Fashion Capital - ‘People don’t buy what you sell

‘People don’t buy what you sell - they buy what you stand for’

At this difficult trading time, it would be helpful to get back to the fundamentals of running a business.

Plagiarism appears fashionable within tertiary education presently, Martin Butler, formerly Chairman of advertising agency RPM3 has written a book with the above title.

Martin's premise is that retailers need to know what they stand for in order to present a persuasive enough reason for a customer to enter their shop rather than that of a competitor across the road, who might well be selling the same product. He argues that too many retailers today are tied up with servicing the daily needs of customers, having the right amount of stock, retaining and motivating staff, book-keeping etc to the detriment of thinking about the relationship their customers have with their shop and why they choose to shop with them rather than elsewhere.

Thinking about how you sell rather than what you sell and what makes the customer feel good about you, the shopkeeper, and what you sell is crucial to success. He uses the analogy of swimming in the sea, it is only when you step out and walk up the beach that you see the whole vista. Whilst retail is detail, seeing the bigger picture is also vital.

Retail is about the margin and this can be achieved by ‘scale' through minimising the price a product is bought at or maximising sales by increasing stores. Alternatively it may be achieved by maximising the price a product is sold at or maximising sales in store and this is achieved by ‘adding value'. Growth and prosperity in the past has come from increasingly arise from adding value, brand value. Increasingly it will be about positioning and presentation, the application of ‘brain over brawn'.

Martin's dictum is that there are six essential questions ever retailer needs to ask:

Where did your company come from?

What is the heritage? What was the original idea of the business?

What's it in business for?

What's its primary reason for existence?

Is there anything that distinguishes it?

What makes it special? Is it tone or style?

When it comes down to it, where do its priorities lie?

Good branding is all about consistency and coherence

What is the benefit to your customers of buying from you?

Charles Revlon stated ‘In the factory we make cosmetics, but in the store we sell hope'.

Can you express it simply?

‘
The best brands don't make a song and dance about it - it's about culture and how you run your business'.

Tim Danaher, editor Retail week.

‘I think that more and more people are learning that you have to simplify, not complicate. That is a very Asian idea - that simplicity is the ultimate sophistication'.

John Sculley, former Chairman of apple computers.

If you would like to learn more about Martin Butler's views on branding your business, you can purchase the book from bssa for £14 incl p&p - just email

John Dean, bssa Chief Executive

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