Stuart: What are some tips for making it easy for people to submit
photos?
Sue: You have to keep it simple. Ask for minimum effort and you’re
likely to get more responses. Anything complicated will be an instant
barrier, so perhaps just ask for a name, age, and state. You can
make it part of a submission form, but also allow people to submit
via email. Some people are turned off by forms, so always offer
that as an alternative.
Dimity: What about sending samples to celebrities with children?
Justin: It’s worth a shot – it’s just the cost
of the product. The worst thing they can say is, “No, I’m
not going to use it.” Try it with a few people and see what
response you get, then consider if your time is better spent trying
to get the product into stores.
Larry: You might not get a photo of the celebrity’s kids
wearing your clothing, but send it to them, then follow up a little
while later and ask them what they thought. Try and get a comment
you can use on a press release.
Dimity: How do we get free editorial?
Louise: You’ve got to come up with an irresistible story
the press will pick up on. Create something about emotional experiences,
about kids being creative, about the ultimate funky thing to do.
Stuart: Have a look at magazines that reflect audiences you want
to attract and send them product photos along with a press release
about your company. Find an angle. Is your knitwear made from allergy-free
wool or something? Follow up with a phone call about any new season
editorial opportunities coming up.
Also, ask them if they’re interested in a giveaway and agree
on a fixed amount of product for a set amount of space. Negotiate
it on the retail value of the product.
Dimity: What about advertising?
Stuart: When you’re ready, it’s better to get a media
company such as The Time and Place. Professionals can provide really
good audience insight. I don’t recommend trying to book ads
yourself because you’ll pay a higher rate and won’t
get the same targeted response.
Dimity: What about online promotions?
Stephen: Look at online companies, such as eBay, which do this
well. Look at the children’s retail section to see how
they promote the products. Companies such as marketingsherpa.com
have got great case studies on how to build a database.
Stuart: Justin, how did you get the media to talk about you and
your products?
Justin: You’re going into a big market and competing with
big companies that spend a lot of money keeping their brands in
peoples’ faces. I never spent money on advertising because
I used the media for my benefit. But don’t ring Today Tonight
for example and tell them you’ve got a great story about
your business because they’re not going to give you a free
plug. Give them the story behind your story. The story behind my
story was starting a business with $50, which the media really
picked up on.
Dimity: When I cold-call stores, I often
don’t get a good
response. They ask me to email specs I don’t have yet.
Larry: If you’re interacting with potential customers and
they’re telling you the same thing over and over, you can’t
ignore it. If they’re asking you for material, you need to
put all your product information together in a way that can be
easily emailed to your customers. You need to start learning how
to manage people. Ask open questions, it keeps the conversation
going. The longer you can talk to somebody, the more likely they
are to become interested.
Justin: Getting your foot through the door with any new product
is going to be hard. To get my product into stores, I got my mates
to ring up and ask for it. You’ve got to think outside the
square all the time.
Stuart: We were talking earlier about getting your audience to
take photos of their children in the clothing – maybe the
funkiest child wins a whole stack of prizes.
Larry: I think that’s very powerful, if you can reach people
to build content and interest. At the end of the day, clothing
has a limited website appeal, but if you provide quirky photos,
it gives people a reason to revisit the site.
Stephen: Your site can have a public face and then you can have
a discreet address for wholesalers such as kinderclobber.com.au/wholesalers,
which you don’t advertise. Perhaps put something up on eBay…
Stuart: Should Dimity join affiliate networks?
Stephen: There is an affiliate network called Referral Program,
where if you sell someone else’s product, they pay you
a commission. It’s like a referral. Sites such as Commission
Monster, Linkshare, the Viva 9 Network and Affiliates For You,
are companies that do all the trafficking and manage all the
third party payments.
Justin: Finding an agency is quite difficult. Rag Trader is a great
industry magazine, but I would suggest you go to the Fashion Exposed
trade show. All the retailers are in the one spot at the same time.
Dimity: Should we only have COD for wholesalers?
Justin: Absolutely. Cash-on-delivery (COD) for the first few orders.
Factor in that a lot of people won’t pay you on time, so
allow 30-60 days to get paid. I had a 30% order cancellation
fee. After that you sign a credit application and get them to
go personal guarantor. My first year, a bloke ripped me off for
$36,000. It only happened once. You’ve got to make sure
they sign the credit applications.
Stuart: Larry, how do you find out someone’s
credit rating?
Larry: If they’re businesses it’s a little easier.
If they’re individuals it’s difficult. Businesses don’t
really have a right to privacy so you can get their credit histories
online by paying a small search fee. On the retail side, when people
buy online you get their credit card details at point of purchase.
That’s one of the joys of online sales, the cash is right
there.
Dimity: Do I need online credit card processing?
Larry: Yes, and there are several ways of doing it. Start a PayPal
account. They take a slightly higher percentage of your sale
than the banks, but it’s easy to set up and integrate into
your shopping cart, and you only get the order if PayPal manages
to take the money off the credit card on your behalf.
Once you start getting email orders, however, you’re probably
going to want to have a merchant agreement directly with the local
bank, and you’ll hook up with a payments gateway provider
such as NetRegistry.
Dimity: There are so many things I haven’t
done yet...
Justin: You just need to start somewhere. You may have to start
by going backwards and fixing some things up. My secret for success
is: the way that works is the right way; the way that doesn’t
is the wrong way. Be very open and honest with yourself. If something
isn’t working, stop doing it and try a different way. Don’t
think everything is supposed to be perfect right from the start.
Small steps are almost always the best because if it doesn’t
work you only lose small.
TOP 5 MAINSTREAM KIDS' BRANDS
Pumpkin Patch
www.pumpkinpatch.com.au
Cotton On Kids
www.cottonon.com.au
Esprit
www.esprit.com
Target
www.target.com.au
Osh Kosh
www.oshkoshbgosh.com
TOP 5 ONLINE ALT. 'ROCK' KIDSWEAR LABELS
Nippaz with Attitude
www.nippaz.com
Metal Babies
www.metalbabies.com
The Cradle Rocks
www.thecradlerocks.com
Baby Rock Apparel
www.babyrockapperal.com
Baby Rock Star / Pixie Rock
www.babyrockstar.com
BIO
Dimity Mitsis has 15 years of experience in fashion retail in a
range of sales-focused roles. Her business partner Kate Askew
is a former Sydney Morning Herald financial journalist. They
want to go into business for themselves to “be more the
master of (their) own destinies.”
