In this episode, your host Ali Dee, dives into five actionable steps you can take to improve your sales for your boutique.
Join us inside the TRENDSETTER membership here.
Work with me in The Sales Lab, DM me SALES on IG or TT for the deets
Follow the Retail Success Club on TikTok and Instagram @retailsuccessclub
In this episode, your host Ali Dee, dives into five actionable steps you can take to improve your sales for your boutique.
Join us inside the TRENDSETTER membership here.
Work with me in The Sales Lab, DM me SALES on IG or TT for the deets
Follow the Retail Success Club on TikTok and Instagram @retailsuccessclub
Welcome to Boutique Success Club. I'm Allie d, the founder of Boutique Success Club, your boutique bestie, and your chief cheerleader with over a decade of experience in the retail industry trenches. I'm here to help you skyrocket your store. Get ready to dive into insider strategies and educational resources that will transform your boutique business. No more guesswork. No more struggling alone. We'll be your partner in this journey, and together we will conquer all the obstacles. This is Boutique Success Club. Hello. Hello, welcome to another episode of the boutique success club podcast. I'm Allie D your host, and also the founder of the boutique success club, which is one of my most favorite things in the entire world. Uh, I have been in the retail industry for over 10 years, and I finally decided I was going to share all of my experiences, my knowledge, my advice, my ups, my downs, everything with you all on this podcast. So you can hopefully learn from it, apply it to. Your own store and, you know, not make the same mistakes that I did. So we're going to dive all into all kinds of stuff throughout this podcast. I'm really excited to be back with you this week. We're going to talk about something that is obviously one of the most important things in the entire world to you and your success of your store. And it's actually making more sales. I get this question all the time. Boutique owners think they're doing everything that it takes to get the sales online. And when I evaluate what they're doing, let's say they're one of my students they've grabbed the boutique success bundle. They're starting to read everything and put strategies into place. I'll usually get a DM. That's like, Hey, can you just take a quick look at my stuff? Um, and let me know where I'm at or what I need to improve in. So I've kind of gathered up some of the things that I'm seeing on a consistent basis, amongst many of the students in the boutique success bundle. And by the way, if you're interested in this, this is a really great thing that I created. It has a bunch of educational resources for specifically for boutique owners. So things that I think will be the most important to set you and your store up for success. Now in the future, maybe you haven't even launched your store. Yet, this is the perfect thing for you because I also have an entire course on how to even launch and get started. But let's say you're like a year or two years, maybe even five years into your business. And you're just not quite seeing the success that you think you should be seeing. This is also a great resource for you, because I want you to take a look back at some of the foundational pieces. When you're setting up your boutique that maybe you missed, or you need to revisit or just modify. In the past few years. So that's why it's really important. And also all of those resources that I'm continually adding, like I just added the booster Shopify sales a few weeks ago, and now I'm working on a ways to crush Instagram as a boutique owner. And all of the things that I see working right now on Instagram. So I'm working on a brand new resource. That's going to be available exclusively in the boutique success bundle. It's just easier for me that way, because the environment is constantly changing in the retail industry. And I am so obsessed with making sure that you and I are staying up to date on all the things that are going on. The moving parts that once you get into the boutique success bundle, that's the best place for me to just continually being adding information. Because number one, I already know you're a person that takes action. So. If I add something in there more than likely you're going to be excited. You'll get an email saying there's a new module. I'll tell you what it's about. You'll hop in there, learn from it and take action. That's like what I've seen most of the students doing in there they're really like the proactive. They want to see sales. They want to see success and they want to actually learn for themselves how to do everything. And then I'm there, like on the back burner, if you need extra help, I'm just a DM away. So that is available to all my students in the boutique success bundle. So, this is kind of the things that I see popping up over and over and over again that I want to address on today's episode. I want to focus on five really simple foundational pieces that I have been seeing are lacking or missing completely. And I really want to just reiterate these few in this episode, because there are so many ways that you can continually be improving your store and growing and learning. But I think if you've got these five down, it's really going to set you up to start seeing immediate results. And that's always, my goal here with this podcast is to give you short, actionable things that you can actually take home. And do your homework and get done today, tomorrow or in the next couple of days to make sure you're always staying up to date and you're always staying ready to continue to grow