Creating a clothing company can be tricky, especially if you aren’t clear on what your brand embodies. The best brands in the world all have a few things in common: they have core values, streamlined aesthetics, and a consistent presence that shines through all of their offerings. You’ll want to cultivate the same killer lineup of traits for your new endeavor.
Fortunately, we have nine tips on how to grow your clothing brand. Stretching beyond the obvious answers, here are some valuable ways to get your feet underneath you as you establish your brand identity.
1. Figure Out Your Brand Identity
Successful fashion brands understand their identities. When trying to sell a product to an audience in a saturated market, they need to know what makes your product different. What sets you apart from the sea of options? Learning to embody your brand identity fully allows you to speak directly to your customers. When you do that, you let them connect to your core truth. Now, if that’s also reflected in your products? You’ve nailed the secret to success.
Most budding fashion entrepreneurs are looking to create something iconic. That comes with establishing the following three components of your brand identity:
- Core values. What does your brand stand for? What do you believe in? Is it sustainable fashion? Edgy styles? Sizing for all? Nail your values down and attract shoppers who align with them.
- Target market. Speaking of your future shoppers, who are they? Where do they shop already? What are their needs? How can you meet them? Get nice and acquainted with your target market.
- Aesthetics. Your style guide is a crucial component of your identity. What colors will you leverage in product and website design? Are they identical? Complimentary? What does your logo look like? Figure out how shoppers are going to identify you.
2. Leverage Social Media
Social media is one of the most powerful tools in a fashion entrepreneur’s back pocket. The world is changing faster than ever, and people are getting their information online. Most importantly, they’re getting it from their favorite social media platforms.
Position your brand’s presence on social media and angle yourself towards your target audience. Create engaging, consistent content to establish credibility and a strong presence.
How to Grow a Clothing Brand on Instagram
Instagram is probably the most important social media platform for new clothing brands. Succeeding on this channel comes down to a few main components, but once you master Instagram, your brand will soar to unprecedented heights.
Here are a few of the key factors to growing a clothing brand on Instagram:
- Use professional product photos
- Don’t underestimate the power of hashtags
- Engage with your audience
- Promote your brand wherever you can (stories, reels, posts, and other content)
3. Invest in Marketing
Marketing a new business is one of the most challenging parts. It’s usually more difficult for brands who dive into the process without pushing themselves to cultivate their brand identity. Since you’re reading this article, you’ve skipped right past this common stumbling block. After you feel like you’ve got a firm grasp on your identity, creating a successful marketing campaign is much easier.
A few marketing methods can yield high ROI for new businesses. Those are:
- SEO marketing
- Email marketing
- Social media marketing
- Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising
4. Foster a Good Relationship with a Wholesale Provider
There’s nothing more important than fostering a great relationship with your chosen wholesale provider. They’re going to be the backbone of your company. Many new fashion brands make the mistake of choosing the wrong provider or not doing enough research on the one that’s right for them. Opt for a wholesaler with quality pieces, a wide range of styles, and who shines in customer service. Good communication is vital in this relationship.
OrangeShine is a clothing wholesaler committed to providing you with all these benefits—and more. Check out our most popular products and get a feel for what we can do for your brand.
5. Opt for the Best Fabrics and Textures
If there’s one high that everyone is chasing, it’s the perfect t-shirt. You know what we mean. It’s the one that walks the line between too stiff and too soft, perfectly sits against your skin, and lasts through washes. Whether your brand sells t-shirts or not, shoppers want that same sense of euphoria regarding their other clothing items.
Because there are multiple fabrics and textures to choose from, test your picks thoroughly before selling them to your audience. How well do they hold up? Are they pleasurable to wear? If you create pieces so soft and perfect they’re addicting; you’ll have repeat customers.
6. Conduct Thorough Research
This goes in line with the previous tip but extends beyond the quality of items you purchase for your shop. In all startups, you risk jumping into the deep end without enough information. Swimming upstream isn’t a pleasant experience for any new business owner, but you can mitigate the struggle by conducting thorough research.
Rather than just selling your products, take the time to truly know them. Learn about the design, marketing, financial, manufacturing, and distribution processes. Set yourself up for success by equipping yourself with the knowledge you need to grow your business. Wondering how to grow a brand? This is one of the best ways to start.
7. Get a Grip on Your Numbers
There are many reasons to get a firm grip on the number side of your business, but especially in a startup, you need to get your head above water. Starting a clothing brand is a costly endeavor. Have a clear understanding of your initial investment and ongoing operation costs.
A good tip is to outsource where you can and invest in tools that set you up for success.
8. Create a Variety of Options
A mistake new fashion brands make is creating a single design and a select few products. It makes sense that business owners would assume this is the best way to go, but it’s better to have at least a few different options for your customers. When you’re just starting, it’s helpful to test which pieces and designs are working and which aren’t. It makes it much easier to pivot when you know what your audience likes and dislikes.
9. Innovate and Evolve
While it can be easy to get lost in the sea of chaos that comes with starting a new business, it’s important not to lose sight of why you began. The process of creating your clothing line is stretching, but it’s also a creative endeavor that can pay off in the long run. The best way to ensure continued growth and success is to keep innovating and evolving.
Keep an eye on trends and what your audience is into at any given time. Stay engaged on social media and keep developing new ideas for long-term growth.
Grow Your Clothing Brand With OrangeShine’s Quality Wholesale Offering
Starting a clothing brand is a fun, challenging, and rewarding experience. It can be difficult to get up and running, but partnering with a quality wholesaler makes it much easier.
OrangeShine is a wholesaler with a mission to provide your brand with gorgeous pieces and excellent customer service. If you choose to partner with OrangeShine, you can rest assured that our team will provide you with unparalleled communication and a curated selection of clothing.
Contact us today to learn more about our process and to see how you can get started.
