Boutique Visual Marketing

Creating a visual marketing approach for your boutique should be part of your business plan.  Creating your own visual scheme can be fun and easy.  Using this information will help you to narrow down decisions that you need to make when designing the look of your boutique.  It can help you avoid mistakes and keep you from sending mixed signals to your customers.  Stick to a good visual marketing plan, and you can more easily and effectively establish a brand image with your target market. Price Suggestion:  This is the first thing to consider.  Once you know who your target demographic is, you should begin to get a feel for what your prices should look like.  When you have decided on prices, the next step is to design your store around the idea of “price suggestion”.  You can get a general idea of a store’s prices when you simply look at it.  Lots of empty space, low racks, no price tags and no fluorescent lights suggests high priced items.  Colorful giant sale signs, crammed garment racks, and bad lighting suggests discount bargain store.  Planning the look and feel of your store around your prices will not only help to attract the target market, but it will also discourage those who are unlikely to spend any money in your boutique. Layout:  The layout of a store is another reflection of price and quality.  Aisles in straight lines big enough for shopping carts are for discount department stores.  They usually have a tile “track” for carts that surrounds carpeted areas that slow down wheels for department lingering.  You will see promotional items and impulse items around the track to stop and entice passing customers into entering the carpeted area. A boutique, however, has a much different objective.  Boutique owners want customers to enjoy being there.  They should be surprised, dazzled and pleased at the unique items that they find as they go deeper into the store.  Boutiques often have a very random layout meant to stop and engage the customer every few feet.  Sections of the boutique may even be completely hidden by other displays until the customer rounds the corner.  This helps to facilitate the surprise factor when the merchandise is revealed. Consumer Response:  Boutique owners want to further engage their customers by delighting the senses.  This adds to the boutique experience.  You will often see interesting lighting, colors, textures and designs.  Lights will be pleasing to the eye, not harsh or bright.  Smells of incense, perfume, soaps or candles will get the customer even more involved.  Calming scents can encourage more browsing.  The smell of suntan lotion can put the customer in the mood to buy swimwear.  The possibilities here are endless. Merchandising:  The customer needs to be able to see what kind of items you offer by glancing, not by digging.  Slatwall or gridwall displays can keep the clothing facing outward where it is easily seen.  But, you still need to show what these items look like on.  Displaying a 3D visual, like a <a href="http://www.slstoredisplays.com"title="Mannequin">mannequin</a>, is the most effective strategy of visual marketing.  If someone can see what items actually look like on, then they are more likely to walk over and check it out.  Limp clothing on a hanger doesn’t attract much attention. Use these tips to help with setting up your boutique in an effective manner.  It can save you time, money and help you make loyal, long-term customers.

Creating a visual marketing approach for your boutique should be part of your business plan.  Creating your own visual scheme can be fun and easy.  Using this information will help you to narrow down decisions that you need to make when designing the look of your boutique.  It can help you avoid mistakes and keep you from sending mixed signals to your customers.  Stick to a good visual marketing plan, and you can more easily and effectively establish a brand image with your target market.

Price Suggestion:  This is the first thing to consider.  Once you know who your target demographic is, you should begin to get a feel for what your prices should look like.  When you have decided on prices, the next step is to design your store around the idea of “price suggestion”.  You can get a general idea of a store’s prices when you simply look at it.  Lots of empty space, low racks, no price tags and no fluorescent lights suggests high priced items.  Colorful giant sale signs, crammed garment racks, and bad lighting suggests discount bargain store.  Planning the look and feel of your store around your prices will not only help to attract the target market, but it will also discourage those who are unlikely to spend any money in your boutique.

Layout:  The layout of a store is another reflection of price and quality.  Aisles in straight lines big enough for shopping carts are for discount department stores.  They usually have a tile “track” for carts that surrounds carpeted areas that slow down wheels for department lingering.  You will see promotional items and impulse items around the track to stop and entice passing customers into entering the carpeted area.

A boutique, however, has a much different objective.  Boutique owners want customers to enjoy being there.  They should be surprised, dazzled and pleased at the unique items that they find as they go deeper into the store.  Boutiques often have a very random layout meant to stop and engage the customer every few feet.  Sections of the boutique may even be completely hidden by other displays until the customer rounds the corner.  This helps to facilitate the surprise factor when the merchandise is revealed.

Consumer Response:  Boutique owners want to further engage their customers by delighting the senses.  This adds to the boutique experience.  You will often see interesting lighting, colors, textures and designs.  Lights will be pleasing to the eye, not harsh or bright.  Smells of incense, perfume, soaps or candles will get the customer even more involved.  Calming scents can encourage more browsing.  The smell of suntan lotion can put the customer in the mood to buy swimwear.  The possibilities here are endless.

Merchandising:  The customer needs to be able to see what kind of items you offer by glancing, not by digging.  Slatwall or gridwall displays can keep the clothing facing outward where it is easily seen.  But, you still need to show what these items look like on.  Displaying a 3D visual, like a mannequin, is the most effective strategy of visual marketing.  If someone can see what items actually look like on, then they are more likely to walk over and check it out.  Limp clothing on a hanger doesn’t attract much attention.

Use these tips to help with setting up your boutique in an effective manner.  It can save you time, money and help you make loyal, long-term customers.

About the Author

About the Author: Ron Maier is the Vice President of S & L Store Fixtures, a leading online resource for retail display cases including mannequins, mannequin forms, gridwall and slatwall store fixtures. For more information, please visit http://www.slstoredisplays.com.

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