What do you wear to a recession?
From the Chicago Tribune comes the news that the fastest growing clothing
retailer in the area is Goodwill Industries. Contrary to the trend among other
retailers who are scaling back and even closing stores, Goodwill plans to open
five new stores in the area this year. Breaking from the mold of its appeal to
edgy art students and hard-luck hobos, Goodwill is bidding for middle-class
shoppers by providing clean layouts, bright lighting, well-organized racks of
clothing and dressing rooms to try on the second-hand duds.
It seems to be working. While sales at major chain stores fell 2 percent during
the last three months of 2008, Goodwill store sales in southeastern Wisconsin
and metropolitan Chicago rose 8 percent, the Tribune reports.
The Tribune noted that consumer behavior expert Britt Beemer, founder of
America's Research Group Ltd., says 16 percent of consumers shop at thrift
stores and he expects that figure to rise to 20 percent this year. The used
clothing market appears to be booming, or at least growing, and that could be
good news to drycleaners. After all, we’re in the used clothing business, too.
Economic necessity is forcing consumers to revise their clothes-buying habits. A
trip to the mall to replace an outfit that has been worn just a few times with
something new is no longer in the cards. Perhaps it’s time to reintroduce people to the concept that “drycleaning makes it like new.” For a younger generation, this isn’t a concept to be reintroduced. It’s a brand-new idea. And everyone loves new ideas!
Americans already own more clothes than any people on the planet. In all
likelihood, they don’t really need to buy any more, whether it’s new from Neiman Marcus or second-hand from Goodwill. An hour or so of “shopping” in their closets would likely turn up some real finds — garments that the drycleaner can breathe new life into and save a trip to the
mall or the thrift store. And if you’re looking for a clothing retailer to work with, maybe you should check out the
local thrift store.
A message worth repeating… again
As anyone stuck watching reruns on TV can attest, repetition can be a little
boring sometimes. Being exposed to something again and again can be quite
monotonous, aggravating, annoying and... well, you get the idea. Of course,
repetition can also often be the key component to any successful marketing
campaign. You undoubtedly already know that. In fact, you’ve probably have heard that message dozens of times before, and yet, it is
important enough to bear repeating once again.
Too many business owners make the mistake of believing they can reach
prospective customers with a solitary piece of marketing. Working with a tight
budget and deadline, such entrepreneurs send out one direct mail effort or an
e-mail to a client list and then wonder why so few respond to the offer. The
problem lies in a lack of repetition.
The truth is, most consumers need to be exposed to a brand name or product at
least five times before they consider trying it, sometimes more than that. In
order for that to happen, business owners must market consistently over a
sufficient period of time (at least a couple of months or longer) so that the
target customers have time to build up brand recognition, trust and desire for
such a product or service.
This month, columnist Bill Bishop touches on the subject of repetition in marketing, and then he touches on it some more. Now is a time when few people want to spend
much money on advertising as budgets become increasingly tight, and yet, that
is precisely the point. Trying a desperate “one shot” effort seldom cuts it and such money will be ultimately wasted if such an
effort isn’t enough to capture and sustain the attention of your customers.
The best marketing campaigns require careful planning and a clear message that
connects with customers. They also require enough time so that customers can
hear that message repeated enough so that they can vividly recall it and
believe in it. That is not to say you should not use some creativity to keep
that message fresh and interesting, but the important thing is to keep your
company’s name in the back of their minds. That is not something that can simply happen
overnight.
