Straight to the point
When starting a fashion e-commerce store, building a strong brand may not be a priority for most people. However, the importance of branding cannot be overlooked. Understanding the critical role branding plays is essential for driving success and nurturing customer loyalty.
In this article, we’ll take a look at what branding is, why it’s important for fashion e-commerce stores, and how to apply best branding practices in your online fashion store.
What is branding?
Branding is more than an online store’s logo, design, and communication style. Branding involves all those aspects but there’s a lot more to it. More than just the identity of a brand of what can be boiled down in a brand guidelines document.
Branding specialist, Marty Neiemuer, defines branding as “a customer’s gut feeling to a product, service, or company.” It’s the reason why luxury brands can charge exorbitant prices, and New York skateboard and clothing brand Supreme, can sell a brick with its logo.
Your brand is what your shoppers think of your store. It’s the way you position yourself on the market, it’s the quality of the clothes you sell, it’s the way you speak to customers, and it’s smooth their shopping experience is.
Yes, in the traditional sense branding is about design elements; voice and tone; and mission vision, and values. But the truth is, the way people feel about your store is informed by so much more than that. Your brand is influenced by the entirety of people’s experience when browsing and shopping in your store, wearing your clothes, and their post-purchase experience.
Why to invest in your brand
With branding defined, let’s move onto why you should care. Below are the main reasons why you should be investing in your fashion e-commerce brand.
Standing out
The apparel market is huge. In 2022, global apparel market revenue reached $1.5 trillion. But that also means it’s a crowded market. Consider that in the US alone, in 2023, there were over 32,000 fashion designers in the US.
In such a big market, failing to differentiate yourself can be a recipe for failure. Your store’s branding and positioning helps it stand out from other brands in your space. Without effective branding, your store may fail to capture would-be consumers who will browse your store and quickly return to searching other stores for what they’re looking for.
When you create a brand identity that stands out from competitors, you become memorable. Shoppers and users take notice of stores and brands that are different and resonate with them.
Connecting with your target audience
Branding is how you connect with your shoppers. It’s how you tell the market who your clothes are for, why they should buy them, and how you’re different from your competitors.
Through the narrative you craft about your brand, you can ensure that you attract and retain the kinds of shoppers you’re targeting. With effective brand building and storytelling, you can create a brand that resonates with the right people.
You can nurture emotional connections by sharing your brand’s journey and values, and strengthen those connections by building a community around your brand.
Engage shoppers on whatever channels they use and share their stories with your audience. Sharing user-generated content is a great way to promote your brand while also building your community.
By understanding your target shoppers’ preferences, behaviors, desires, and demographics, your marketing efforts will also be much more effective at getting in front of potential customers. Branding can inform marketing not only in regard to audience demographics but also in ensuring that content marketing reflects your brand’s identity in a way that engages users and drives conversions.
Once you’ve reached the right audience, branding is how you can delight them and turn shoppers into lifelong brand advocates.
Repeat customers and lifelong brand advocates
The experience people have with brands determines whether they’ll become repeat customers, while being able to identify with your brand helps them become brand advocates.
Branding helps your store provide a consistent experience. That means from the moment shoppers first engage with your brand, journey down the funnel, and eventually convert, they’ll feel like they’re dealing with the same brand. If your store delivers on its promise and provides a consistent experience, satisfied customers will return.
And once your brand can establish a strong personal connection with your shoppers, you’ll start converting shoppers into lifelong customers and brand advocates. Building a strong brand is an essential part of a successful retention strategy.
Shoppers have very strong preferences when it comes to brands. Many shoppers are extremely loyal to their favorite brands, and many go as far as never even considering purchasing clothes from a competitor brand. That speaks to the power of brands to be able to emotionally connect with shoppers and build customer loyalty.
A lot of our identity is wrapped up in what we wear and how we present ourselves to the world. With so much of our identity coming from the clothes we wear, the branding of those clothes inevitably has a strong connection to people’s personal identity.
Shoppers want to see themselves in the brands they buy and wear. Your fashion e-commerce store’s branding is what makes your customers identify with your brand. Whether your shoppers prioritize quality over price, or want to wear clothing that represents their values, when your customers share your brand values, they become loyal customers.
Be in charge of your reputation
Investing in your store’s brand puts you in charge of your store’s reputation. When your brand’s voice and messaging is consistent across all touchpoints, you can control how people expect your brand to communicate.
Well-communicated brand values and relatable storytelling controls the emotional rapport you build with your audience and shoppers. The experience people have throughout their journey and their post-purchase experience dictate how they feel about shopping from your brand.
In short, by investing in your branding, you take control of your store’s public image and make it easy for shoppers to become repeat shoppers and recommend your store to their friends and family.
Branding in online apparel sales
Now that you have a better understanding of what branding is and why it’s important, let’s discuss what branding looks like in action for an online fashion store.
Brand guidelines
A brand guidelines document lists the things that people typically associate with branding, such as brand voice and tone; visual identity, mission, vision, and values statement.
Compiling all these elements of your brand will help keep your communication and branding consistent throughout your online store and anywhere else you engage with shoppers.
User experience
As an online fashion store, how people will feel about your brand will largely depend on the experience they have browsing and shopping on your site or app.
Purchasing clothing on your site should be as easy as possible. Consider adding features like personal recommendations and size recommendation tools to help make it easier for shoppers to find what they’re looking for. And lastly, make sure your store’s design and messaging are in line with your brand.
Wearing experience
Once shoppers have purchased garments from your store, the experience they have wearing those garments will continue to influence how they feel about your brand.
The key here is providing shoppers with as much information as is necessary so that your products meet their expectations. In other words, there shouldn’t be any discrepancies between what shoppers expect from the clothing you sell and what they get.
Customer experience
The way your company interacts with customers says a lot about your brand.
Is it easy for customers to have their questions answered? Is it easy for them to make returns and/or exchanges? What kind of experience can they expect when dealing with your team?
For an online fashion store, customer experience entails many different factors. Make it your goal to delight your shoppers throughout every stage or their journey, from navigating your website, to post-sales communication, and the experience shoppers have with customer service.
Customer service also cannot be overlooked. It needs to be easy for shoppers to contact your team, ask questions, and resolve any issues they may have. A positive experience with customer service can more than make up for any disappointments or hiccups buyers may experience during their buying journey.
Don’t overlook your brand!
As we’ve seen, branding is multifaceted. It goes beyond a logo, slogan, or design choices and encompasses all interactions shoppers have with your store.
Proper branding can help your online store stand out, target the right audience, nurture customer loyalty, and be in control of its reputation.
But branding is just one way you can improve your sales. If you’d like to learn other ways to increase your profits, make sure to check out our article with 5 tips to sell more clothes online.