and grow your business because once you get lackadaisical or even lazy, Then that's when things start really hurting your business. And I don't want that for you. That's why you're tuned into this podcast. So you can be sure you're continually learning all the things you need to know, so you can always be making progress forward. Okay. So let's dive into the five things i want you to work on this week This first one is so very important. And oftentimes when I'm consulting with the boutique, I will ask this question and, um, I would say nine times out of the 10, they're unclear. On what the answer is, and this will immediately affect their sales in not only a negative way, but if they fix it, it will be a huge, positive improvement. Almost immediately because everything that you do in your boutique is based around this question. It is do you know your ideal customer First, let me break down what your ideal customer is. This is exactly the person that you think you can help the most with the products or the clothes that you sell in your boutique. So who do you think is going to be buying your products what is that person in compass? what are their values what are the demographics what are the psychographics what is everything that makes up that person what are their needs why would someone need to buy something from you That's what you really need to tap into. And oftentimes I hear boutique owners tell me, well, our store is really for everybody. We have a little bit of this, a little bit of that. We got some of this, some of that, and believe me, I've been there, I've done the same thing as well. And what I've found is that that's just not going to cut it. You have to get really specific on who you are, what you sell and who you sell to. And you may be thinking, but Allie, I don't want to get so narrow that I missing like millions and millions of people out there, But it actually works opposite The more specific you get about who you can actually help. Then you're starting to connect with a real group of people, a group of customers you're creating a loyal following. That's actually going to love everything you have, because imagine if you're just. Out there trying to sell all kinds of random products, to all kinds of random people. You just confuse everybody and they're going to go where they feel comfortable. They're going to go to another boutique that is more specific and more clear on who they can help. And a lot of times people are like, I don't even know who this is. How am I going to figure this all out? So one of the basic ways you can do this is actually just to see who you are as a boutique owner, as a regular person, more than likely you are your ideal customers. So the things you like, the hobbies, you have, your demographic, your age. Are you a mom? Are you single? Are you living the party lifestyle? Are you in college? Are you retired? Are you all those things? Are likely going to be who your ideal customer is because usually we're going to be able to speak to and sell to people who are most like us it's just a natural thing that's why they say like attracts like because it's just kind of a simple thing you're relatable to each other And I actually have an entire resource on this. It's called ideal customer workbook for boutiques. It has like 50 or more questions that I have for you to ask yourself about your ideal customers. So you can help define it and get really, really clear on this. This is also in the boutique success bundle. Actually, you can buy it on sale on its own, even as well. It's called the ideal customer workbook for boutiques. so check that out if this is something that you've really been struggling with this might be the perfect tool or resource for you And quick, funny story. The reason why I even created this workbook is because I could not figure this out in my own businesses. Like for some reason it just would not click in my mind. So I knew I had to figure out a way to actually do this so I could start seeing rapid growth for my businesses early on. So I. I've researched and try to find some kind of resource out there for people in the retail industry. And this just did not exist. There was nothing out there like this ideal customer workbook for boutique. So I was just kind of lost out there in a guessing game, on my own. So I actually started writing down all of the questions that I thought were important to me and my customers like the neck line they like to wear. The length of skirt, what type of denim? Like all those kinds of questions are in this workbook. And it's specifically made to help people like us. It's not just, you know, a random concept out there, random marketing concept. That's just floating around. That you can't really figure out how to apply to your own retail business so that's actually why i created this resource in the first place Cause i was totally freaking lost. And I say this all to say, you have got to figure out who your ideal customer is. You have to get really, really clear, define it, write it down, give them a name, give them a place that they live and make a fictional person that every single time you are buying inventory, creating content, creating a marketing plan, creating your logo, your branding, all that. You have that specific person in mind. So you know how to attract that person to your business. I'm telling you, this is a game changer. This is the. A secret to your success please get this done you will be so relieved once this is off your plate because it will make everything in your business so much easier because now when you're making decisions on buying on branding on marketing all that stuff