In business, relationships
are equally important and having a mutual beneficial relationship could go a long
way to help your brand especially in times when you need it most. From your
direct customers or clients to vendors, employees to anyone who is either
directly or indirectly connected to your business, building a good relationship
with them serves as a bedrock upon which your product can flourish.
For many startups and young
businesses, it is important to start building your relationship early in order
to gain trust and credibility which could serve as an extra advantage for you
in this competitive and saturated market. Be it through good customer service,
personal engagement, proactive communication, good relationship should be
established at all levels.
Be it internal or external
stakeholders, their role to the growth of your business varies and as such they
all play a unique role that needs to be solidly built for the benefit of your business.
Same way, any dent on these relationships could adversely affect all efforts
put into it.
Building relationship also means
establishing good communication lines between your company and these various
stakeholders or publics.
Here are 4 ways why building
relationships are important to fashion brands.
Helps
you achieve your goals
Every company no matter how
young the business is has company goals and objectives. By building good
relationship with your publics for instance your employees, you are more likely
to achieve your desired goal as they are able to work hard and bring on board
their best ways which becomes beneficial to your business. You must work in
harmony with everyone including the community within which you operate, that
way they there is goodwill which is transferred onto the work and its growth.
Helps
you reach the right target
As a fashion designer, your
target markets are usually those who are interested in your buying and wearing
your clothes. In order to reach such people, you need to communicate
effectively using the right channels to reach them. With the good relationship
with editors, bloggers, journalists, marketers etc you are able to create
strategic visibility for your brand using the right channels thereby reaching
your targeted market.
Puts
you in a strong position when customers are making buying decision
In an age where social media
is king, word of mouth is key. The kind of relationship you have with your
customers influence what they say about you. Good relationships, loyalty and
referrals are the order of the day. Many people buy products because of what
they have heard about it. With that achieved, work at building a strong relationship
with them such that they become loyal to the brand and then end up referring
their friends to purchase as well.
Easier
access to funding
For startups looking to attract
investors and some funding for their young fashion businesses, having a good relationship
with the various stakeholders opens up opportunities for growth. With clarity
on the company’s vision statement and mission, investors become confident of
your business and possibly will want to invest in them.
The important thing to
remember is that the earlier you build good relationships with the right
publics for your brand, the better your chances at positioning your brand for
opportunities that will further leap the fortunes of your company.
Through a mix of effective communications, good
customer service and appreciation, feedback mechanisms and proactive
engagements, you’ll be well on your way to being able to accomplish more as a
strong fashion brand.
Faith Senam Ocloo
Fashion Public Relations
Fashion I Beauty I Lifestyle I Arts
