe artists - you could sell T-shirts with the art or prints of college or local artists, etc., and organize shows with them. You could also sell, on a consignment basis, small art objects made by college artists, like Birthday or Christmas cards, etc., to "support" college artists and get them into your store. If you have enough space in your store, you could schedule weekly events - like having people come in once a week to offer free consultation on things like picking clothes for special occasions (obviously this person must include your clothes in the presentation), selecting make-up, networking skills, interviewing skills, etc., so that this brings a crowd to your store. The presenters will do it for free, because they are promoting their services. You can advertise the events in the college paper, college calendar, etc.

Some college organizations (like fraternities and sorrorities) are always looking for charity opportunities to satisfy their charitable goals. You could partner up with them and agree to donate a portion of your proceeds on a given day or a given week to their chosen charity. You will both have an incentive to advertise this event and increase your revenues during that period.

You need to network, network, network, and keep your ears open. Think foremost about forming strategic alliances.

And also,... THINK BIG... you are not in business to run just one boutique store, you are in business to form a new national franchise retail company, which will create opportunities for young women entrepeneurs across the country to follow your business model (i.e., you are setting up a roadmap for other people like you to duplicate your success by licensing your business ideas, experience and knowledge). Write all your ideas and "unique business concepts" down in notebooks marked - "Confidential Trade Secrets" and organize these notebooks into "how to" books that compile all the knowledge and experience you have aquired, so that others can replicate your business. At some point in the future, these books will be complete and will form the basis for a retail franchising company.

[MrBizz]

Hey Kalli,

I'd be willing to make your presence online, I'm holding a competition at the moment to win £400.01 worth of my services, that could be your online store and a tad of advertising there, my business is only here because I like to watch others succeed so visit AshLilliottCreative | Web Design & Advertising and enter your details under the 'contact us' page for your chance of winning.

[nigelstephnie]

Clothing boutique that was pretty nice business, what is the the name of your apparel business?

[Jehnavi]

The clothing is trend line of ethics it reflects the personality of a person.

[Mobile Marketing]

You can try mobile marketing. If you can have your current, and soon to be, customers opt-in to your "text club" you can weekly/monthly send them instant specials/discounts/etc... Give them an incentive to opt-in to your text club, then on a slow week send out a blast text with a text coupon. Or send a coupon with an image of your newest clothes. Check out TextmeyourCoupon.com. Mobile coupon, at a very low monthly investment.