I’ve been seeing a lot of chatter around the concept of boutique vs big chain stores. Neither is better than the other. Some brands want to be the Walmart of their industry while others want to be align their business with Neiman Marcus. Yet more smaller solopreneurs opt to go the boutique route.
As a personal brand, deciding which type of business you want to create will determine how you execute on your marketing, branding and engagement strategies. What works for Starbucks may not work for the small cafe in your local town.
It’s all about brand positioning and your target audience.
Walmart shoppers, for the most part, are not affinity customers. They are shopping for a deal. They make their decisions based on convenience and price, which is not necessarily in the same ballpark as quality.
Target shoppers have a strong relationship with the Target brand. They could be shopping at Walmart but, for whatever reasons, they don’t. They rather choose to spend their dollars at Target.
When we’re looking at quality and price, Target is generally much higher than Walmart so it’s safe to assume Target shoppers are not necessarily making their decisions on convenience and price.
The point is we all make decisions based on our experience with that brand. Personally I avoid Chick fil A and I have my reasons.
Our society is becoming much more social conscious of how they spend their dollars. Your audience is no different.
When someone buys into you, they are paying for an experience with your brand. How are you responding to that? What kind of experience are you giving your audience?
Dissect why YOU make the purchases that you do and take notes on why you choose those vendors.
- When it comes to coffee, do you prefer Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts or someone else?
- When it comes to computers, are you a PC or Mac person?
- When it comes to phones, are you sporting an iPhone, Motorola, Nexxus or Samsung?
Your shopping choices tell a narrative about what you value and guess what? The same idea applies to your brand + business.
[bctt tweet=”Your audience is making decisions based on their experience with you.” username=”vickyayala”]Here’s a list of potential encounters when someone is making an opinion about your brand:
- Visiting your website
- Watching your videos
- Listening to your podcast
- Reading your blog / newsletter
- Participating in your webinar
- Attending your event
- Buying your product
- Signing up for your service
- Registering for your program
- Shopping your store
When you’re planning your brand’s experience factor in the following for each of these encounters:
- Impressions: What is someone’s initial takeaway upon connecting with you?
- Emotions: How do you want people to feel when they connect with you, on every single engagement?
- Relationships: What kind of exchange do you offer for every level of engagement?