Apps are growing exponentially and there’s some great ones that can help you grow your boutique revenue and improve customer satisfaction. I’ve selected two that are easy, fun and have a big payoff. Here’s just a few ways you can put them to work for you.
1. Provide styling service and wardrobe management for top customers using Closet Couture.
Closet Couture is a fashion social networking site where you can upload photos of your clients closets to a virtual closet, mix them with clothes from your boutique on a virtual mannequin and plan a wardrobe. With this app you can help your clients manage their wardrobes and maximize the use of items they buy in your boutique.
One way to get started is host an event and invite top customers to bring in key items from their closet. Build looks around these items with a few new pieces from your boutique (the ones they will be purchasing). Snap a photo of all the pieces and upload into your Closet Couture account along with client information (names, sizes, favorite brands). Email the looks to the clients or you can print them out at the event. Each time a key customer returns and purchases, add to her virtual closet. As new merchandise arrives you’ve got all the information you need to generate add-on sales and maximize your customers current wardrobe. Freshen-up her looks from season to season intelligently and cost effectively or introduce her to new looks that integrate with her wardrobe. Each season send-off suggestions and invite her to visit your boutique for a quick “wardrobe refresher”.
Overtime you will house the closets of all your key clients. This puts you in a position to ramp up your customer service experience to the stratosphere level.
2. Promote sales and give your store a touch of “social glitter” from the web with Foursquare.
If you’re not familiar with Foursquare, it combines Facebook, Twitter and Text Messaging into a mostly mobile “game,” where users check in to various locations, get points and unlock fancy badges. You are able to see other users checked in at the same location as you, and the person who checks into a location most often becomes the mayor. Some local boutiques incent their mayors with a discount or special offers (think of it as a loyalty program). You can use it to promote an event, announce new merchandise or send out a secret code word when whispered to a sales associate results in an immediate discount.
If it does not make sense to you just sign up and start using it. You’ll unlock the potential of some pretty awesome promotions and separate yourself from “the malaise of retail sameness”. So app-up and enjoy the revenue boost!
Are you using Closet Couture or Foursquare in promoting your boutique? I’d love to hear your story.
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