A New Type of Customer Support

We all know getting into some of the major stores such as Barney's, Saks and Neimans new Cusp stores can be great exposure, volume and really express the legitimacy of your brand.

But now more than ever you'll see smaller pointedly stylish local boutiques are becoming the new barometer for what's golden in the contemporary market.

My advice...see what retailers tickle your brand's fancy and start your sales efforts at the top of the boutique food chain. If you don't...hence deciding to let your sales efforts run themselves you'll find yourself placed in a lot of stores that are less than......and manage to make yourself a little less desirable.

Example: Think after school special...new girl in school decides to go out with every guy that asks for her phone number. Well she probably will never be able to date the captain of the football team. Unfortunately she lost her appeal.

But lets take it the other way around....New girl, lands the captain of the football team, notwithstanding him being totally blind she's instantly branded as the most beautiful thing walking... resulting in a lot more options if they should ever should every break up.

Excuse me for my teenybopper example but the point is to have a strategy and realize that it is in fact one of the most important parts of your brand launch. You'll want to be able to proudly publicize your store list and have your sales in essence do some marketing for you.

So where are these stores? There are boutiques all over the country you'll find are mentioned again and again in the press. Browse through the pages of US Weekly, Life and Style, Vogue, Elle, InStyle....you'll quickly see who is making a name for themselves and are creating a new definition of customer support.

Here are a few of my favorites.....

Mini Majors:
Scoop NYC and Intermix

LA Local Legends:
Fred Segal, Lisa Kline, Kitson

Other Fresh Faces:
Milk, Presse, Diavolina, Madison

Web Masters:
Shop Bop, Active Endeavors

Ralinda Harvey is the owner of Gloss Marketing, marketing and merchandising firm specializing in contemporary fashion companies. Ralinda has worked in merchandising and marketing for Michael Stars as well as Gap Inc. brands Gap and Old Navy. She has also served as an adjunct marketing instructor at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising.

She currently consults a network of clients while conducting fashion marketing seminars with organizations such as Fashion Business Inc.

Website: http://www.glossmarketing.com
Blog: http://www.glossmarketing.com/blog/