The Monthly Edit | Guest Feature | August 2024
The Brand First Approach
+ Shopify Apps to Help You Scale in 2024
Performance Marketing is a hot topic in e-commerce. Since the rise of digital marketing in 2010, performance marketing has become a key focus for most fashion brands. We've seen various strategies emerge, including Paid Ads, Influencer Marketing, Organic Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. These social media platforms can contribute an estimated 60-90% of all Shopify traffic, if strategically planned and executed at a high standard.
On the other hand brands without strong Social Media presence may rely more heavily on Google Ads and SEO, making up approximately 50-70% of traffic. The remaining traffic often comes from Email Marketing, and direct traffic by genuine brand recall and referrals if you are nurturing this strategy.
Author: Carly Stirling
With an increasing collective goal to end fast fashion, it is no surprise The Business of Fashion has reported a significant increase in brand marketing spend for 2024, highlighting that "consumers’ emotional connections to brands are likely to be critical.”
Emerging or established independent Australian fashion brands cannot compete on price alone, competing on price will only lead to lower quality products, inconsistent business practices and most likely a confusing digital presence that consumers, in the long run, shy away from.
From 2024, if you haven’t already reconsidered what your brand stands for, now is the time. With legacy Australian fashion brands like Country Road, Witchery, Veronkia Maine and Trenery all entering brand elevation phases, it’s time to review and set a new standard for the future of your brand.
Carly Stirling, Brand Transformation Consultant at Studio Carly
A digital brand experience?
Before e-commerce, shopping was a beautiful experience in physical stores. It began with parking the car and strolling down the street to select a mall or boutique that sang to your heart. You’d open the heavy glass door and be greeted by a distinctive scent and the warm smile of the retail assistant. Inside, neatly arranged, colour-coordinated racks of fashion awaited, while the dimly lit change rooms made you feel exceptional in the mirror. Your purchase, wrapped in tissue paper and presented in a paper bag with a fabric handle, completed a memorable brand experience. This tangible, genuine interaction created a connection that made you return time and again. (and yes they still exist, though, like myself, online shopping has become the new norm for most busy people).
I am referring here to mid to high-end boutiques not those in the fast-fashion segment. This article addresses brands with a strong mission, purpose, and commitment to ethical, social and environmental impact. I’m speaking to those brands that aim to make a difference, not just a profit.
Without website traffic, online sales cannot occur. While strategies like SEO, Paid Ad’s, and software plugins have been crucial for scaling small, medium, and large brands, there is a downside. Over-saturation of SEO copywriting, poorly designed ad graphics, mixed communications, photography that doesn’t align and excessive use of unnecessary plugins can harm the consumer’s online brand experience and potentially damage brand equity.
The ultimate goal - to have a brand that sells but captures the heart of your customers at every touch point. A brand in the digital age that evokes the same emotional brand experience as visiting your favourite boutique. Noted by Paul Zahra “Customer experience is a key focus for investment dollars this year” via the Shopify Australian Retail Report 2024.
Shona Joy offering Virtual Styling Sessions, allowing customers to work with the team first hand.
Shona Joy adding additional garment fit and fabric charts to their product page, allowing customers to access fit and fabric at first glance.
AM Eyewear introducing Free Home Try-On with Try with Mirra, allowing customers to try before making a payment.
In my experience working with various e-commerce fashion brands over the past five years, one common factor stands out: the involvement of numerous creatives, agencies, freelancers, and team members in producing and publishing brand content. Each time-poor department or stakeholder often has their own interpretation of what aligns with the brand, which can lead to inconsistencies and in some cases, chaos. This is often due to brands not being clear on their strategy, the way they should look or sound, and some even missing brand guideline information altogether, all in the process of scaling.
With consumers interacting with your brand across 15 to 30 touchpoints, managing this can be overwhelming. It's not uncommon for brand founders to say, "I didn’t even know that was on my website…or…that was from about four years ago."
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THE BRAND FIRST APPROACH
Marketing agencies often focus on a simple equation: X spend = Y result. As your brand scales and grows, you’ll likely invest in various performance-enhancing technologies. However, over time, the cost of website optimisation and apps can become extremely high, in the midst of this, brand touchpoints and messaging can become diluted and chaotic. Brand equity and recall must be prioritised at the same time as achieving performed based results.
1. Review & Audit All Your Brand Touchpoints
Open Canva (or any design tool you're comfortable with).
Screenshot every single brand touchpoint your customers encounter. This includes your website (ideally every key page), social media profiles, Google my business, packaging, marketing posters, email signatures, storefronts, lookbooks, media features, and more.
Evaluate the consistency and quality of each touchpoint.
2. Assess Consistency and Alignment
Is each touchpoint consistent with your brand identity?
Does each touchpoint align with your brand’s visuals and messaging?
3. Dig Deeper
Examine social media posts, Instagram stories, blogs, PR releases and even older LinkedIn articles
4. Identify Brand-Damaging Elements
Look for anything that might be damaging to your brand and could negatively impact the customer experience. If you find anything problematic, take immediate action to remove or update it.
