Today, we live in a business world that is very different from the one that existed in the last decade. May young and budding entrepreneurs be flush with new ideas and are ready to take the plunge into the business world. Today, it is essential for any business irrespective of what kind of business you have is to have an online presence. Today we’ll look at one such unique business which requires a lot of craft, that is Tailoring.
Tailoring businesses are in trend to go online. You don’t need to be a qualified fashion designer or have any formal degree to be creative when it comes to clothes. You can do it while you are at home and start online.
There are many things to keep in mind when starting an online business, especially one that is of tailoring. Why? Because it demands uniqueness and a fresh influx of ideas. Not having a planned approach and enough content can derail businesses online quicker than you think.
Let us look at some of the crucial factors to keep in mind when we are starting off an online gents and ladies tailoring service so we can acknowledge and avoid the pitfalls that come with it.
1 – Put Together All Your Ideas Before Starting
It is important to approach any business in a planned manner. It is even more important to plan businesses ahead when it is going online. All businesses start off with a brain flash. An idea. It is equally crucial to put a certain structure to an idea. Without clear goals and execution planning, any idea is not going to give you any moolah.
Get your research going. Start talking to people from the tailoring and business world. Start talking in terms of statistics, figures, revenue which will help you have a more constructive and realistic picture of how you want to execute the ideas you have going on. Uniqueness in a rollout plan enhances a clear vision which in turn allows you to set boundaries like spending, procurement, marketing, human resources etc.
2 – Be Creative But Be Revenue Driven
It is important for your creativity to drive you but it is even more important to be business-driven as well. Along with being creative, you need to assess what the market and audiences want or need. Need aimed creativity is extremely important because that is what will ultimately drive your sales revenue. Let us say suppose you have created something unique but doesn’t have the right audience. It will never work. You need to know the in and out of the operations.
3 – Create A Fancy Digital Platform (Website)
We work on the plan – what you see, is what you get. In an online business, customers cannot see the physical apparel. So, it becomes very important that they are convinced of what they see and the basis that conviction they buy. Your platform has to be extremely user friendly and must showcase your hero products.
The customer pull should be done not just land on your website but also explore and cart them out. UI in any business is a science that must be learned and implemented to drive maximum results and revenue.
Things Need To Create A Website
In order to create a digital platform, you need following things.
- Domain Name – A Domain name is the address of a website. You can buy a domain name from a domain provider such as Godaddy or Namecheap.
- Web Hosting – Simply, web hosting is a land. Hostinger, Bluehost, Godaddy, Siteground, whorack are the cheapest web hosting providers across the globe.
- Finding Best CMS – CMS or content management system is computer software that is used to create, manage or edit digital content such as images, text and so on. In this regard, WordPress is one of the most popular & simple CMS. It covers more than 66% of the website designing market.
- Website Template – If you are one of those who don’t have enough money to pay the salary of a WordPress developer, then using a website template is good for you.
- Logo – It is an image, text or shape that depict the name and purpose of a business.
4 – Engage Your Customers
In an online platform, engaging with your audience is a given step that you have to follow. Some customers may go on to your platform but will not buy anything and leave. But it is still an engagement opportunity. You can always make them a customer by getting them to sign up by reconnecting with them, floating offers, repeat customer advantage, first-order discounts etc. keeping yourself visible and recurrently in front of the customer helps build your brand to a large extent.
5 – Drive To Be Unique
Assess all the tailoring platforms that are there in the business. Try and see if there is any unique feature you can add to your platform which sets you apart. For e.g. for sizing help or you want to see how that piece of apparel looks on you, etc. Some unique proposition that has not been offered to the customer yet. The augmented reality appeal will solve any businesses’ most pressing problem – shopping cart abandonment.
You can also look at value offerings like maybe a 360-degree view of the apparel you are selling. Showcase its look and feel even when the customer cannot feel it.
6 – Pay Close Attention To Analytics
Use a robust software that can help you in analysing what is happening in your store. Blindly putting up stuff and waiting for it to sell is not the way to go about any online business. You need to study the patterns that you get from customers like which customers are checking out, why, which demographic is highly active, which product sells the best and why etc.