Everyone likes to buy branded things, but not all people have enough budget to follow the trend. So how to solve it? Don’t worry, let’s be happy, because there is a thrift store that could shop for the items we want along with well-known brands at affordable prices.
Today we are going to talk about the digital marketing plan for Thrift Shop business.
What’s the differences between Thrift shop vs Preloved?
A lot of people think that thrift shop and preloved are the same. Well, both of them are selling second-hand items, but there’s a bit of a difference between thrift shop and preloved.
Thrift shop is a store selling second hand items publicly. Usually, the second-hand items are imported from overseas and still are in good condition, come along with famous brands, and are feasible to use. The items being sold are not just things from fashion, but it is also furniture and household appliances.
Preloved usually been sold to personally. The items for sale usually are clothes that have only been used once or twice, and not always have a good brand.
By today’s technology we could build our small business into a business to be reckoned with other bigger business competitors.
Key of success in your business is using the right digital marketing strategy!
What Media Will be Used?
Tips to easily market products and compete with other well-known competitors is by using digital marketing. It will help you to create and implement your marketing strategy. First, you have to know what channel and media that you will be using. Every social media has their own tools that you can utilize and manage the engagement between your company and customers.
Example, you want to use Instagram do not forget to sign up your account into Instagram Business, so you could maintain your engagement by their own feature called Instagram Insight.
You can make your business an online business, so, it is better you create your own website that you could control by using Google Analytics.
Set your Goals!
Every business should have to set a challenging goal, but remember it must stay realistic. You can set your goals for short-term and for long-term. But it is very important to know who your target audience is.
Thrift shops sell many things, so you could set a target audience for women and men in young ages between 18 until 35 years old. At this age it is easy for you to reach them because they would probably understand about the new technology era and are still updated with trends.
Then, your own company or products must also have a target of its own. Let’s say you have 2 plans that are short-term and long-term.
In short-term you can take a range from 0 – 12 months.
- So, within 6 months 500 items will be sold.
- Then, within 12 months the company has good branding to build customers’ trust.
For the long term you can take a range from 12 months onwards:
- Within 15 months, the instagram business account have 2.5k followers
- In 18 months, I have loyal customers.
- On 20 months, have distributors to sell products of your company.
Create your SEO
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the most important thing when you want to make your business into an online business. You have to research a great keyword, so people who search it on the internet will directly find your business website. Even if it will not appear as the first one, at least your website business appears on the first page.
So, things you can do are improving your SEO, making attractive content, writing a good keyword, and knowing what customers need and what they want. Because your business is in fashion, you have to update about trends.
The Power of Social Media
As we know, these days social media has the biggest power as the platform for telling and searching anything. Then, it will be a good idea to use social media as one of your digital marketing.
- Make the content attractive. By posting the attractive content of your product, it will make your followers tempted to purchase the products.
- Use the trending hashtags to write on your caption. This is to make big engagement between your account and followers, also to increase your followers indeed.
- Write down your website, either on your caption or in your content. This is to make your followers when they see your content will know what they have to do if they purchase your product.
- You can also give an endorsement to fashion influencers on social media. This is to help promote your product and your company brand.
Focus on Trend
Talking about trends will never have the ending. Every year and even each season have their own trend, so if you have this business you have to be adaptable to transformation.
Business Strategy
We make a to-do-list to make you easier for follow to increasing your business strategy plan:
1. Create Name of your Brand Company
Try to create a catchy name for your brand that can easily be remembered by people. Also, you have to make a vision, mission and target audience which are related to your brand company’s name. It is better to use 1 word for your brand company name. For example, Amazon, eBay and others.
2. Create a Website
Building a business it is better that you have your own website with your brand company’s name in it, no matter you want to make it as an online or offline business. Then, you have to design your website to be friendly-used. Remember, you have to make it simple so that your customers would like to shop in your website store.
3. Build Good Branding
Since you have a new business, you have to build a branding of your company. With this you also could increase the customers trust, especially if you want to make it as an online business. You have to guarantee to your customers that it will save them from purchasing your product even just by online.
4. Google My Business
Those who wants to make this business as an offline store, it is a great idea to sign up your store into Google My Business. So, people who want to search about your product or store will be able to easily find out. Also, the customers who had purchased your product could give a review that you can read and reply to, this could increase your engagement with customers to turn up into loyal customers.
5. Content
These days, content is the most important thing to include in your business. If you want to attract people easily, you have to create attractive content. There are so many ways to make great contents, you can collaborate with some influencers in social media, and with some famous artists or actors to be your brand ambassador and model of your products.
But, if you do not have enough budget, you can promote your product by giving inspiration like mix & match, tips & tricks for engage people to purchase your product.
6. Research
Like said before, you have oftenly researching trends and also about your other competitors. It could help your company to find the opportunity and step forward from other competitors.
7. Improve
It is great to be open and listen to reviews from your loyal customers. By this, you can filter which part you have to improve in your product or company so you could keep your loyal customers and increase more customers onwards.
Conclusion
Thrift shops are not a new thing in this business world. But this is also not an easy thing to become a business. Moreover, its business rivals are well-known brands which can be said to be one of the capitals of this thrift shop business.
However, according to NARTS (National Association of Resale & Thrift Shops), around 22.9% of the public prefer shopping at thrift shops and 24.4% prefer to shop at major department stores. This means that many people have a greater interest in thrift shops than shopping directly at big brand stores.
How about you, where do you prefer to shop?
Written by: Feivel Nugroho
Refererences:
https://www.ogscapital.com/article/thrift-store-business-plan/
https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-a-thrift-store-and-a-secondhand-store
https://www.goodwillaz.org/what-does-it-mean-to-go-thrifting-2/