Country_Homes_and_Interiors_-_November_2019

MY COUNTRY BUSINESS

HOW TO BUILD A

COMPETITIVE BRAND

DON’TBEOVERLOOKEDWiththe

textileindustrybeinghighlycompetitive

andfullofbigbrandswithevenbigger

budgets,it’seasyforsmallercompanies

togetlostinthecrowd.‘It’simportantto

targettherightcustomerswiththeirown

uniqueorspecificinformation,’says

Julia.‘Thiswillhelptobuildup brand

trust,loyaltyandbusiness.’

FINDYOURUSPTOATTRACT

LIKE-MINDEDCLIENTS

‘Imakeauthentic,culturallyand

archive-inspireddesigns,’saysJulia.

‘I knowmytextilesareofspecific

interesttoa certainamountofpeople.

It’snotforeveryonebutit’sfarbetter

todrawa smallerbutcorrectcrowd.’

MAKEYOURWEBSITEWORKHARD

‘AlthoughI havestockists,theydon’t

havefullstock,’saysJulia.‘Acustomer

mayhavea fabricsamplebookintheir

shop,buttheywon’thavemyscarves

orallthecushions,sothebestwayfor

metodrivesalesis fora retailclientto

visitmywebsite.I makesureit’swell

stockedandfrequentlyupdatedwith

new items. I write blog posts to keep it

informativeandI producenewsletters,

whichnon-subscriberscansee.I don’t

wanttobombardpeoplewithlotsof

emails,sothisway,visitorscandipin

andoutoftheinformationtheywantto

view.Newslettersandblogshavetobe

morethanjustaboutdrivingsalesto

gainattentionandyouhavetobefar

morecreative.I’mpassionateabout

whatI dosoI hopethiscomes through

inaninfectiousupdate!’

TARGETTRADESHOWS‘I’vedone

largeandsmallfairswithdifferent

outcomesinvariedtimescales,’says

Julia.‘Largeinteriorsshowsaremore

expensive,andyoumightnotseeany

benefitsfora whileduetoleadtimes,

buttheydoattractclientsfromfurther

afield,evenworldwide.Smallershows

letyoubemorespecificwithregardsto

salesdrivingandI canchoosetomarket

justoneitemorprovideanoverviewof

mybrand.I alsodoa coupleofseasonal

giftshowsatChristmasandlinkupwith

myPolishcommunityatanother.Make

sureyouresearchwhoelseis attending

thefairandwhereyou’llbepositioned,

so you attract the right people.’

USESOCIALMEDIAWISELY‘I make

gooduseofvarioussocialmedia

platformstogetmymessageoutorto

doresearch,whetherit’stofindbusiness

clientsortoreachtheendpurchaser,’

saysJulia.‘I founda fairviaFacebook,

whichI attendedandit wasreally

successful.Thisplatformis greatfor

findinga like-mindedcommunityand

industry-connectedforums.Instagram

is a funmarketingtoolwithinstant

rewards.Textilesarelargelyvisual,so

Instagramreallyfitsmyproduct,andit’s

muchbetterthanTwitterforwhatI do.’

ENCOURAGEWORDOFMOUTH

‘Thereis nothinglikebeing

recommendedbysomeoneelse,’says

Julia.‘Apersonalsuggestionfrom

someoneinstantlyendorseswhatyou

doasa brand.Thisis a bitharderto

steerbutbeingseenintherightplaces,

showsandpressis a goodstarter.I go

outandseepeoplequitea lot.I tryto

keepawareofnewshopopenings,but

I alsoliketoinvitepeopletovisitmy

studio.It putsmydesignsintocontext,

andit’salwaysgoodtoseebehind the

scenes and have a nice chat.’

❝

IT’SIMPORTANTTO DISTINGUISHWORKTIME

FROMFAMILYTIME.I LOVE MYJOB,BUTSOMETIMES I

HAVE TO RELAX AND DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT

❞

The one lesson I’ve learnt...

FEATURE

AND STYLING

SARA BIRD/THE CONTENTED NEST

PHOTOGRAPHS

DAN DUCHARS/THECONTENTED NEST

COUNTRY HOMES & INTERIORS 77