Why I Don’t Want to Shop With Brands Who Don’t Value Their Product

February 24, 2016January 31, 2017Leave a comment

Our high streets are not just about shops and selling. The successful ones are a great experience, an engaging place to visit to try new things.

Mary Portas, This is Money

THE PAPERCHASE EXPERIENCE

Recently, my partner bought a set of notebooks from Paperchase. After unwrapping them at home, he realised the cover was made of translucent plastic, not paper (which is what we expected). We thought this was pretty cool, but it made me think a bit more about this retailer.

Why hadn’t Paperchase advertised this product’s USP, the translucent covers, in the shop?

Why were the books wrapped up and filed away on the shelf with all the other ‘normal’ notebooks?

In fact, why do shops do that? Why don’t they make the product’s USP more obvious?

Why do they make it seem like they don’t care about the product?

This experience, combined with many others over the last year as I’ve looked at ways to shop more sustainably, led me to this conclusion:

I don’t want to shop with a company who doesn’t seem to care about what they sell.

I don’t want to buy from brands where the product isn’t valued.

THE TWO THINGS WHICH TELL YOU IF A BRAND VALUES ITS PRODUCT

It’s not about the financial value of the product. It’s about whether the value of the product is clearly communicated in store. And it feels like a product isn’t valued when two big things happen in store:

Poor visual merchandising
Poor service

Undoubtedly good visual merchandising and good service is subjective, which is where the different business models of different brands contribute to how the product value is communicated.

For example, we might expect a fast fashion model to include:

High volume display
Merchandising focused on sales targets
Low interaction service or fast self-service

An example at the other end of the scale is a luxury brand model, where there’s low volume display, merchandising focusing on product quality and highly personalised service.

Both models reflect what the customer is paying for beyond the physical product. Both communicate the different value of the product and values of the brand.

But even in the highest volume, lowest interaction service models merchandising and service shouldn’t be of poor quality. There’s still a competitive standard to be met, and increasingly competitive as high street fashion brands vie for market share.

THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENT

If good visual merchandising and good service is subjective, here’s my minimum requirement for fashion retailers:

Clear signage or indication of departments, types of garments, sizing and price
Clean, undamaged, pressed clothing
Tidy display units with enough space to move and see clothes clearly
Staff who are ‘visible’ (they’re on the shop floor and have some sort of identifier)
Staff who know the shop layout, sizing conversions (e.g. bust measurement of size 12) and new stock
Staff who are willing to help and polite

I don’t expect amazing visual displays involving fountains and fruit, or staff who can recite the latest trends to me. Or even staff who smile and are really pleased to see customers, because I know retail is a tough job. Just that list.

(I don’t know whether the list sounds far too simple or radically unachievable. Tell me what you think!)

WHEN RETAILERS DON’T GET IT

In some of the disappointing experiences with fashion retailers, I’ve found display units rammed with hangers, making it difficult to see sizing. Clothing is crushed or streaked with makeup from a previous potential customer. Staff don’t know sizing conversions or can’t explain where items on ‘hero’ mannequins are in the shop itself.

In the worst cases, products are so poorly arranged or cared for it feels like you can’t buy them (either from confusion or repulsion). Staff are disengaged (unsurprisingly, given what we pay sales assistants in the UK) to the point of apathy and haven’t been trained in spotting when a customer is ready and willing to buy - so they miss sales.

These small things show that retailer hasn’t met that minimum requirement. In turn, it shows that the brand does not value their product enough to clearly demonstrate its perceived value through display or service.

Retailers have to deal with customers and their irritating habits of making a store messy, so it’s expected that over the course of a trading day the shop floor won’t always look it’s best.

But brands still have a choice at the start of the day to display products in a way which adequately communicates their value. They have a choice in staff, and a choice when it comes to training staff. They have a choice to meet a minimum requirement.

So why don’t they?

FIVE REASONS BRANDS DON’T SHOW THEY VALUE THEIR PRODUCT

1: The business model

Partly it depends on what business model they operate. Low cost, high volume retailers work on big numbers of clothing, so it’s imperative they pack as much into their retail footprint as possible. And to cut costs their wages and training funds might be lower than average, resulting in lower than average service quality.

