Surprise and Delight, The Fashion Industry

Customers, obviously, are a natural part of the fashion industry. Who’s going to buy from someone who has no idea how to talk to customers? Surprise and delight are the key to happy customers, and also the key to good sales. The fashion industry relies on interactions between customers, clients, agencies, and creators.

Customer Service Strategies

A big part of fashion is sales, which means another big part of fashion is customer service.

We were sent on a mission, to explore nearby Chinatown and pick a store to go into or purchase something from, and report back with our customer service experience. Later armed with a bubble tea, we dissected our experiences together as a class. Naturally, some people had good experiences, some had neutral, and some had not so great interactions.

We even hit social media to evaluate a large company’s not-so-great customer service strategies. Social media is hit and miss with customer service, and seems to be the most effective way to get fast customer service, because of the disaster that social media can reap on a brand’s reputation. Google reviews are king in the world of customer service!

Note: Each business topic is covered over a two week period. So, next week will be a repeat of Customer Service Strategies.

The Fashion Industry

For those who haven’t worked in the fashion industry, there are elements of it that are definitely very unique.

Networking is one of those elements. Having a strong network is important in lots of careers, but I like to explain the fashion industry as a place where “everyone knows everyone, and everyone’s business”. It’s a small world, especially in Sydney, where six degrees of separation definitely rings true.

We discussed everything from our personal stories in the fashion industry, through to terms that some of us hadn’t heard before. The guest teacher this week was a stylist, who has worked with a plethora of brands, PR agencies, and influencers. For someone like me, coming from a freelance modelling perspective, it was an interesting conversation to see the other side of the fashion industry. The side that you don’t get to interact with much when you’re predominantly a clothes horse.

We also spoke about our ambitions in the fashion world, which for me, has taken some time to figure out. It’s no secret among my friends and family that I collect an issue of Vogue US every month. The passion that I have for collecting the magazine stems from my interest in content curation, which definitely has started to take shape through The Fashion Graduate. I’m excited to see where this interest takes me, and the stories that I’ll have to share in the future.

Stay tuned for future weekly fashion school posts, and check out my other blog posts for freelance modelling tips, stories, and advice!