How Vintage Thinking Can Be Bad For Your Online Marketing Future
It's true vintage/retro is in fashion right now. All things old from a bygone age are being snapped up by the young.
My teenage son is a classic example of this. While he likes new technology, his Retro Macbook and iPhone he also likes all things old.
Vinyl records, music from the 70/80s and books. He's even into retro clothing which he sources online or from charity shops.
Quite near us for many years there was a vintage clothes shop. Located in a well to do area it seemed to do quite well for many years but suddenly it closed down. Now for a business that's really hot at the moment why did it fail?
To find out more I went online to see if the shop had a website. The answer was no. Was it listed on any directories? Only one's gave a little information about its location and telephone number but nothing more about the shop.
As online marketers there are some key lessons to learn from this.
1. Not Understanding Their Market
For many years this shop thrived on wealthy older women discarding Retro designer cocktail dresses they no longer wanted and did a good trade. Today's fashionistas want items like this but you have to know what they want.
Small companies like this fail to research their chosen market and end up failing because they don't meet customer needs. Online products have to do that to see a profit.
2. Poor Marketing
If you want to sell to retro lovers find sites and blogs where these people hang out. Look at what the market is buying start a dialogue with potential customers to find out their needs and meet them.
Have a website showing your products and a way for people to buy from you there. Buy in some traffic with a Google AdWords campaign. The aim is to get visitors to your site/shop and to start buying.
3. Poor Location
They say location is everything. That's not strictly true in the virtual world. You can literally be anywhere. Make sure you can deliver your products or services anywhere in the world as the internet gives you a global market.
4. Too Small?
One small shop can't dent the universe. In today's world size is not an issue. You don't need fancy shops and offices. Create the right environment for customers. Even if you're one man and a dog create real value and people will buy.
5. Can't Compete
In today's world we are told competition is killing business. If you have a good product that people want and desire price is never an object. Whatever you sell make sure it is perceived as meeting more than any similar product.
6. Restricted Time
If you have a store you might well be limited by when you can sell. In the global internet world you can sell 24-7. An online presence opens up the worldwide web to you and an international market for your products.
7. Think Modern, Not Vintage
Selling online is about taking on new thinking. Don't get caught up in old ways of doing things. While they still work there are better ways to achieve business success now. Embrace new ideas and ways of doing business for the new era.
8. Past Success Doesn't Guarantee Future Success
Don't assume past success means it will do the same in the future. If something isn't working don't be afraid to stop and change. Be prepared to learn new things and adopt new strategies for future success of your online business.
9. Fear of Failure
Too many people don't do things for fear of failure. In business be prepared to fail and get things wrong. We learn from our mistakes not our successes. Not succeeding makes us think and do things differently until we get it right.
10. If it Doesn't Work Don't Give Up
All too often if things don't happen people give up. They lose faith and momentum. This is the time to step up and take affirmative action. Change Retro what you are doing and try a different tack. Business success is about evolving new ways to achieve success.