content what type of content to create what song am i going to use with my tic talk? all of that will be answered with who your ideal customer is All right. The next thing we got to dive into my boutique bestie in order to improve your sales. This is number two of five, and this one is so important. we're going to need you to show up every day on two social media platforms If you're already thinking, there's no way I'm tapped out on my time. How am I going to show up every day in two platforms? There's just no way I can do this. Number one, we discussed it last week. That mindset is going to get you nowhere. Now, creating content is one of the most important things you will do for the success of your boutique. So this is not something you can put on the back burner anymore. You're going to put it in a spotlight this is going to become your most favorite thing you're going to be excited to show up on social media platforms because you know that that's going to lead to what more sales and that's the whole point of our business to create a community that's going to convert into customers And we can't do that. If you're not even jumping into the conversation or jumping into the space to actually make that happen for yourself, if you want to start getting to these 10 K or more consistent months, these are the types of things you're going to have to do. You're going to have to get in this mindset of knowing, okay, I'm going to have to show up everyday on social media. And then now that you know that that's part of your business plan, let's work backwards and figure out how you can do that in a timely manner for yourself, or in a way that works for you and your store. Maybe that's okay. Well, I'm going to be recording content on Tuesdays and Thursdays. So I record on Tuesdays and Thursdays, let's say you edit on Wednesdays and Fridays. So that way you've got your content fresh every week and you're editing every week and making sure that your. Funnel is staying full of fresh, great content. So maybe you're creating content one day a week, maybe every single Monday, you're trying on all your new arrivals. You're creating your content for the entire week. You're getting it all done. You just have to figure out whatever's going to work best for you and your store. And I've done it both ways for my brick and mortar. I actually create all my contents. Um, One day a month And I schedule, this is all for the basic content to make sure I'm showing up every single day. I will schedule my contents the first Tuesday of the month and it will go for the entire month. So I'll go around my store. I'll take pictures of everything. I'll get. 30 pictures, videos, whatever I'm doing and scheduling that all into Mehta planner in the Facebook platform. So it hits my Instagram. Every single day. And my facebook every single day which is the two social media platforms that we use for that particular store And that works great for that particular retail business. I have other ones where I'm creating content on the daily because now that I love it, I love showing up every day. It's a part of my day that I truly enjoy actually. It's the part of my day. I enjoy the most. I get my makeup on, you know, I'm a mom of two small kiddos, so I'm from being around a lot. So it really is like a good time for me to get my makeup on, put on something cute, feel good about myself, show up, connect with my favorite people in the world, which are my customers, my audience, and it just brightens my day. So I've gotten to a place where I kind of have multiple things going on, but just pick whatever content schedule works for you. And don't be scared to try out a few different things. Try out, scheduling out two weeks ahead of time. Try out one week. Maybe you're just a person that wants to do it on the daily. Work out all the different options and see what's going to feel the best for you Real quick boutique bestie. I know you've been thinking about building and growing your own boutique. It's that beautiful dream that you have in your mind, but maybe you just need like a little push forward. That's why I created the boutique success bundle. If you are tired of the overwhelm, the guesswork, the confusion, then this all in one bundle is for you. I break down everything into modules. It's a step-by-step process where we are building the foundation, setting you up for success. It also has every single guide I have ever created right there and an easy to access dashboard plus Q and a with me, if you get stuck. So if you've been thinking about jumping in now is the time go to boutique success club.com and join us today in the boutique success bundle. For my next tip to help you improve your sales tip number three. I want you to be sure you optimize your bio on all of your social media platform profile pages. Ooh, that was a lot to say. What does optimize your bio mean? You may hear this term thrown around. Maybe this is the first time you're hearing about it. What's really important is when people click on your profile page and they check you out there scoping you out there, it's their first impression. You want to make sure that everything in your bio is optimized to either draw them in immediately. So it's an immediate follow because you connect with them on so many levels, even just in your bio and your profile page. And let me just break down a few ways that you can optimize your profile to make sure you're doing this and getting those follows as quick as possible. Once someone's like on the fence. More than likely they're going to scroll on so we want to make sure we're setting you up for that immediate follow The first thing I say is always having a nice, clean, professional looking logo as your profile image, it shouldn't be a picture of your dog or your kiddos, or like your Halloween costume last year. You guys would be surprised with the things that I see, make sure it's your logo and make sure your logo is as legible as possible at that small scale. A lot of times you want to create these like major fancy, overly done logos, which are super cute when they're big. But When you shrink them down to a tiny little instagram profile pic or a tik tok profile pig, they're not going to connect with the person because they can't even see what's going on Next, do you want to make sure the actual few sentences that take talk and Instagram, give you to describe your bio. This is your golden piece of real estate, where you are going to want to connect. 