Lipping out

While sitting in class yesterday I noticed a fellow peer was dressed up for an interview. This girl does not usually dress quite this way, and looked very nice, however I noticed one thing about her outfit. Because her shirt was made of a lycra material, you could see that her bra did not fit her properly. By this, what I mean to say is that she had a "ridge" where her bra lipped out, creating a gap between her and her bra. This may go unnoticed by men, however, women tend to nit-pick about this very phenomenon.

What a simple solution it would have been for her to just get a bra that fit her correctly....problem solved. After class I was discussing this with my friend, and she, too, commented on how she had recently gone to a conference, dressed up, and had the same problem. She made reference to her cup size changing recently, saying that she knew that was the cause of the shirt mishap.

Two things stand out in my mind from these situations: 1) women don't seem to know how often to be fitted (every 6 months if you were wondering), as they continue to wear bras that do not fit and wonder why their clothes don't look quite right and 2) women seem to think that the reason you can see that shelf line is because of the shirt, not the bra. Both of these circumstances are opportunities where a salesperson did not assist the customer in TEACHING her about her bra. I wonder sometimes why women think that its an untold rule of thumb that we all know how to properly fit ourselves? But it's not. Most of us didn't have the "bra" conversation way back when.

Moral of the story: make sure that your customer knows not just the features and immediate benefits of the product, but what that product applies to outside of expected uses, and how that product fits into their lifestyle. Guaranteed your customer will appreciate you taking the extra step, and in turn trust in your company the next time that they need something.

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.