Whether you’re a fashion designer or retailer, you must have a sales strategy if you want to stay in business. Making sales is just as important as creating the product so neglecting sales in favour of the perfect product is a recipe for disaster.
Selling your fashion product can be a daunting task. There are so many things that you need to think about, from how you're going to price your product to what kind of photos you will use.
Then you have to think about how to get the message about your product out to your target audience where exactly they'll see it and in the language they will easily identify with.
That is why having a sales strategy and testing out these strategies is vital so you don't run out of business.
Why you need a sales strategy
A sales strategy is a plan that helps you identify your target market, create a product or service that will appeal to them, and determine how to get your product or service into their hands.
Sales translate into revenue, which means that if you have a sales strategy, then you can use it to predict how much money your company will make.
The Link between Marketing and Sales
People tend to use the term marketing and sales interchangeably but they have differences.
Marketing plans are designed to generate awareness of your brand and its products or services, while sales plans focus on closing deals—not just generating leads.
A good sales strategy requires a good marketing strategy. Without a clear understanding of what you're trying to accomplish with your marketing efforts, it's impossible to know what kinds of tactics are necessary for success—and even if you do manage to come up with some great ideas for campaigns and promotions, they won't be very effective if they're not targeted at the right audience.
Your marketing strategy should also be informed by your sales strategy, since both are intimately connected to each other. By knowing who your customer base is and how they think about buying things, you can create more effective advertisements that resonate with them and make them want to buy from you more often than not—which means more money in the bank!
How to Create an Effective Sales Strategy
1. Create a product that people want
2. Plan your marketing strategy
3. Use the right tools
1. Create a product that people want:
The most important thing you can do is make sure that the product you're selling actually has value in the eyes of consumers. If people don't see the value in what you're selling, they aren't going to buy it—and they won't be likely to come back and buy anything else from you in the future either!
2. Plan your marketing strategy:
Once your product is ready for sale, it's time to start thinking about how you're going to market it to customers (and why). Are there certain audiences or demographics who would be more likely to buy this product than others? Do any competitors have similar products that might affect sales for yours? What are some ways we could reach them?
These are all questions worth asking yourself before investing too much into marketing efforts—because once you start spending money on ads or campaigns, it can get expensive fast!
3. Use the right tools:
Not that we know why having a sales strategy is important, There are so many tools out there you can use, not only to spread the word about your products, but also to close your sales.
Let's discuss 3 tools that you can use for your sales strategy.
Tools for an Effective Sales Strategy
1. Social Media
If you want to make sales with social media, it's all about the content. And if you're not using social media to its fullest potential, then you're missing out on a huge opportunity.
First, you need to know where your audience is. This can be tricky for businesses that don't have a big budget for advertising—but it's possible! You just have to be creative.
For example, if you sell shoes online, figure out what hashtags people use when they search for shoes—and then use those same hashtags in your posts. That way when someone searches for those keywords, they'll see your content and hopefully buy from you!
Next up: videos are better than pictures because they're more interactive and engaging. So next time you're posting something on Instagram or Facebook or wherever else, try making a short video instead of just posting a picture.
Finally: carousels are great if you want to attract more views than normal photos or videos do because people tend to scroll through them without clicking anything else—so if there's something interesting in the middle of your carousel (like an offer or discount code), people will see it and click on it.
2. Online Advertising
Facebook and Google adverts are a great way to reach new customers and get them interested in your products. The problem is that many people think they're too expensive! But there are actually a ton of ways to use these platforms for a fraction of the cost. Here's how:
a) If you want more visitors from Google, focus on keywords! People search for things all the time, and if they search for something and find your ad at the top of their results pages, they'll click through. You'll have a new customer!
Try using a service like Keywords Everywhere or Answer the Public to know what people are searching for so you can tailor your sales pages to and insert these keywords into the text. That might be more likely to get people clicking on your ad.
b) Don't underestimate how powerful Facebook ads can be. They're cheap—really cheap—and they can drive huge amounts of traffic to your site. You just have to know what your audience looks like and where they're likely to be found on Facebook.
Target your audience as narrowly as possible. You can narrow your target audience down to your business location, what age group they fall into, or even their gender. This will allow you to save money while still reaching a specific group of people who might be interested in what you have to offer—which means less wasted money.
But here's the thing: all of this only works if your website is optimized. If you don't have an optimized site, then no one will see your ads or visit your site when they do click through!
That's why I recommend using a free service like Wix or Google My Business (GMB) to build an optimized website.
3. Word of Mouth
Word of mouth is one of the most effective ways to make sales for your business. It's one of the reasons that so many businesses rely on referrals from their customers and clients to grow their business.
Word-of-mouth marketing is when you ask your customers to tell others about their experience with your product or service. You can do this by asking customers to share on social media, leave reviews, or refer friends and family members.
Word-of-mouth marketing works because it's authentic and real. When someone has a good experience with your product or service, they're going to want to tell others about it! They'll want everyone else to know how much they enjoyed the product or service—and why they think other people should try it too!
So how do you use word of mouth as a sales strategy? It's simple. Ask for reviews from current customers. If they enjoyed your product, they will be happy to give you one. Make sure you ask for their pictures and their social handles as well to lend more authenticity. It works for me every time!
Conclusion
The internet is a great place to find new customers for your business. You can use social media, Google Ads, and other forms of advertising to reach people who are interested in what you're selling. Good old word of mouth advertising also works tremendously well.
But how do you make sure that people who see your ad actually buy from you?
Put a lot of thought into your sales strategy while you are building the product or service. In fact, a lot of your sales content can be obtained while creating the product such as behind the scenes videos and photoshoots.
The best way is to start by creating a strategy that lets you do more than just sell products—it lets you build relationships with customers so that they keep coming back for more!
Which strategy do you use? We would love to hear from you. Drop a comment in the section below.