2: Quantity over quality

But also there’s a desire for many retailers to demonstrate breadth of choice over quality of choice.

In Predictably Irrational, my recommended reading from last month, the author explains a number of experiments which show our dislike of losing out on available options even when the options open to us aren’t high quality.

We (apparently) want choice, so retailers work quantitatively rather than qualitatively.

3: Brand aesthetic

Similarly, the aesthetic of a certain brand might contribute towards a retail space which is visually busier than you might expect - like Lush, or Accessorize, where abundance/indulgence are both quite important aesthetic elements.

However, even in these stores clear value is assigned to the product ranges, through experiential merchandising and very good staff knowledge.

4: Lack of appreciation of service skills

Fashion retailers don’t necessarily pick staff with poor product knowledge, but the way British culture undervalues good service means some retailers don’t think the willingness and ability to absorb and communicate product information is that important. Instead, speed and flexibility of working hours might be the reason staff are chosen.

5: Poor internal communications

Many retailers don’t effectively market to their internal customers (their staff) compared to their external customers. That means training programmes are minimal, or hurried, or are consistently these top-down messages so staff don’t feel like they can really take part.

The result is a body of people who are disengaged and therefore don’t accurately communicate the value of the product they’re selling.

TOO SCARED OF RISK TO SHOW VALUE

Ultimately, the reason retailers don’t appear to value their product and instead display poor merchandising and poor service is because the alternative is high risk.

It’s risky to show a few products in a retail space where five times as many could be packed in.

It’s risky to invest in training for staff who might leave next year.

It’s risky to really think about the perceived value your product is (or is not) communicating, because that would mean questioning the quality of your product and business.

Brave retailers who truly value their product are self-assured. They select and merchandise products with care. They train staff so they are living emblems of the business’ values. They see these investments of time, money and space not as high risk, but high return.

IF BRANDS DON’T VALUE THEIR PRODUCT, NEITHER WILL WE

As bricks-and-mortar retailers compete with a greater range of ecommerce stores, physical retail spaces and personal selling are becoming bigger USPs than ever. Yet visiting a British high street, neither of these potential differentiators feel like they’re really being addressed.

The real risk isn’t money or space wasted. It’s that there’s a demographic of consumers, interested in finding brands they can depend on and a high quality, fully-rounded experience, who will turn away from these retailers.

Why should a customer value a brand’s product when it doesn’t seem to be valued by the very people who make and sell it?

Why love a brand which doesn’t love its products, its people or its store?

Why buy something value-less?

I believe that good service is our basic right. Far too many businesses on our high streets don’t prioritise good service as part of their offer, meaning that as a nation we’ve come to expect no better …[yet]…It’s amazing how the smallest service gestures really make a difference: from connecting with and really knowing and caring for your customers, to having an in-depth knowledge that guides and advises them; serving is quite simply the new selling.

Mary Portas, The Portas Review 2011

Thanks for reading. I share articles like this and more inspiring content from around the web in my monthly newsletter. Sign up, and you’ll get a free multi-page guide for great ideas about marketing your business in a way that shows your customers you care.

Sign up the newsletter and get your free Great Ideas Guide here.

10 Fashion Illustrators to Follow on Instagram Eleanor Snare feat

10 Fashion Illustrators to Follow on Instagram for Fashion Week

February 9, 2016March 25, 20161 Comment

Originally this article was going to be about top Instagram accounts to follow for upcoming fashion weeks. But there are only so many pictures of macarons, flowers, pigeon-toed shoes and other nonsense one can suffer through before you get to the good stuff - you know, the actual clothes and shows.

Instead, here are 10 fashion illustrators you should follow on Instagram for fashion week. Some of them will be live-sketching at events, while others might recreate the looks afterwards - and some just draw people with clothes on.

Whichever way it goes, their beautiful mark-making is much more interesting than another perfectly manicured hand gripping a Starbucks.

10 Fashion Illustrators to Follow on Instagram for Fashion Week

Blair Breitenstein @blairz

Loose portraits of melancholic, alien-like models.

Scott W Mason @scottwmason

Big black lines with primaries and plenty of s-p-a-c-e.

