When considering what drives sales and sets some stores apart from others, I like to attribute it to three overall categories. First and foremost the successful boutiques are the ones that are willing to put in the effort and put that effort in the right areas. Without focusing on all three areas, boutique owners miss out on opportunities that could drive results. You can spend 50 hours working a week primarily on gaining followers on Instagram, but if those followers aren’t your target audience, you are wasting your time. It is crucial to think through where you focus on the majority of your efforts on, and whether or not those efforts are driving sales.
How you interact with and treat your customers
If your customer has access to the Internet, your customer has access to thousands of online shops to choose over yours. What sets you apart can come down to how you treat your customers. Personal interactions can make a significant impression on an individual interacting with your store for the first time. We’ve all heard that first impressions are vital. Find a way to make yours count. If you can get to know your customers on a personal level, some of the things that can make a difference include remembering things about them including their name, kids, personal life updates, and more. This isn’t always feasible for online store owners, but if you have the opportunity to take it. Including thank you cards in all orders no matter how many orders you receive can add a personal touch that other large stores can’t meet.
You will want to engage with your new and old customers. Interact with them on social media and find a way to make them feel special. Reply to their comments and even considering commenting on their posts. If you have a large following, find ways to encourage your audience to interact with your posts and then take the time to interact back. If they give feedback on a particular way you’ve shared news or announced a change, consider that feedback. If they share what types of products they like for you to purchase, listen to them and at least let them know that you hear them.
Ensure that you are following through on everything you say you will do online. Following through will help gain your trust and develop an overall sense of reliability that your customers can count on you when they need you. This might sound silly as a store owner, but emotions are a huge part of marketing plans. Diving into your customers’ emotions and responding is key.
Make your customer feel like the hero and step back and be the guide. This comes from the book Building a Story Brand (100% recommend it). Your customer ultimately cares about themselves and wants you to help them achieve their goals. If this goal includes looking cute at their next big event, you are there to help them find the perfect outfit that will allow them to feel confident. You are not the hero; you are the guide assisting them to become the hero in their story.
Find a way to allow your customer to feel special shopping with you. Your shopping experience is not something they can get anywhere else. Consider the marketing principle of exclusivity, which allows your customer to get something that no one else can. What are you willing to do for your customers that your competition doesn’t have time for? What sets your customer service experience apart from all of the others?
Boutique Aesthetics
This category includes all things from how professional your website looks, to the trendiness of your clothing, to the style of your Instagram feed. Professional photos will always look better than selfies in bad lighting with distracting backgrounds. New trendy items will always be more intriguing than last seasons overdone pieces. Consistency is key to a cohesive look. Establishing a brand and sticking to the color scheme, key messages, and storyline from the beginning can increase your customers’ experience when shopping with you. Consider what your target audience cares about and considering stepping up your graphic design skills and create an experience that your customers will enjoy.
Your discipline and ability to make a plan and stick to it
This last category is something that you will have to work at every day. This includes your organization ability, commitment to completing your tasks daily and having a clear vision for what you want your boutique to be and an idea of how to make it happen. If these things don’t come naturally to you, don’t worry these are skills you can work on overtime. It is essential to make a plan and stick to it. This can include understanding what skills you currently lack and determining what is needed to learn them to further your business. If you aren’t familiar with basic marketing techniques, you can make time to learn. Setting goals for yourself is step one. Step two is doing everything possible to achieve those goals. Don’t let anything stop you from completing your goals. Excuses will be the death of your business.
Becoming disciplined daily is also essential to move your business ahead. An example could include setting a dedicated time every week to plan your social media posts rather than posting at random throughout the week. A dedicated business owner would set a plan and stick to it. An unorganized business owner would make excuses and procrastinate.
Consistency is critical to achieving your boutique’s goals. This includes consistency in your interaction with your new and old customers, consistency in your branding and overall look and feel, consistency in completing your tasks and setting goals to advance your business. It is not enough to be consistent in one area; you must be consistent in all of them to drive sales. An expert at creating graphic design images which don’t consistently nurture existing customers will lose customers. A boutique owner who chats with customers all day long but doesn’t purchase products they are interested in will never make the sale. Incorporating all three consistently will allow the money to flow into your bank account.