Create a unique product for each of your customers.
by
Deborah Gardner |
May 02, 2012
|
(0)
BUSINESSES TRY DIFFERENT WAYS TO CONVINCE YOU TO BUY THEIR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES. At Astor & Black, that means making the product all about you.
Custom clothier Astor & Black has provided quality clothing and personal service since its inception in 2004. It focuses on delivering a natural fit via custom fittings conducted at customer homes and offices by professional clothiers. Suit, jacket, shirt and overcoat materials are hand cut, reviewed and sewn to a unique customer template, which is centrally stored and adjusted for future orders. Your professional clothier delivers your items personally upon completion.
“When you have this amazing, highly knowledgeable master clothier come to your home or office for appointments, they listen, look and learn what your needs are and what your style is all about—and then they help you. This is not a service or product that is easily replicated and our customers love it,” says David Schottenstein, founder and CEO. “And from a competitive standpoint, it’s a very compelling offer.”
Ultimately, the core strategy is to create a unique product for each customer’s fit and style. That sense of quality and service makes each suit a limited edition of one. Even the final price is controlled by the customer’s fabric selection.
And Astor & Black understands the “gender concept.” Many men don’t have time to shop, but appreciate the details. They want to be in a happy and well-styled place quickly. Women want fit, selection and style, and they love the creation process.
Company execs believe that service and customer experience are their best products. And because of that, the company has surpassed its national competitors in the custom clothing space.
“Personalization is the present and the future for us,” Schottenstein says. “We’re fully committed to the idea that it should always be about our customers and what they want. We will continue to be passionate about turning people on to the incredible feeling they get when putting on a well-made, custom garment for the first time. You can see it in their faces; they’ll never go back to the rack.”
Astor & Black suggests paying close attention to growth patterns. Company execs have experienced consistent growth over the past eight years, so they decided to add private investors to the company. Schottenstein may only be 27 years old but he knows that “the real secret to success is surrounding yourself with people who are more knowledgeable in their own personal niches than you are and realizing that you don’t always have the answer.”
What makes your core strategy the right fit? One+
Deborah Gardner
Deborah Gardner, CMP is the principal and founder of two successful companies, a business specialist and consultant for DG INTERNATIONAL, and a speaker/trainer for COMPETE BETTER NOW! LLC. - a company that helps translate competition into higher sales, better customer service, stronger negotiations. Deborah is the author of How to Sell to Men without Wearing a Low-Cut Dress which was released this summer with rave reviews. Deborah is a member of the National Speakers Association, a 26 year veteran in the hospitality sales industry, an 18 year MPI member, immediate past president for the Arizona Sunbelt MPI Chapter, and currently the Arizona State University project director for the MPI CMP on-line study guide.
Deborah has a special page dedicated to the MPI community: www.DeborahGardner.com/Topics/MPI
TAGS:
column,
customer service,
marketing,
One+ May 2012,
personalization,
strategy