Duangkamol Suthumachote @daydream.drawing

Soft, dreamlike marker work (and occasionally fishes).

James Davison @jamesdavinsonstudio

Slightly aggro, sexy punk stuff. A bit NSFW.

Cristina Alonso @cristinaalonsoillustration

Gorgeously girly, super-pink. Just enjoy it.

Rachel Merrill @ohhhaeee

My notes say “Tin Tin style fashion illustration”. Very cool.

Nellyaba @nellyaba

Colourful, vibrant and particularly like the work on grey ground.

Mirabelle @mirabelle_fashion_illustrator

Rambling Miro-style lines and puddles of watercolour.

Yuko @pontariver

Puffs of pastel and models fading into the background.

Monika Kozak @mon_and_ka

Slightly creepy block colour people.

Thanks for reading. If you liked this article, you might find these ones interesting too:

Rethinking Your 2016 Goals: How to Make them More Enjoyable

February 1, 2016February 25, 2016Leave a comment

A month into 2016, do you still care about your goals as much as you did on January 1st?

Research conducted by the University of Scranton showed that of all the people in the US who regularly make resolutions only 8% of them manage to fulfil them.

I get that; last year I made five big yearly goals based around my freelance work and lecturing. By the end of the year, I’d only truly fulfilled one of them.

It wasn’t because I hadn’t tried. It was because I hadn’t set the goals in the right way.

But I only understood that at the end of the year, when it came to setting goals for 2016. The rest of the year I’d been tough on myself for not hitting those goals, even though I’d been doing loads of other stuff I really loved.

Reconsidering how and why I set goals before writing down my aims for 2016 meant I’ve been able to make goals which are not only achievable, but actually enjoyable too.

Here I’ll share with you what I’ve learnt from experience and reading so you can reclaim some of the same passion for your goals and enjoy fulfilling them throughout the year.

♦

Find areas of focus, rather than SMART goals

All of my goals last year used the SMART method, which people generally think is a good way of making goals and helping you achieve them. The SMART method means your goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound.

The problem is, life isn’t SMART. Lots of types of goals aren’t SMART. You can use SMART steps to achieve a goal (more on that later) but often our big goals aren’t going to fit neatly into these boxes.

I found that when I articulated my goals in SMART ways, I ended up doing the bare minimum to fulfil the terms of my goal’s ‘contract’. I didn’t really enjoy it either, as it felt like I was just ticking a box.

As an example, here’s one of my goals from 2015:

By the end of the year I will have written at least two blog posts a month from March to December on fashion, communication or sustainable business.

This felt like a huge chore. When I couldn’t write two posts a month I felt awful about it and when I did write two I wasn’t that excited because it was just part of my ‘to do’ list.

For 2016, I skipped the SMART description and looked at bigger areas of focus. Articulating my goals around these areas has made them much more enjoyable and - so far - immensely achievable.

The difference between the two is the scope of what your goal encompasses and the phrasing you use. Last year it was about “at least two blog posts a month”. This year, my goal is to:

Create meaningful content and an engaged audience on my website

By giving my goal a focus area I have the freedom to try a range of things to achieve it, rather than tie myself down to a specific output. And I’m focusing less on getting it done and more about whether I’m enjoying what I’m doing.

These sort of goals are about quality, not quantity - for what you’re achieving and the process of doing it.

Choose the right language to phrase your goals

As a writer I’m obsessive over which words to use and when - but in writing my goals for 2015 I now realise I didn’t consider language, and the impact it would have on my goal-getting process, as closely as I should have done.

Last year, the key verbs in my goals were things like “written”, “lectured” and “organised”; all accurate but pretty dull words. The language wasn’t inspirational or enjoyable, and so my goals weren’t either.

For 2016, I described my focus area goals much more carefully. The key verbs are “enjoy”, “reflect”, “develop”, “strengthen” and “create”; a set of inspiring words that also encourage direct action.

There are more words about what I’m gaining from the goals, like “experience” and “knowledge”, and more value-driven words (like “meaningful”).

Choosing the right language for your goals is very important to help you enjoy and achieve what you set out to do. You’ll remember your goals more easily, and you’ll be more interested in working on them if you feel enthused each time you read them.