1000000% with whoever it is you are trying to draw in. So this is where you're specific about who your ideal customer is. And I always give one sentence with fill in the blanks that I, I like you to use to at least get started. When you're thinking about optimizing your bio. So it's something like we are a fill in the blank boutique who specializes in, fill in the blank for fill in the blank. An example would be we are an online boutique who specializes in. Athleisure wear for stay at home moms so you can see how that's really specific. So if I am a mom that needs athlete, leisure wear, and I want to kind of look cute, even though I'm staying home, I want to look put together and have some cute matching sets and I come across your profile. That's an immediate follow on like, yes, this person is speaking right to me. Hello, I'm your customer? Show me what you got. But you're also saying to the people who are looking for corporate wear for their New York city nine to five, like we're not for you. Right. And that's okay. You can't be for everybody, So you just want to make sure that that bio is drawing in exactly who your ideal customer is. So take that example. We are a blank fill in the blank boutique that specializes in, fill in the blank for fill in the blank okay so that's who you are what you sell and who you sell to The next thing i want to talk to you about step number four for making sure you're setting yourself up to improve your sales Is i want you to talk to your customers in your content like they are your b f s A lot of times boutique owners think that as soon as the camera turns on, they have to be like super, um, I don't know, professional quote unquote, but actually what comes across instead of being professional is just being stiff. And Like really we can see your personality so what i'm trying to get you to do here instead of pressing record and being like hello i'm samantha with happy-go-lucky boutique and i'm here to show you a pair of jeans like no i'm trying to kill that vibe and really learn what i mean when i say talk to your customers like they're your BFFs, like your best friends let's say you hop into Your favorite boutique and you see a cute pair of jeans there and you try them on and they fit amazing. And you're like, wow, these are mommy approved. Like, love these. When you go to tell your friends about that pair of jeans you found, you're not going to be like. Hey. I just found this great pair of jeans. No, you're going to be like, oh my gosh. Let me tell you about this amazing pair of jeans that I just found you are going to freak. I know we both struggle with like the post mom body. Like we're trying to figure out how to wear the cute clothes and be trendy and still feel like ourselves. But our bodies are shaped a little bit different after having a couple of babies. So I found something that's going to solve this problem and make us feel like ourselves again. Like, that is how I need you talking to your customers. Like it's your best friends? Not like they're strangers on the internet, even though they really are right. They truly are. That's. What we're trying to do is attract strangers on the internet to our stores. But I don't want you to look at it like that. I want you to look at it like you are trying to attract a million best friends. Like all of your BFFs, we're all out there floating around, trying to find people like us, that we can connect with that. Get our problems that understand what we're looking for. Know the type of quality we want. No, the type of fit. No, the type of material. Like all of those things. That's your job as a boutique owner to start nailing down for your customer. This is where the magic happens. So it's so important that you're creating content. That's actually going to connect with them. And one of the best ways to do that. And we talked about it a little bit. Last episode. Is to talk to them like they're your best friends? And this last one, you may get mad at me about, and you're going to try to fight me on this one, but I'm telling you. It's so important this day and age, and I'll get into why is I need you sending out at least one email per week to your email list. I can already see you fighting me on this. You're going, I don't want to do this. I don't have an email list. Emails too hard. I can't figure it out. I'm not tech savvy enough. I don't know what I'm doing. All the things. We got to get rid of that mindset again, when it comes to email marketing, just like our content creation mindset has to change. So does our email marketing mindset, the most successful boutiques out there all use email marketing. So does every single major business and small business in the world that is successful. They understand that email marketing is a direct link to their ideal customer's inbox. Somewhere they can visit