Marketing is key part of the fashion industry

Marketing is key part of the fashion industry

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Several dimensions are used to determine customer value e.g. profitability, turnover, complaints, amount of returned goods, probability of cancellation of an order and customer loyalty. High customer value enables a company to attract new clients as well as retain new ones. Just like any other industry, customer's reaction determines a company's prestige, influence and brand value. In order for any fashion company to get into the list of top brands through customer value marketing concept, it must know the solutions to the following questions: 1.What is the target market and what are the client's needs? 2. Which companies are our main competitors? 3. What kind of information do consumers receive about our company? 4. Which is the best marketing formula to convince customers that we have the most fashionable products? 5. How do we serve our customers in a better way than competing companies?

During the last decade, customer relationship marketing has drawn a lot of attention in the fashion industry as a way to enhance cooperation between a firm and its customers in a manner that benefits all parties involved. Relationship marketing enables a fashion company to handle competition and surpass their competitors; therefore relationship marketing has become a significant determinant of success in today's increasingly competitive business world.

Customer relationship marketing highlights the significance of information technology in maintaining, creating and improving customer relationships. The main goal of relationship marketing is to increase company profits through maximizing the interaction value of the customers. Fashion companies achieve successful relationship management by developing business tactics that focus on the clients and this creates a process-oriented outlook of the organization. Customer relationship marketing systems also assist in the analysis and collection of customer data, which leads to more productive customer interactions. Relationship management is vital in supporting other business departments such as production, sales and order departments; it enables fashion companies to react quickly to changes in fashion trends and customer tastes and preferences. Through relationship marketing fashion companies are able to persuade potential customers to buy their products as well as enable companies to identify and categorize target markets for their brands.

Use of a balanced marketing mix has also been widely applied as a customer marketing concept in the fashion industry. It's often known as the 4 P's - product, place, promotion and price. By using the marketing mix in the right way, fashion companies ensures that their products get to the target market segments. This approach helps the firms to extend their influence and market share as well as remain competitive.

Product refers to analyzing whether the brand is product oriented or market oriented. Product oriented brands are produced with a specific target market in mind while market oriented products are produced after thorough research of market needs. To achieve both market oriented and product oriented brands, fashion companies produce a wide range of products in order to capture multiple customer demands. Product life cycle is vital in determining the success of fashion companies. A typical fashion year has 2 cycles - the summer/spring season and the winter/autumn one therefore fashion products have a tendency of having a short life cycle. Thus the time between product launch and product maturity is very quick.

Price depends on the pricing strategy used. Many fashion companies use either cost based pricing or market oriented pricing. Several marketing strategies fall under market oriented pricing approach such as, market penetration, market skimming, premium pricing and economy pricing.

Place refers to the channels of distribution used in the fashion industry to deliver their products. Place does not necessarily mean a physical building but includes any channel used to make a product available to customers. Many fashion companies limit the availability of their premium brands to avoid reducing the perceived value of luxury brands. In order to distribute products to the right place three distinct channels are often used i.e. Independent fashion stores, Own store and department stores.

Promotion is classified as the final approach in the marketing mix concept. Its purpose is to obtain and retain customers. It covers the following aspects:

'Above-the-line'. This is the use of independent media to attract customers easily

'Below-the-line'. Involves using media over which the fashion company has control e.g. direct mailing. This kind of promotion is more cost-effective and measurable.

Influencer marketing has become a common customer marketing concept in the fashion industry. It focuses on specific category of individuals instead of the target market as a whole. It people who have influence over prospective buyers and orients activities of marketing around this influencers. It comprises of 4 main activities; 1. Finding influencers 2. Marketing to influencers or within the community of influencers 3. Marketing through influencers i.e. using influencers to enhance market awareness 4. Marketing through influencers; this involves making influencers to become advocates of the firm. Examples of influencers in the fashion industry are: fashion magazines, fashion blogs, celebrities, music artists, actors, social media, and designers