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www.ScalingRetail.com

Retail Roundup is a weekly video blog looking at big retailer strategies and how small businesses can apply them.

This week we took a look at the Patagonia reverse marketing commercial and see how small businesses can apply similar strategies.

Transcript:

Hi everyone. This is Syama from Scaling Retail. And this week I'd like to
talk to you about the new Hi everyone. This is Syama from Scaling Retail.
And this week I'd like to talk to you about the new Patagonia "Be Useful"
Campaign. This campaign was launched, where they have their customers
showing that they are mending their products, showing second life, or use
out of Patagonia products. And it's something that they like to call that's
kind of reverse marketing. As opposed to showing people purchasing new
products or showing how they can get extended life out of them.

This is a great marketing technique. It's something that you as a small
business can also take away from and apply to your business in the next
coming months and years.

Now essentially what you want to think about here is, what are they
creating for their customer? They're looking at a value proposition of
education. They're showing their customer that they in fact can buy their
product, and use them for a long period of time. By reinvesting and taking
care of your current items in your wardrobe, you can get a longer life
span, as well as decreasing the cost of having to keep purchasing an item
over and over again.

Now how can you apply this to yourself and through what media outlets?
Well, by taking a look at things like video content online, as well as
writing blogs and newsletters, you can search and find ways of
communicating to your customer, the value of what you sold to them.

So for example, if I am a boutique clothing store, and I specialize in
selling basic knit wear, and let's say my customers have purchased some
cashmere sweaters. Well do my customers actually know the best way to take
care of their sweaters? Do they know about the special laundry detergent,
or the ways that they can actually increase the life and longevity? Perhaps
once or twice a year you can send out an email that gives them suggestions
on adding cedar blocks or buying special cashmere shampoos and things like
that.

These are not only ways of up-selling, because of course you're showing
them additional products that maybe you do or don't carry, but you're
showing an interest in value into your customer's purchasing history, as
well as the items they currently have in their closet. This establishes you
as not only a resource for them to go shopping to, but also a partner, in
terms of their wardrobe and really adding value to their life in general.