Ok lets face it…folks in the fashion industry can be very particular.  We create these brands and we care about them…we want to protect them and we don’t want to leave our “babies,” with just any ol’ retailer.

That means we have to discriminate a bit when it comes to picking the stores we sell to.  No matter how tempting it may be to imagine how black a new account could make our financial statements– selling our brand too short…too soon can have a detrimental effect that just won’t pay off.

Let me tell you a little story to illustrate my point….

A client of mine had these aspirations of creating a high end luxury lifestyle brand.  She imagined her stuff in the windows at Barneys, on the racks of the finest boutiques, on the homepage of international online retailer net-a-porter.com.  Her vision was crystal clear in her mind.  She believed in it and was excited to see it come to life….

But as she sat at her first trade show she watched buyer after buyer pass her by… they’d glance…comment, maybe even take a few pictures… They seemed interested but they weren’t buying….what was she supposed to do?

On the last day of the show, a slightly more mainstream department store paid her a friendly visit.  They were interested and ready to write an order.  I mean they were by no means a luxury brand….but one order from them alone could pay for the cost of her show, save her from hustling for more accounts when she needed to be designing and even allow her to give her consultant (me), a much needed bonus for all my dedication.. hard work, brilliant insight and commitment… (I know that’s right;).

And as much as I wanted and so deserved a little extra padding in my pocketbook I had to keep it real.  The department store deal didn’t make sense.  Of course we had the option of revising the strategy…adjusting our pricing, going slightly more mainstream— but it was only her first trade show.  Was it really the time to sell out?  Was an offer from one vendor offer enough to constitute a total change of plans?

Maybe eventually but not initially.

As you develop your brand you will sometimes have to resist the temptation of big business money…and just give yourself a chance to grow.

I advised that she stick to the program….the brand she wanted…the one she believed in….and the brand she worked hard to create with everything from imported fabric to the paper linen hangtags she loved that made for the perfect finishing touch.

So she took my advice and decided against the major retailer.  However, soon after the tradeshow she was able to acquire about 10 niche brand building boutiques that were interested in finding the next big thing…not just stuff that was sold in (nose in the air)… mid-tier department stores!

Now keep in mind the orders of those 10 stores didn’t even add up to the one order she turned down.

However–she wasn’t trying to host a thanksgiving day clearance sale–she was trying to build a brand.  That takes time.  And that means being strategic as well as pacing yourself.

Soon after she acquired her first 10 stores without a showroom she was picked up by one of the top international showrooms for her product category…who has since been able to place her in niche boutiques all over the world.  A lot more brand appropriate than being sold off to the highest bidder.

She’s since been featured as a top emerging designer in major fashion organizations and publications including Vogue…Not her hometown paper but…Vogue.

The moral of the story–If you have a vision for your brand let people help you refine that vision but don’t ever throw it out the window based on one tempting proposition.

If only for a little while…just believe–trust your gut and see what happens.  It could be better than you’ve ever imagined.

Debra Stevenson, FBI board member and founder of BuzzFlikr.com offers some key tips on staying smart in challenging economic times.  Now is not the time to freeze and ride out the storm…Debra suggests taking some action can help your business thrive in the midst of it all.

1.  Understand what consumers want right now.  We’re feeling cash poor but we still crave style.  One of my fave brands, Meghan Fabulous ( http://www.meghanfabulous.com/) moves excess inventory by offering a chic Sale of The Week directly to her customer mailing list.  The prices are seriously discounted, all her fans get a great deal and she stays liquid.  Genius!

2.  Don’t sacrifice your lifeline. As you’re cutting budgets or staff overhead, don’t compromise on key tools for success.  This may be a time to get out on the road yourself to spike sales.  Look for more affordable ways to        continue marketing, PR and media outreach.  Buzzflikr PR offers affordable rates and effective new ways to get your brand noticed (http://www.buzzflikr.com).

What can you say to a customer in only 140 characters? Quite a lot, as many apparel vendors and boutique owners are discovering on Twitter.

Twitter is a Web-based text messaging service where people exchange the same sort of short message you might send from your cell phone, but distributed to all of your friends, not just one friend at a time. Using Twitter you can send short updates to your “followers,” other users who have chosen to receive your messages. Twitter is often called a micro-blog service because it lets people communicate in a similar ways to a blog, but only 140 characters at a time.

The service is very popular, and although most messages (known as “tweets”) are about the minutia of daily life, there are a growing number of businesses using Twitter to communicate with their customers. For instance, @Comcast uses it for customer service, the @BBC sends out breaking news, and @WholeFoods sends out news and product information.

The service is also popular in the fashion and apparel industry. @Coutorture tweets about couture events and products, Daria Muirhead of @BoutiqueCafe promotes her podcast for boutique owners, and @closetcaucus, a fashion editor, expresses her love of fashion. I write about apparel marketing issues as @Clarinova.

You too can use Twitter as an inexpensive way to build your customer base and communicate with your customers.