with them at least once a week. For me and my business, we send out three. Every single one of my businesses has three emails that go out every single week. It's so important to the success of our business, that we are staying on top of their mind because when they're ready to make that buying decision, I want us to be the first ones they think about. I don't want it to be my competitors. Right. I want it to be me. So in order for that to happen, I have to draw them in. I have to gather their email address through some kind of incentive or offer or freebie or pop up or coupon, whatever you think is going to work best for your type of customer, draw them in and then nurture them through email. And this is by sending an email out to them every single week. These emails are kind of like called broadcast emails. So you manually need to create an email. The best day, I'm going to tell you to send out your emails is going to be on Friday, especially in the retail industry. And why do you ask, why would it be Friday? Friday's payday. So there's some extra cash available in their accounts to make that purchase that maybe they've been saving up for, or thinking about. Or have forgotten about. So for the love of all things, boutique industry related. Please commit to me that you are going to try to send out at least one email per week to your email list. And if you don't have an email list, do this start one today. Boom. There are ways that you can do this by using your Shopify. You can sign up for MailChimp. It's free. I think for the first thousand subscribers there's Clavio, which is a great option and integrates very well with Shopify has some amazing automated options. So there's a lot of places where you can create your email list. If you, like I said, if you already have a Shopify it's already collected. Your customer's email information. So now I just want you to hop into the marketing tab, click on emails and send out a campaign by this Friday. Do it, get it scheduled. And then what's really cool. Is. Once you kind of learn how to do the basics of these, you can schedule out all of your emails a month in advance. So this is something that you're creating. A passive income stream for yourself with your boutique. This is not something they are actively having to hop on and go live and do and sell. You're creating a way to reach your customers passively. It may take you an hour, an hour and a half, one day every month to set up your emails for the entire month. And you could do that like the first week of the month, it could be like, okay. It's November, we're going to, we've got a lot going on this month. We need. Maybe November is not a good example because we've got black Friday. We got a lot going on, but let's just say it's a regular month, you know, you have, let's say you're promoting. Uh, tops the first week and then maybe some fall collection the next week. Maybe some sweaters, maybe some denim, you can kind of section it out into different collections or whatever it is that's going to work for your particular type of store. Get all those emails done the first week of the month. And then they're working for you in the background. They're making sales while you're not actively having to think, even think about it. And again, Friday payday. It's a great day for you to reach out there to your customers on your email list and make sure they're thinking of you. I hope you were taking notes on these five things, because every single one of them can be so important to making sure you're growing your sales. And you're reaching those 10 K months, especially in the beginning. So, let me just recap what we've learned in this episode. If you don't have a notebook out, now's the time to do it, take some quick notes or make sure you just save this episode so you can come back to it later. Okay. First, you need to know your ideal customer. You need to get really clear on who that is. Second, you need to commit to yourself. You're going to show up every day on two social media platforms. Number three, you're going to optimize your bio on your social media platforms. Number four, you're going to talk to your customers in your content. Like they're your BFFs. So you can start actually connecting with them in the content that you're creating. And number five, you're going to send out at least one email every single week to your email list. And if you don't have one started yet, you're going to start it today. All right. Boutique bestie. Thank you so much for tuning into this week's episode. Don't forget, please. If you are listening to this snap, a picture, take a screenshot on your phone, post it to your Instagram stories and tag me because I love seeing you guys share when you're listening to the podcast, we actually just crossed a huge milestone. It was episode 10 last week. So we're 10 episodes in, I can't believe it. We've already got over a thousand downloads of the show. I'm just, I remember celebrating 10 downloads with you all. And now here we are over a thousand, so it's very exciting for me. I know. Because I can see the interaction about the podcast and how you guys reach out to me about it. I know this is one of the most important things for the boutique success clubs. So I'm very dedicated to trying to make it the best. It can be for y'all. So you actually see results from these episodes. So again, thank you so much for tuning in and we will see ya next time. Hey, thanks so much for listening to this episode of the boutique success club. Don't forget to subscribe and give us a five-star review. It really helps us grow and reach more boutique besties. have a great day and go get them.