Kickstart workshop for a start up kids wear label: kinderclobber

• 13 November 2007
• Page 1 of 2 : single page

“Having two kids, I have first-hand knowledge of what's out there; what works and what's needed in the kids market". Photo credit: Anthony Geernaert

THE PANEL

Larry Bloch
NetRegistry CEO
Expertise: Creating an online presence

Stephen Murphy
Founder payperclick.net.au
Expertise: quality website traffic

Sue Blatchford
Head of search, payperclick.net.au
Expertise: online audience engagement

Justin Herald
Motivational coach
Expertise: keeping yourself motivated

Louise Kelly
MD Hearts and Minds
Expertise: building a brand

Host: Stuart Ridley
Nett content director
Expertise: media and strategy

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Stuart: How does Dimity set up her website?
Larry: There’s a series of products and services you can organise at the same time as domain registration, including email, setting up a website and web hosting. Because you’re selling online you need to get some sort of online shopping-cart technology set up. You can get these services from different companies, but you’re better off using a full service company such as NetRegistry.

Stuart: When it comes to creating her first website, what are some of the things Dimity needs to think about?
Sue: Nut your objectives for the site. Is it online sales, a subscription database, or do you want people to browse your online catalogue? Do a profile on your audience then make a list of goals they will want to achieve from the site. A wholesaler might want catalogue and pricing information. For shoppers, it could be detailed garment sizes, postage and handling, or your return policies. Look at competitor sites and decide what you could do better.

Dimity: I’ve used my kids as models in the photos of the products. Justin, how did you handle the initial product shoots for your clothing brand?
Justin: When I started out I didn’t do catalogues because I couldn’t afford it. If you don’t have the money you can’t spend it, so use your kids and your family’s kids. You probably just need to get a better photographer.

Dimity: Do I have to get a catalogue photographer?
Justin: No, just someone who’s a good photographer. Also, if you see a child on the street you think would look great, approach the mother. Offer them some free clothes in return. You’ve just got to use what you’ve got until you can move to the next level.

Stuart: What about getting the user group to submit photos of their kids wearing the clothes?
Louise: That’s an excellent idea. Work out how you want people to feel when they wear your clothes, what emotional experience they’re going to have, because that’s the promise of your brand. Pick one emotional experience, understand it well and make sure the website reflects that.
Stuart: In a way, you’re creating an online catalogue for free. Try and get the kids to just have fun while they’re wearing the gear. You’ll get much better shots than putting them in a studio where you’ll probably just get really hammy stuff.
Justin: Have a look at the Abercrombie and Fitch catalogue. Their photos are unreal. Don’t just look at competitors in your market, look at competitors in the entire fashion industry.

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. #