Make goals across all areas of your life and give them equal priority

Often we set goals in work and education, as part of professional development, but very rarely do we set goals in every area of our life - including family, relationships, health or wellbeing.

Last year all my goals were about work and lecturing, and it meant that I missed out on friendship and personal growth. Reflecting on this, I decided two of my focus area goals in 2016 would be:

Develop my spiritual understanding and knowledge

Strengthen my family relationships and friendships

I chose these goals because they’re two areas I tend to neglect. I enjoy spending time by myself with my head stuck in something fascinating. Yet doing this too much means when I need to tap into that inner strength or external social circle, it’s not there.

These goals aren’t SMART and they’ve got nothing to do with work, but they will have a huge impact on my ability to achieve my other, professionally-focused goals and on my overall quality of life.

Setting focus area goals across all parts of your life, and giving them equal priority, is an important way to gain balance, replenish your energy and enjoy the complete goal-getting process.

Give yourself a head start with simple tasks

Setting goals using the SMART method can be limiting, but breaking down goals into simple, SMART-style tasks can be incredibly useful; the same University of Scranton research I mentioned at the start also found people who planned steps to achieving their goals were 10 times more likely to succeed.

I used this method last year, where I broke down each of my SMART-articulated goals into SMART tasks. Because the goals were a like a tick-list to start with, I found that I wasn’t excited by completing the tasks - I was a bit bored.

I also forgot to make all of my tasks completely SMART. More like SMAR.

I missed out the ‘time bound’ aspect because it can be hard to judge when you’ll be able to do something, or how long it might take. Because none of the tasks had time limits, I felt no urgency to do them while at the same time freaking out that I needed to do them now.

While I was achieving things by ticking tasks off, I never felt like I was achieving them.

From this experience, once I’d set my focus area goals for 2016 I created a series of simple SMART tasks which focused closely on the T and were designed to give me a head start on achieving my goal.

I set three SMART tasks for something which I could do…

That day
That week
That month
That quarter
That year

…which would help me achieve my goal.

I found this process really helpful: I was brainstorming ways to fulfil my goals which I could use later on in the year, plus that day I did three things to help me get a head start on each of my big goals!

Taking a focus area goal and breaking into simple, SMART tasks is a useful way to get a head start on goals which can feel particularly nebulous in January - like setting small milestones for the rest of the year.

Reflect on your goals every day

When we’re setting goals for work or education, they tend to be quite far apart; three months is maybe the minimum gap for a PDP meeting. That means we return to our goals to reflect on them only four times in a year.

In 2015, I was reflecting in a similar pattern on my goals. I returned to them to reflect when there was a big change, or I had a spare half day.

Because they were so specific, so tick-listy and a little bit boring, I didn’t want to reflect on them too closely, so I often skipped it completely.

The result was that I didn’t really experience any joy in working on my goals, or any pride when I had hit small targets. It was only at the end of the year, when I was considering goals for 2016, that I finally saw what I had achieved and fully reflected on what I had been doing.

This year, my aim is to reflect on my goals - along with all elements of my life - on a daily basis through reflective writing. Plus, my focus area goals and simple SMART tasks are in a document I look at least three times a week.

By doing this, I’m regularly thinking about what I’m enjoying, what’s not working and what small milestones I’m passing, making the whole process of achieving the goal much more pleasurable.

♦

Summary

My goals for 2015 were exactly what I needed that year to help me manage my work.

But what I learnt from them has helped me to create goals for 2016 which I actually want to achieve - and I feel like I am achieving them in a small way each day.

Here are the five ways to do the same:

Switch to focus area goals
Use inspirational, value-driven language
Make equal-priority goals across each part of your life
Get a head start with simple SMART tasks
Reflect on your goals every day

To help you rethink your 2016 goals, I’ve created a free workbook to print out and fill in. It takes you step-by-step through each of the things I’ve learnt, plus gives you plenty of inspiration for setting goals.

Get the workbook on reconsidering your 2016 goals and making them more enjoyable right here.

Thanks for reading. I’d love to hear about your goals for this year and your progress - let me know in the comments or drop me a line: [email protected].