Store employees are best “brand advocates”

Winter is coming – the best time for clothing purchases. In this period the retail industry is focused on getting clients, often marginalizing the issue of engaging its staff in the brand. Building relationship between the employee and the customer is regarded as less important topic.

As the experts of the British agency Visual Thinking noted, retail industry operates on similar principles as fashion: customers choices are determined not only by the quality of the product and its price, but also feelings and personal preferences. The most difficult issue from the point of view of the brand is building ties with the recipient based on the client’s personal feelings. Stephanie Coyles and Timothy Gokey sum it up in an article for the “McKinsey Quarterly” business magazine: “Some category of customers stay loyal for years because they are emotionally connected with the brand”. These emotions include much more than the customer may receive during visit in the store. It depends a lot on an employee who can have an emotional relationship with the brand. As William J. McEwen put it eloquently in his book “Married to the Brand. Why Consumers Bond with Some Brands for Life “: “Most retailers are good at arranging a “first date” with a client, but building the sustainable marriage with the brand is completely beyond them.”

Similarly, as choosing particular lifestyle and getting its attributes (including these financial) gives people a sense of identification with the selected social circle, emotional engagement of the employee in the store enhances the feeling that choosing particular brand is a sign of membership in a particular social group.

One of the best examples might be the success of Apple. Employees in this company are not only the persons selling or servicing products. They are authentic “brand advocates”, treating Apple as a phenomenon worth the sacrifices. Nevertheless, potential of employees engagement in building a sense of the uniqueness of the brand is phenomenon much older than the history of products with the apple on the cover.

Let us take an example from the world of fashion. Dr. Martens, Fred Perry and – our client – Levi’s are the icons in the world of youth culture and pop culture of the twentieth century. The legendary “501” jeans were worn not only by the most iconic movie and music stars and their fans. Employees are also the enthusiasts of Levi’s trousers. This legendary aspect is still the fundamental part of Levi’s brand.

We proudly remind you that in our portfolio we have over 50 projects in 15 countries implemented for Levi’s in 2014 with total amount of 5 044,2 m2 of equipped space. In 2015 we have implemented more than 90 projects in 18 countries with a total area of more than 7 000 m2 of equipped space.