Holiday Happenings

          One of the most frequent questions I've heard over the holiday is "What are your current sales?" With the economy still recovering, many consumers are being frugal with their money. Currently, our store does not offer holiday specials and this has turned many customers away. In fact, many customers have left not only disappointed, but angry.
          Offering incentives to loyal customers helps to create repeat buying and entices customers to shop your store over others. An incentive as little as a 10% discount can encourage shopping and will in turn help to increase sales over the holidays. Many companies are seeing marginal increases in sales revenue in comparison to last year, even without incentives to buy. With the addition of incentives, customers are more prone to spend within your store rather than in stores that do not offer good discounts, or any. Popular incentives include percentage discounts, gifts with purchase, purchase with a purchase (such as a discount on a purchase item with another purchase) and promotional offers such as $25 back with any $100 purchase.
          Although holidays such as Hannukah and Christmas are over, companies who concentrate on promoting incentives to customers post holiday should continue seeing increases in profits into the new year.

Push-ups, Padding, and Uplift. Oh My!

        In continuation to my last blog entry, another trend that piggy backs this phenomenon of perky ladies, is the distrintion between push-ups, lined bras, and uplift bras. Over the holiday season the biggest seller in bra varieties has been the varying lines of push-up bras. We have nearly sold out entirely of push-ups in the classic colors (white, nude, and black) and have begun seeing more and more vibrant colors of push-ups flying out the door. One thing, however, that also seems to be occuring is the confusion to what the differences between a push-up bra, a lined bra, and an uplift bra are. Women seem to think of these terms as a colloquialism for the same meaning. In reality, a push-up literally pushes the girls up and in, adding roughly a cup size (or even two) to the overall size. For instance, a woman who measures as a B cup will be transformed to look like a perky C while wearing a push-up.
       Uplift does just what the name implies, it boosts the girls up, creating that perky, youthful look without adding to the overall cup size. Women who have larger ladies frequently do not want to add to the overall size. These ladies often tend to confuse this term with push-up and miss out on the benefits of this bra. Along with this, these same women think that lined bras means that they are padded. Lined means that there is an additional layer of material (or lining) to the inside of the bra so that women will not get the "cold" effect. Both uplifts and lined bras are the ideal product for well-endowed women.
       Its important not only to fit women properly and make sure that the customer maintains the proper fitting information, but to also take the time to thouroughly explain and detail benefits, distinctions, and features of the many different bra types. Many stores do not provide this information thouroughly enough and leave customers confused, frustrated, and ultimately disappointed. Building brand reputation begins with giving the customer superior customer service, answering any questions about products, and taking the time to ensure that the customer is more than satisfied with their purchase. This is turn will build positive brand reputation and brand loyalty.

What is Too Perky?

      Why do so many women think their ladies need to be up to their chins? Bra education needs to be extended into where the girls should naturally fall, and what is considered over the top--perky versus popping out.
       Although many stores boast that they offer superior customer service, one thing that many stores neglect is proper bra education. Even the leading stores that supposedly offer this service seem to neglect to educate buyers on where a bra should sit, how tight the straps need be, etc. In result to this, women come back to the store to return bras claiming they didn't fit or were uncomfortable. Of course they're uncomfortable, its like buying a pair of jeans three sizes too small! One way to build better customer relationships and brand loyalty (as well as diminish returns) is to better assist your customer in buying her bra, making sure to take the extra step in educating her about styles, fit, and what is right for her body.
       I've had customers walk into the store already in a sour mood because of previous experiences, and leave in tears of joy because they felt that they finally got the help that they were looking for. These same customers came back asking to be helped by me because of how happy they were with their purchase the time before. Not only did these customers go from being angry at the company to being repeat purchasers, but now they feel as though they have some relationship with the sales people, and those relationships help in building brand reputation as well as increasing sales.

Body Image

It's astonishing how many women think negatively about their bodies. I hear from women all the time statements such as "my bones stick out too much" or "the ladies look too pointy." Ladies, confidence is internal! Bras are just an accent to this. Pitching a bra to someone who thinks like this is easier than you think. You need to bolster her confidence and spend the time finding something that makes her feel feminine. She'll leave feeling a fresh sense of self and return again and again because you helped her to feel confident in her own skin. I've found the best selling bras for this are the ones that include memory foam. This seems to be the lastest trend, as it fits all the requirements of comfort, feminine shape, and can be made to look sexy as well.

Impressions on Your Customers

           In the world of retail, you never know who's going to walk through your door. All walks of life will eventually stop by. Retail is often is overlooked in its unique complexity to relate to its various consumer interests. Corporate spearheads are so removed from what happens on a daily basis within stores, they often miss the mark when trying to market to consumers. They persuade employees to approach consumers in a way that often is unrealistic. My job is, simply, is selling lingerie. I am hear to share my experiences as a salesperson, I will be focusing on the special way that one can determine exactly who there customer is and what that customer wants five minutes after they walk in the door.

            I once had a manager who told me "At the end of the day, its only bras and panties." This is very true, and something that anyone who works in retail needs to repeat as a mantra. She recognized that I was becoming overwhelmed with people demanding my attention, and in more or less words told me, don’t take yourself so seriously. This helped to open my eyes to enjoying my job rather than feeling like a laborer when on the clock.

            Your initial impression on the customer sets the foundation of your whole encounter, so one thing to keep in mind, is that employees need to truly want to help their customer. Being genuine when you say "Welcome to ......What can I help you find today?" makes a huge difference in how your customer will react. People can pick up on subliminal messages, and you better believe that they can easily tell if you're truly happy to help them, or going through the motions. So corporate companies, listen up! Keep your employees happy! Make sure that management has a good balance between authority and friendship. I'm not saying, go out on the weekends with employees, however, employees will take pride in their work and will want to achieve goals when they feel that their place of work is at least enjoyable and a place of security. I have always looked back on my managers and thought, they were like family. They are people who truly care for me and my well-being, and in return, I cared what they thought of my performance and what I could achieve for them during work. Although the customer may not consciously pick up on this dynamic, it WILL influence their perception of the store as a whole. Employees will be able to work seamlessly together, which in turn creates a superior customer experience, and thus create a consumer base that are repeat customers, solely, because when the customer walked in the door they truly felt welcome and assisted.