Recommendations for Marketing/Advertising on a Limited Budget in the UK?

September 11, 2008 6:53 PM

Does anyone know how to effectively (and economically) market a women's shoes and accessories retail store in London, UK?

A friend has recently opened a store on South Molton street (just off Bond Street in London). She is selling shoes and bespoke handbags, jewellery and other related items.

Everybody who comes into the store seems to like it and she's doing okayish. People who come in love the store and get stuff but there doesn't seem to be enough traffic to sustain her without advertising.

Unfortunately, she's on a very limited budget (approx 10K) so she needs it to go as far as possible as long as possible. If anybody is in marketing/advertising in the UK I'd love to hear how she could make the most of her money.

If it helps, shes targeting 25-45/women slightly fancier items (shoes + handbags) and a whole range of cheap and affordable everyday items such as earrings and necklaces.

posted by gadha to Grab Bag (3 answers total)

If I were her I would go on Dragon's Den , a very popular entrepreneurial british TV show and seek an investment from the "Dragons". The trick is to make sure her appearance is remarkable even if they don't invest otherwise it probably won't get aired (in fact, you probably want to go in with the intention of not even accepting anything but a great offer from them). The reason to do this is you effectively get a 5 minute commercial for your business on prime time television. I have seen people come in seeking investment that are clearly there purely to market their business and have no intention of taking money, the trick is not be transparent about it. For instance, I wouldn't go in asking for investment for a store, I would go in and say I have a bespoke handbag business that I would like to grow, I currently have a single store, etc...etc...
posted by ill3 at 7:50 PM on September 11, 2008

She went straight onto South Molton street? That's a pretty hardcore area.

Maybe she could send samples to some fashion blogs that have similar tastes and styles. There are also lots of London-based blogs that might find her of interest. Don't forget the magazines either. A well-crafted press release is free, and she can get samples at cost price.

Maybe really pushing the bespoke angle is a good idea. Perhaps she could tie it into the whole bespoke suit thing? Handbags are the one luxury item that women seem to spend insane amounts on, so anything that could get them to stand out seems good.

Ooh, how about contacting various celebrities and offering to design a bespoke handbag for them based on their wishes? If Victoria Beckham was toting around her bag, surely that would be good publicity.
posted by Magnakai at 12:39 AM on September 12, 2008

Send a press pack to journalists who are likely to mention the shop or contacts, possibly with an invite to a launch party where free stuff is promised.

Brochures in hotels couldn't hurt either.
posted by Ugandan Discussions at 5:06 PM on September 12, 2008