A checklist for aspiring entrepreneurs
Sustainability is now a global movement. Both businesses and individuals, along with the government, are heavily investing in more and more sustainable practices. Every other day, we find a new business emerging, claiming to be sustainable but how many of those truly are, and how many survive the pressures of modern marketing? In today’s times of volatile market trends, I want to help you by providing you with 3 important steps to building a successful sustainable fashion business.
What is a Sustainable Fashion Business?
Sustainability, in terms of business, is to create a model that can maintain itself at a certain standard without too many efforts or alterations or damaging its surroundings. When applied to fashion-related business, it would mean being sustainable in all aspects of the supply chain, for example, yarn, fabric, trims, machinery, packaging, etc.
But even if you do make sure that all those steps in the supply chain are taken care of, you would still be missing out on 3 essential steps to creating a strong sustainable fashion business that lasts. These would be:
1. Brand Identity
Once you have done your market research, you then need to develop your brand identity around your target market. Brand identity is of utmost importance when trying to establish yourself in an industry as competitive as fashion. You can do all things right, but it won't serve the purpose unless you can acquire customers and change their purchasing habits by investing in businesses such as yours.
To bring about this behaviour change, you need to create an emotional connection with your target market. This is your brand messaging, and this covers your:
Brand purpose: Why do you do what you do?
Mission: What are your business objectives and how do you plan on achieving them?
Vision: What are your aspirations as an organisation?
Values: What do you stand for?
Brand positioning: What do you do differently and what will your audience remember you for?
Next is developing your brand’s visual identity. Think of the golden arches of McDonald’s or the blues of Tiffany. Over a period of time, these iconic businesses have shaped our minds to associate them with certain colours and shapes. Your visual identity is the tangible element that your customers will use to recognise your brand. These include:
Color palette
Logo
Typography
Website
And other design assets.
All of these make up your brand identity which helps your customers to understand and associate with your brand’s values and ethics. It also helps to provide them with a sense of righteousness as it affirms that their contributions are being made towards the right causes. Eco-anxiety is a very common individual concern these days. A good visual and brand identity, help to assure your customers that they are able to do their part in making this world a better place by supporting your business.
2. Packaging
Packaging is also part of your brand identity but I wanted to highlight this element separately as it is one of the first touch points for your customers when physically interacting with your product. It is crucial that a strong emotional bond is created at this moment. With influencer marketing becoming pivotal in marketing, unboxing videos are also becoming common. Further, packing is honestly one of the easiest steps to make sustainable in your entire supply chain as there are several manufacturers and options available these days. If you would like to get in touch with such manufacturers, click here.
2. Social Media Presence
Consumers today give a lot of importance to a business’s social presence. Be it Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok, all have the potential to push your brand's message if you are present on the platform where your customers are. This is one of the key steps in building trust with them and a great marketing tool.
For a platform like Instagram, this could be done by:
sharing posts displaying your product features at frequent intervals
sharing stories where you share some behind-the-scenes of the manufacturing process, etc.
Each platform has its own kind of audience. Gauging that and being able to create a loyal following should definitely be another key step in your marketing strategy.
These are just some of the many steps that are essential on your journey. If you would like to talk more about how you can implement any of these steps in your business, get in touch.
Written by Sarah Ansah & Shreya Jain
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