Customer stages

Mack - here are the details of how we are getting on with developing the customer stages in the N.E. wear project.

Interest - We have attracted the interest of our target audience by being interested in the same things that they are. We have an advertising presence in outdoor events and extreme sports, and have run a series of commercials linking N.E. wear with adventure and sex, both things which are often on the minds of young adults. In short, our target buyers know we exist.

Prospects - We are cultivating those customers who are interested in buying our products by explaining to them what we offer that rival brands do not. These are - prestige - N.E. wear is determinedly top-of-the range. Quality - N.E. wear clothing is not just for poseurs. We have tried to make it the clothing of choice for outdoor professionals, such as mountain guides and ranchers. And though we never simply cut prices (bad for the image) we do offer freebies - like the T-shirts that come with the jeans.

Customers - We want the buying experience to be as friendly and as pleasant as possible. Our 'buyers' visit stockists of N.E. wear products, and try to make sure that the clothing is presented in a suitable environment, and that sales staff are friendly and knowledgeable. If they are not, we send a note to the company's head office explaining the nature of the problem. With WJ clothing, for example, we were forced to withdraw N.E. wear from the shelves, and set up our own boutique shops where rival clothing retailers were not available.

Repeat customers - Customers know that if they come to buy at a N.E. wear stockist while wearing one item of N.E. wear clothing, they can get 5% of any other item. The advantage of this is that it gets a lot of youngsters borrowing their friends' clothing to 'pull a fast one'. This means that a. they get the chance to try out NE wear, and b. they come into our outlets intending to buy.

Evangelists - This is the most valuable type of customer one can have - one who not only buys the product, but actively promotes it to his or her friends because they truly believe in its value. Customers are blasé about TV recommendations and advertisements, but they are suckers for the recommendation of someone they know who has tried the product and liked it. This is another reason why NE wear clothing is aimed at the type of people who end up as the leaders of whatever group they are in.