By Ali Cudby
Everyone knows the three most important rules about retail real estate – Location, location, location.
In today’s retail environment, a business’s location means much more than just its address. In fact, a business may not have a physical address at all.
Every lingerie business, whether bricks-and-mortar or virtual, has a footprint for communicating with its customers. The deeper, the better in a retail world in which more points of touch, more opportunities to remain top-of-mind with customers is vitally important.
For an example of an expanded footprint to drive business development, look no further than LiviRae Lingerie. After being featured in two seasons of Double Divas TV show on Lifetime, the business has seen incredible growth, and the stars are busier than ever with speaking engagements and other opportunities.
For stores that don’t have a TV platform, marketing efforts and customer outreach are necessary. Even better – have trusted sources in your community talk about your business and send customers to your door. Getting publicity is the ultimate ways to have other people sell the virtues of your business for you – and it’s a powerful force in boosting your lingerie business.
Last month in The Intimate Circle, my monthly membership program designed to help lingerie business run more effectively and profitably, we broke down specific ways for lingerie businesses to get more publicity and enhance their visibility with customers. I talked to Lauren Rich, owner of RichPR, a Public Relations firm specializing in the lingerie industry.
Lauren shared the value of getting media outlets, like local TV, radio, print and online publications to cover your store and talk about its value in your community. When you get media companies to promote you, they imprint your business with their credibility.
There’s an art to getting PR, and while it takes time, the value for a business can be dramatic.
The best example of the power of Public Relations is a mention on Oprah. It’s called the “Oprah Effect,” and in its heyday a single mention from Oprah created immediate demand, “up to 1,000 percent over the short term immediately after the episode, and sustained higher revenues for months or years afterward,” according to Inc. Magazine.
How can you enjoy the benefits of publicity? The method, complete with do’s, don’ts and the insiders tips to convincing editors and publishers to say “Yes” to your story idea, are discussed in-depth in the interview. Here are a couple of highlights:
Tip #1: Make Yourself Stand Out
The first thing a lingerie business needs to do, according to Rich is, “figure out what makes you unique. What is different about you that other stores aren’t doing? What are you offering consumers in your community that nobody else is? That’s the number one important thing, you have to have something that makes you stand out.”
Tip #2: Re-frame Your Thinking
“You’re always going to think that your store is relevant and your brands are relevant – and you should – but when you reach out to press you have to put yourself in the editor’s head. Of course the editors are putting themselves in the consumer’s head.” To make an impact, you have to figure out the aspect of your story that will be relevant for the consumers.
Tip #3: Speak Their Language
Each publication, every radio show, all the blogs – no matter who you are pitching, each outlet has its own voice. To make your PR pitches go the distance, do the homework. Learn the name of the person you’re pitching. Make the pitch relevant to their specific consumer base. This takes time, but will ultimately get you a higher rate of return on your promotions.
