I have been doing ALOT of online shopping lately because apart from selling stuff online I also buy stuff online.
Haha :)
I have seen many many many many shops and the number on my favorite list is scary more than 100 shop names listed.
click to enlarge
From Livejournal sites to blogspot sites to owners who bought their own domains.
Let's be honest here if you are a hardcore online shopper like myself who sees more than 20 online shops in a day let's face it they all look the same after a while. The clothes are similar, the names are similar, the web site designs are similar...
It would take a lot of work in styling the photoshoots and the clothing designs to make the shop appear different from any other shop.
But even in this area most online shops are pretty much similar to the other. Pretty girl posing in front of a standard white background in a sweet demure or sexy fashion.
For evidence of this just click next, next, next and scroll down here
So what makes anyone shop different from the other?
After much thought into this matter I have concluded that it is:
Branding.
Yes you heard me right. It is the only ammunition online shop owners have over a multitude of choices online shoppers have take note I have not even brought in ebay or forever21 online shop or many other international brands into account.
Why? because the self owned, self done, humble online shop be it, blogspot or livejournal cannot even attain a fraction of that market value that forever21 has attained or any other international brands have attained.
We cannot compare ourselves to international brands.
However we can learn from these international brands and formulate a plan to combat the sameness, the mundane pattern that has become standard among so many online shops.
How do you build a brand than?
Let's look to the international brands! The most obvious thing would be the photo shoots.
Take Guess by Marciano and Miu Miu for example
By looking at the photos we can have a feel of what the brand is about.
Guess is definitely giving off the sexy siren appeal and they are well known for their fitted corset tops and dresses.
Miu Miu has a darker more mysterious feel. The clothes are classy and would appeal to a more sophisticated customer group.
We can see the evidence of this from the webpages Miu Miu and Guess by Marciano.
What about the humble online shop?
Some online stores have the money to splurge on photoshoots at exotic locations but the reality is most are not able to do so.
The alternative would be to do something with the webpage and the banners and the logos.
However most online shops I visit do not have a logo or a website banner that really makes me remember the store.
Most banners look the same with a simple pattern and than the name of the shop in bold placed on top of the pattern.
I said before that I saved alot of online shops into my favorites list. I like the clothes which is why it made it into my favorite list in the first place.
But I just feel that it would be even more wonderful if the shops had a logo or web banner that would make me remember the store for the BRAND rather than just the clothes alone.
This I feel is important because competition to sell clothes online is tough especially when consumers are spoilt for choice with so many places to get the items from.
Its important to have something that stands out, that makes one different from the rest.
I admit some shops have very interesting names that I can remember but with more than 100 shops saved in my favorite list and I am sure there are some girls out there who save like a 1000 online shops and counting in their favorites list.
However an interesting name alone is not enough to make one remember the shop. An interesting name paired with a visually appealing logo would further imprint the memory of the brand into the customer's mind.
Which brings me to the point of why I started Brand Cityy. I want to help make branding something accessible to all online shops. And I also enjoy designing logos and web banners and coming up with new things every time :)
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