This afternoon Rachel Zoe, CEO Rachel Zoe, Inc and Editor-in-chief of The Zoe Report of Rachel Zoe, Inc sat down with Ruth Stubbs the Global President of iProspect. The women discuss the newest trends in retail: digital marketing.
While many people believe that retail is a dying industry, Rachel Zoe isn’t convinced. “Retail is not dead it’s just changed,” said Zoe.
In today’s industry, you must have a good product and you have to be good at how you sell your product. To begin doing this, every brand needs to find their voice. A great way to do this is through social media. Zoe made the point that she in fact is not the expert in social but she finds people who are social experts to tell her what’s going on. She says that it’s all about knowing who your audience is.
Once finding your place on social media, you need to find who your influencers will be. Make sure that they are people who have similar values to you and your customers. If they appear unsure about how they feel so will your customers. Your influencers need to be genuine, otherwise your customers will see right through them.
Zoe also advises that once you and your brand decides on a message to convey, make sure to stick with it. You can’t be all things to all people, it’s just not physically possible. If you try to do a million things, you will go through an identity crisis.
Even if you fail, if you are learning, it will help you succeed. Zoe reflected on the many mistakes that she has made throughout her personal and professional life. She said that without those failures, she wouldn’t be where she was today.
Along her way throughout the industry, Zoe created strong relationships that have lasted the transition from stylist to partner. She believes that the relationships with these companies that she created prior to today helped them be what they are now. From her previous experience, it offers her the ability to think from both perspectives.
You may be wondering, what drives Rachel Zoe to be the business woman she is today. She says that it was her interaction with a woman who had recently read her book multiple times to help her feel unstoppable during chemotherapy treatment. From that moment, Zoe decided that she wanted to help people to live a lifestyle that they feel empowered in.
Another way that women can feel empowered is how organically they have recently been taking leadership roles in this industry. Zoe thinks that this has happened because women can do a lot like be mothers, be in business, be creative. We have taken tremendous strides but this is only the beginning according to Zoe.
Remember: retail isn’t dying, we just need to adapt.