5 Tips for Connecting With Your Customers

Dan Blank -- Expert Business Source, 1/22/2007 6:35:00 AM

The Wall Street Journal takes a look at a leader within the apparel industry, with some insight that can help retailers better position their own company with customers.

CEO Mackey J. McDonald of VF Corp, one of the largest apparel makers in the world, shares his perspective on how consumers’ tastes are changing. The biggest challenge for brands:

“Fragmentation of the consumer. The customer's needs are based on lifestyle, culture and activities…Today it is fragmented more and more. So you need to be very focused on each individual segment… They also are moving more toward brands that really say something about who they are and what they do.”

He offers these tips on deepening your connection with consumers:

• Build excitement.
  Focus on brands that have a deep emotional connection with your customers, and continually excite them with products that enhance their lifestyle.
• Timing is everything.
  Ensure that the right products are available at the right time in the right place with the right communications & marketing behind it.
• Hire passionate employees.
  Fill your store with passionate people who evoke the spirit and lifestyle of the brands they are selling.
• Listen.
  Listen to employees, associates, and customers who live the lifestyle and image that your store evokes. Their ideas for shaping business strategy and marketing can give you an edge over competition. Don’t wait for trends to be fully realized before you hop on board.
• Find common ground.
  When carrying brands that are associated with different cultures, find common ground around the values that their audiences share.