The Oxford Conference Of Corsetry takes place every year on the last weekend of August, this year it’s the 27th and 28th.
The event organisers have very kindly commissioned me to appear at the event to help attendees better promote themselves. If you are going, what is your situation, what would you like to learn?
Small businesses are often in a situation where they know they need to spend more time developing their business, of course it’s that bit they avoid because they signed up (in this case) to design and make beautiful corsets not sell them…
In your case you have the benefit of promoting a niche product, you’ve become a specialist, the last thing the world needs is someone that says they do everything, we don’t trust them, we’ll always seek out the expert, the authority on the subject, they know what they’re doing.
In this world of multiple screens, multiple marketing channels, where do you start? My answer is always the same – look where you found your best customer, you want more of them, right?! Follow that path. You’ll tell me it was a referral, who did the referral come from and have you been back in touch to follow up?
The most amazing customer service, from start to finish – and beyond, is what will forever bring you more customers. The beauty of making a bespoke item is the opportunity it represents for a constant dialogue with your customer, getting to know them, their families, their life, what they do and how they do it. It’s all providing you with an amazing amount of ammunition to provide a service that completely blows them away – they will forever keep referring new customers to you if you continue to manage that relationship…
Do you live and breathe your brand? Is your brand tattooed across your soul? If it is, you don’t need to sell anything, your passion for what you do oozes out of every pore in your body. Now we just to get you into the right environment, somewhere there are loads of potential clients, where could that be?
Time, if only we could find more time to do what we love doing, to find more time to meet new people, do new things, to find the time to finish the “to-do” list! One of the specialties at Social Tailor, we sell time. One of the secrets of the successful owner managed business is the ones that have worked out how to make more time. It’s quite a skill, it requires absolute focus, the ability to not get distracted, be very organised and quite ruthless – all with a smile on your face.
If any of the above is starting to make sense or be of interest and you have an interest or passion in the art of corsetry making I encourage you to sign up: #OCOC2016
Where does History come in? (History, Corsetry and Marketing) The history of the location, the history of corsetry and the future for marketing your business…
