Top 10 Free Marketing Tips For Small Businesses
The world of retail is very competitive. The high-street and internet are full of retailers selling clothes and fashion accessories of all shapes, colours and sizes for all people.
It is a cutthroat and ever-changing industry where it is important to stay ahead of the curve and be noticed.
Here at PromoMedia, we work with many fashion retailers, from high-street fashion houses to independent shops, as well as online and catalogue retailers.
These different sectors of the retail industry all require different marketing and advertising techniques to be successful. Obviously, each outlet has different target markets so it’s important to think who your market is – are they men, women, fashion conscious, older, younger, high spenders etc? All these will determine the type of marketing techniques your company should consider.
Here at PromoMedia we will listen to your aims and ambitions, look at your brand, target market and put together a bespoke plan to keep you ahead of your competition.
It is basically advertising clothes and fashion accessories to the general public and getting your brand in the public eye wherever they may be.
This could be through online advertising options, social media, TV ads or outdoor options.
Depending on your budgets and aims, our teams can put together a complete retail marketing strategy to get your brand noticed and ultimately generate more sales.
As you can imagine, retail is one of the broadest and most competitive industries in the world, so you need to be clear and specific about who you are targeting to make your budget work for you in a cost-effective way. You also need to think of ways to stand out from the crowd.
Eye-catching artwork is often key (which is often why super-models are used!) with visual forms of marketing working particularly well in this sector.
As mentioned visual advertising works brilliantly for retail, basically people love to see what they are buying.
The old mantra of “show and don’t tell” works really successfully in this area. As a general rule here at PromoMedia we would suggest the following options to really show off your retail business, although all forms of media are generally worth considering in this sector:
Outdoor advertising - there are lots of advertising opportunities that fall under the umbrella term of out-of-home advertising. Billboards work very well in retail, 48 sheet posters are big, bold and eye-catching, which really draw the attention of potential customers. They are great in showing off colours, styles and fashions – all key to the retail industry. Back-lit options in high-footfall areas or roadside work particularly well but there are many outdoor options to consider which can be accommodated on most budgets.
Bus advertising - a form of outdoor, posters both on buses, on the side of buses and at bus stops are great at attracting and holding the attention of potential consumers. The travel infrastructure of buses covers the entire UK, so no matter where you are, you will some form of bus advertising which is suitable and available in your area.
TV advertising in the retail industry - with such a brilliant audience reach and as a powerful visual medium, TV is very popular with retail and fashion advertisers. At PromoMedia we can place TV ads all over the UK and will look at options on ITV, Sky and Channel 4. We will try and work with most budgets, although it’s worth pointing out that TV is one of the more expensive media options.
Newspapers Adverts - a cheap and cost-effective way to reach people on either a local or national level, press and newspaper ads are still very popular and effective when it comes to retail marketing. Glossy magazine ads also work well again as colours can really ping off the page.
Social media - a great and immediate way to get out new seasons and sales messages. Social media is often managed in-house but if you want to target new audiences we can develop strategies to target people who may yet have not heard of you, tapping into a new audience sector.
Advertising in Shopping Centres - it seems obvious, but advertising near your shop or at least in areas where people are shopping is a great idea. There are lots of options such as adverts in the car-parks, in the malls, in the restaurants, in lifts and on digital screens - a great way to attract the interest of shoppers when they are in the mood or locality to buy what you are offering.
As you can imagine there is no set answer with regards to advertising costs as it is totally dependent on which type of advertising you opt for.
Television campaigns typically start in the £20k region depending on the area but radio options can start from a few thousand and press, outdoor and social media options are cheaper. Essentially it boils down to what your budget is, with that figure between us we can tailor a campaign to incorporate whichever your preferred type of media is and the ones that we recommend. Once we know your target market, budget and location we can tailor something bespoke and creative to get you the best return on investment.
Most! No matter what size company all retail outlets need customers and word of mouth (although fantastic) cannot be guaranteed and totally relied upon. At PromoMedia we work with a full range of outlets including the below:
Major chain and retailers - major chains need to hit big targets and we support large well-known brands with both local and national campaigns, which can incorporate everything from local radio through to London Underground advertising.
Boutiques - most small boutiques don't want to look like they are trying too hard but often lovely forms of print media and newspaper ads work well in targetted glossy magazines.
Food outlets - as a nation we love food. Often outdoor adverts work well especially in towns and cities where people are out and about walking around, and hungry!
Independent stores - similar to boutiques independent stores don't want to look too desperate in advertising and also their budgets aren't always the biggest. Options we tend to look at include targetted social, local radio options and print distribution.
Pop-ups - here today and gone tomorrow, this form of marketing needs to be immediate and responsive. Social, radio talk-ups and advans are highly effective.
Catalogue companies - mainly targeting an older demographic and with decent budgets, national newspaper ads, billboards and TV advertising have brilliant results.
Startups - working on a smaller budget we would suggest local print distribution, local freesheet newspapers and radio.
For more specific contact us today.
"What is meant by retail marketing?" It means advertising for businesses in the retail sector, such as shops, boutiques and food outlets. If you are looking for cost-effective retail marketing strategies for your company contact us today.
"What are the types of retail marketing?" It can be anything from TV and radio to outdoor or online, anything to get a brand or product noticed by its target audience.
"How is retail marketing different from marketing?" It isn't different, it is a niche form of marketing - targetting one sector but it is very popular especially at times of years like the sales and Christmas, read more in our guide to Christmas marketing and other memorable advertising campaigns.
If you are interested in the retail marketing services we offer get in touch today and one of our expert advisors will go through the options with you.
Simply fill in our contact form and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible to discuss creating a bespoke plan for you to increase sales and allow you to stand out from the crowd.
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