A successful clothing brand needs to be more than just exquisite design to create a lasting business. You need to have passion about clothing but you also need to understand the importance of marketing, manufacturing and retail (among other things) to have a successful fashion brand. You don’t start a fashion business because you want to design, you start a business because you want to start a business. If you have that apparel entrepreneur mindset (read this blog post to be sure) then let’s get to it! Here are the five things every successful fashion business needs:
1. BRANDS PUBLIC IDENTITY
2. BUSINESS PLAN
3. CUSTOMERS
4. SOLID RELIABLE SUPPLY CHAIN
5. KILLER SALES & MARKETING PLAN
1. BRANDS PUBLIC IDENTITY
Step one of starting a clothing line? Develop your brand.
Your brand should embody the best and most essential attributes of your company. In the world of fashion especially – your brand identity cannot be understated.
Clothing is personal because our clothing choices define our identity – both to ourselves and to the world. As a result, brands we allow people to know we wear become an extension of who we are and how we see ourselves.
Having a clear brand identity that resonates with your target customer, staying authentic to that identity and knowing how to communicate it to the desired audience is key to your brands success.
So, take the time to think – really think – about your brand from the start. Here are some questions to answer to help you fine-tune your brand identity:
1) Who will want to wear my clothes?
2) What identity do I want my clothes to project?
3) What makes my clothes unique?
4) What can customers get from my clothing brand they can’t get anywhere else?
5) What is the most important part of my customer’s experience?
6) How will I communicate with my desired customers?
7) What other brands would my desired customer wear?
8) List any brands with a similar identity already on the market? (Be honest/do thorough research)
2. BUSINESS PLAN
This is where starting a clothing brand is no different to starting any company. You need to have a business plan mapped out. I’d recommend a 5-year business plan-that’s usually standard. You need to detail everything. Having a business plan doesn’t mean you can’t make any changes to it during the next five years. In fact, most business plans of successful brands do change. New opportunities arise, or things don’t work like you originally thought. Reverting to your business plan every 6 months, is a good way to keep on track, remind yourself of goals, and targets and make alterations where necessary.
Lots of things change during the years of owning a business, but having a business plan, is an essential part to any business. It is also important to have if you are pitching for any type of loan, investment or sponsorship.
3. CUSTOMERS
This is somewhat stating the obvious – I know, but let’s be clear. You don’t have a business if you don’t have any customers. This is something that you really approach in the development stage (as said earlier). It’s highly recommended (and I talked about it in last week’s post) to hold thorough market research. This will help you truly understand, and know who your customers are. Once you have this, you can be clear as to how to communicate with them, and continue to design and manufacture products they have a need/desire for.
4. SOLID RELIABLE SUPPLY CHAIN
Unless you plan to sew every garment you sell (a business model that would be impossible to scale) you’ll need to consider how your collection will be manufactured. This partnership is critical, and one that you shouldn’t rush into. There are a lot of moving parts to your supply chain, and things can begin to get complicated very quickly. Before you start, you need to make sure you know the production process and understand exactly what capabilities you need a manufacturer to have.
Before you open a conversation with a manufacturer, I suggest you get clear on your budget, make sure you understand the production timeline, and know your designs inside out. A lot of questions will be fired at you from the manufacturers to see if you could potentially work together. So, having your tech pak(s), fabric swatches, renderings and/or sewn samples ready will help speed up the process.
Most suppliers will want your business, and push hard for it, so make sure you ask them enough questions so you don’t end up working with suppliers that can’t, in fact, meet your requirements.
5. KILLER SALES AND MARKETING PLAN
This is the final icing on the cake (some might say)! The fashion industry is a highly competitive market place, and if you aren’t up to speed with the latest sales and marketing strategies available, get on it, or at the very least hire someone that does! Like any business, there is no point having a killer brand identity and wicked product, if no one knows about it! You also need to make sure your plan is targeted specially to your target customer – like I said earlier. There is no point having a plan that reaches hundreds of thousands of people, yet only 2% of those people are in the market for your product. You need to get specific and targeted. We are fortunate to live in an age where there are a lot of cost effective ways you can market your business, however, do research on how much ads/shoots/campaigns etc cost and know your budget. When using influencers, be sure to get detailed information on their engagement before you agree on partnerships, especially ones you are paying for!
There are a lot of ways you can make this extremely engaging and creative, especially in the fashion industry, so think outside the box, and be specific and targeted! And like I mentioned in my first post a couple of weeks ago – know yourself (your strengths and your weaknesses) if sales and marketing is not your strong point – hire someone who has that strength. Otherwise you might end up wasting a lot of your budget on areas of marketing that won't actually reach your target customer!