Before posting, printing, or uploading any content, ask yourself: Is this potentially damaging to my brand? Prioritise brand integrity over the potential for increased performance. always
If you’re uncertain about your brand’s positioning, ethics, or impact, book a strategy call with Elizabeth. For guidance on brand visuals, identity, and your Shopify store, schedule a strategy call with Carly. Elizabeth and Carly frequently collaborate on client Brand & Business Elevation Projects, with clients gaining optimal results. Reach out to discuss your Elevation Goals and how we can share our decades of experience to help you with your Future Growth Strategies.
CURATED TECH
Once your brand is streamlined and you’re focused on a brand first marketing approach, it's time to scale with the right “curated” Shopify Apps.
Tech—whether it's apps, programs, plugins, or software—is vast and constantly evolving. “The world is changing at an ever-increasing rate.” (Steven Barlett). In fact, several hundred to a few thousand new tech companies are registered globally every day.
Additionally, there are approximately 9,000 apps available in the Shopify marketplace, with many more software options that can be integrated into your store. Around 20-30% of these apps are focused on driving revenue. Prices range from free to thousands of dollars per month. While revenue-driving apps are valuable, it’s important to remember that they can also impact your margins.
In recent months, I’ve spent significant time attending webinars, participating in product demos, trialling and testing software and AI programs, and fixing or upgrading outdated software on websites.
I often find myself losing sleep over the constant challenge of keeping up. Especially when I still can’t get Siri to order my favourite pizza for delivery at 7pm while I’m driving home.
Now, let’s dive into the good stuff:
I’m recommending these standout Shopify apps that will help drive revenue without damaging the brand experience when implemented correctly and cautiously - quality apps over quantity.
*Prices are subject to change. Prices are in USD
Henne's Loyalty Program called "The Collector" allows annual brand collaboration at tier 1, and is designed around an art collecting experience.
The new rapidly growing Home Try On App. Australian Based, they will take a small percentage from “kept items only” but without a monthly app fee – making it a great app for small to large brands.
The wins - customers can feel the quality, try your fit, and only pay for what they keep. Data is proving AOV and sales are increasing across brands who have deployed this app.
Tolstoy | Video Shopping on Shopify
Israel & New York based, pricing starts at $19 to $299+ / month.
Tolstoy can integrate with Instagram reels instantly, limiting the time to upload video content to your website. Customers are loving buying from video and influencers. This makes me wonder about the future of brand photoshoots and campaign videos. While I still think it's critical to have your own elevated fashion shoot, lifestyle based content from ethical influencers is going to be vital.
For the larger brands: Here's where things can get a little more complex:
Bundling, Upsell and Loyalty Programs with Personalisation
In most cases, loyalty programs will have a better ROI and impact on brands turning over $1mil or more. When done right, brands can offer loyalty only discounts, free items and money-can’t-buy-experiences such as holidays, community events and even naming products or lines after VIP customers.
Research shows that “92% of consumers would become loyal to a brand if it offered them something”, Shopify Australian Retail Report 2024.
Rebuy | Upselling + Bundling
Bundling and upselling, smart carts and widgets, a whole shopping journey that can be elevated.
While you can trial some bundling and upselling techniques in Shopify alone, you can’t really optimise the messaging and integration as well as you can with Rebuy. Backed by data, this app will start at $99/month.
The team at Rebuy can help you set up correctly, to ensure a smooth shopping experience for your customers limiting the risk of messing up any code in your store.
Based in New York, with an Australia support team. Yotpo is a leading Loyalty and Referral app that also offers review integration, plus the potential to integrate with Rebuy - allowing upsells at cart based on Loyalty points.
Yotpo will also help you form a engaging loyalty program, you don't have to do it all alone.
Prices for loyalty can start at $199/month - $749+.
Yotpo launched email marketing and SMS in 2023.
Okendo:
An Australian based company offering loyality and reviews programs, and supporting some of the largest ecommerce brands globally.
After product demos with the team. I am impressed how they calculate tiered loyalty offers, taking the stress and pressure of the brand owner.
Prices for loyalty can start at $99/month - $999+.
Be lean with your apps – choose apps that may cost more, but save you in the long run. Premium apps will be built better, with better LOCAL customer support. Always attend product demos before subscribing. Use apps you can trust.
ONE MORE THING, SEO CONTENT
While on-page SEO can be an effective traffic-driving strategy, the content must remain customer-centric and brand-focused, rather than keyword-centric.
Copywriting and content on your website should be purposeful. Ensure that your SEO copy and blogs address customer problems, enhance your brand story, behind the scenes of collection development and promote the best features about your products, rather than simply drawing traffic through keywords alone.
Customer first marketing from Veronika Maine, “A series of inspiring conversations that celebrate the women who wear, love and influence Veronika Maine designs.”
Author: Carly Stirling
Carly is a branding and ecommerce specialist with 18 years+ in the fashion industry. From product design, garment
technician to graphics, branding, anything digital design and now websites, Carly has worked with multiple Australian brands to develop their identity, sell in-store and online.
