We occupy a niche spot, I think. Our customers can rely on great quality pieces that we often sell below the retail price because we have fewer overheads than the big retailers.
I’m aware of the fashion trends globally, but I don’t just look at what’s happening in the UK and copy it. I go on gut feel, I take inspiration from what I see on the street.
You’ve got to focus on your target market. Our customers are very active young women, mostly aged 18 to 25 years old, who have active social lives.
We provide them with collections that they can trust and we show them how to wear the pieces. We take on feedback, listen and interact with customers.
We have four part-time staff who work as models and photographers. We took the time and effort to make the images and products look good, which is important on Facebook.
The major retailers now realise the importance of online and social media, but they usually move a lot slower than us.
The beauty of running a business by yourself is that you can play in the market, take calculated risks and be flexible.
Yes, we don’t have the overheads of a physical store, but at the same time you need capital for your stock, which I had to get from savings.
I went through the NEIS program before I started, which helped a lot in the first 12 months of the business with planning.
We are looking to transition people to the site, but we have to be careful to get that right as other businesses have messed this up.
If you push people off Facebook onto something else, they can be a bit uncomfortable and end up going elsewhere. The site has to work together with Facebook and integrate fully with it.
We want people to be comfortable and at ease with using the site. The site will have credit card and PayPal options, which will make things easier.
It’s not the case of choosing one or the other, it’s about the two platforms working together. We’ll post the same content across both areas.
I think Facebook will always be the main driver to the site and probably the best marketing tool we’ll have. We will move to other areas of marketing, but there’s no point denying the reach that Facebook has. There’s no reason why we’ll relegate it when the site launches.
If you’re starting a Facebook fan page, keep the interaction up. I posted on the page 10 or 15 times a day at the start, which showed that we always had new content and also that if you posted something as a customer, you could expect to get a reply.
You’ve got to nurture your fanbase, understand them and listen to them. They will tell you what you are doing right and wrong and you can’t just ignore them and decide what they should like.
It’s important to put up a lot of creative content. Facebook is very visual, so we spent a lot of time and money ensuring all the images are great, which people always commented on positively.
If you’re showing products, don’t cut corners – get the photography and lighting right. Make it professional or don’t bother at all. There’s too much competition around now for you to not put the effort in.
Keep an eye on what other businesses are doing but don’t change direction too much. I changed strategy slightly to focus more on new clothes than vintage as that is what is more profitable, but you have to stay true to what you are trying to do.
