A fashion manufacturer with a declining business engaged the interim manager to develop and implement a go-to-market strategy for important product innovations. At the same time, the interim manager was tasked with improving the company's image.
The company operates in the so-called "imprint market" and the "corporate wear market". In these segments, textiles (T-shirts, hoodies, jackets, pullover shirts, etc.) are supplied to promotional retailers via textile printing and embroidery companies. On the other hand, large companies purchase specific corporate clothing. Customers include the automotive industry, security services, insurance companies and many more. The quality requirements often differ considerably from the classic consumer fashion market. In addition, these markets are much more sluggish when it comes to fashion influences.
Technical innovation and ecological awareness as challenges
The main external factors influencing the imprint and corporate wear market include new technical achievements such as the further development of digital printing machines. However, the increasing ecological awareness of companies and consumers also poses challenges for the industry. The commissioning company has a good reputation due to its low production tolerances. At the same time, however, it is considered too conservative.
Separate sub-brand with product-specific core messages in focus
The interim manager therefore developed a go-to-market strategy that appeared fresher and younger in terms of content and formats. Together with product management, product development, trade marketing, digital and traditional sales, the interim manager first developed the product-specific core messages. These were placed in the communicative focus. A separate sub-brand was registered in order to also group future products in this category under one bracket.
Go-to-market strategy developed along the customer shopping path
The project was structured along the customer shopping path (awareness, search, evaluation, purchase, after sales) and further subdivided into measures for wholesalers, textile finishers and end customers. The focus was also on shopper awareness, search and evaluation.
More attention through cross-media and cross-format campaigns
Samplings, made possible by registration on the website and trade magazine distribution lists, brought the products into the hands of textile finishers for testing. By registering on the website, the company was also able to significantly expand its address database in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation. This significantly increased the reach of the email marketing campaigns for the various target groups and generated new addresses for sales.
Targeted promotions flanked the awareness initiative and far exceeded expectations. The channels included Amazon Marketing Services and Google Ads (Headline Search, Product Placement Ads) as well as website marketing (banner advertising). Content marketing via social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook) and YouTube as well as PR in trade journals or with bloggers were further elements of the promotion campaign. With a YouTube campaign, the company achieved 700,000 "full views" in 6 weeks. The budget was less than €15,000.
The interim manager was able to agree digital and print catalog campaigns with all major distributors. The company provided all webshop operators with a database of search terms free of charge, thereby increasing the search success for its own products.
Product tests with very good results support B2B communication
Product tests at all relevant machine manufacturers for textile finishers and the publication of these test results in trade journals, online portals and blogs clearly highlighted the technical advantages of the products. Participation in the Amazon Vine program led to an outstanding rating of 4.2/5 stars.
This result increased confidence in the integration capability of the products, which is particularly relevant for larger textile finishers such as Spreadshirt or Vistaprint, who rely on a smooth production process with little waste.
Sell-in campaigns and pre-order bonus create many new customer contacts
The company created planning security in its own production and procurement with attractive sell-in campaigns and a corresponding pre-order bonus for wholesalers. At the same time, it ensured sufficient availability of the products on the market.
A promotional website for textile finishers, i.e. the sales level for wholesalers, rewarded the proven purchase of the products with various benefits. This measure proved to be extremely successful and generated many new customer contacts and associated sales.
Go-to-market strategy increases market share by 10 percent
Overall, the go-to-market strategy initiated by the interim manager achieved the best product launch in years. The market share increased by 10 percent from around 30 to 33 percent. Brand awareness in the target group increased from 56 to 62 percent. The integrated go-to-market strategy not only increased sales, but also generated new customers and new markets. The company's downward trend was halted and the company gained momentum with a positive trend.