First, sign up for a Twitter account at http://www.twitter.com. Be sure to use a username that represents your business well and fill out as much information as you can in your profile. Don’t send any tweets until you’ve uploaded a picture—the picture is important to establish a connection with your followers.

Second, send a few tweets while no one is following you. You can delete the ones you don’t like (look for the trash can icon) while you get the hang of it. Make three or four tweets that other people can use to get a sense of what you are going to write about, so they can decide whether they want to follow you.

Third, after you have made three or four tweets that you like, invite some followers. Followers are the people who are listening to your tweets, so you want as many followers at you can get who are also current or potential customers. There are several ways to invite people, all of them available from the “Find People” tab at the top of the home page. To get your first set of followers, you can invite friends via e-mail or import addresses from your e-mail account or social networking account. But there is a third way to build a set of followers that involves following other people who may be interested in your tweet because you are interested in theirs. This process is a bit more involved, so it is described in a separate article.

To be successful with a mass-communication tool like Twitter, it is essential that you remember that you are part of a conversation, not a broadcast: you must be willing to listen first, then people will be willing to listen to you. This has always been true. Markets are conversations, but tools like Twitter make this conversation explicit, impossible to ignore, and very valuable to businesses that understand how to engage in it.

Eric Busboom is the founder and CEO of Clarinova, a Web technology company that improves the online visibility of apparel vendors. You can ask him for help with your Web problems by sending e-mail to eric@clarinova.com.

If you’re a designer I don’t have to tell you how much samples cost to produce.

They can be 3-4 times as much as it will cost to produce your end product…when you calculate the higher costs of sample fabric, trim, cutting and sewing costs.

For that reason responsible sample management is key.

While each product should have its own individual tag attached for proper identification purposes, you should also attach a packing sheet… one you will keep file and put the other goes in the box.

Information on the packing sheet should include:

1.  The recipient’s contact information

2.  A list of all the product sent and its description

3.  The wholesale and retail prices of each garment

4. The purpose of the request

5.  An expected return date

6.  The Fedex number of the recipient–if their paying for shipping which Media and PR companies normally do..

As you think about creating your marketing plan for the coming season don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

With press for example…it could be extremely fulfilling to see your product in a magazine or on a celebrity but it’s important to note that press doesn’t always result in financial gain or even an increase in brand recognition.

That said think about a mix of marketing strategies that will help you accomplish your goals. You may decide to spread your marketing dollars across vehicles like the web, print or even promotional products.

Before you lay a dollar down for any marketing activity ask your self what you expect the return to be. It could be a specific dollar amount, a certain amount of traffic or something less quantifiable such as brand exposure.

This season it was nothing BIGGER than to get product placement in the Sex in the City movie. Most designers were obviously mentioned plus it was the most anticipated movie of the year. It was really the Oscar’s of product placement…a designer’s dream. Unfortunately, it’s the exception to the rule.

BUT…Don’t get me wrong…every little bit counts as part of your PR and marketing mix….but you have to work it!

Here’s what you can do:

–POST: Post any product placement shots you can get on your website…don’t forget to highlight your product.

–GET CREDIT: If you’re providing a lot of product see if the show will credit you at the end. This can’t always happen but it doesn’t hurt to ask right?

–WRITE ABOUT IT: Blog about it. If you’re featured in a popular show blog about it on your blog. Co-branding yourself with a popular movie or TV show even in a small way can have an impact on customer perception.

People have been inquiring a lot about how to send samples directly to the press.

Most of the time the press will only use your samples if they are working on a specific story or have requested them.

Since samples can cost you a lot of money it is best to be careful about who you send them to…how you send them….and knowing if they are going to be returnned and when.

To do this first send out photographs, looksbooks and linesheets….don’t send samples right away.

Follow up by phone or email and see if an editor is working on something that may be appropriate for your line. They may even call you after receiving your materials.

At that point most mags will give you a fedex number to mail product at their expense. They also may tell you when they are fitting or evaluating samples as well as when you can expect the products return.

With the popularity of websites like Myspace and Facebook rising every day you may want to add social networking to your marketing plan. It takes time to manage but it can be a cheap and viral way to market your brand.

Simply by signing up you’ll be given your own url and can begin uploading images of your designs for all to see.

Some companies are now even putting their social networking url’s on their business cards. Sign up and play around to see if a social networking site can help your company grow.

There are many ways you and your showroom can foster good relationships with your retailers.

Here are a few of my suggestions…

1. Put the Customer First. Call and visit stores to see how things are selling. This opens you up for in-season feedback where you are not just crossing your fingers for a re-order.

2. Give Credit. If you receive an editorial in a magazine which requires credit to a sales channel, give it to one of your most popular stores…not just your own website. Both of you can share the publicity and the buyer sees you as a true partner in the sales process.

3. Share Your Marketing. Do you have professional product shots of your merchandise that your stores may be able to use for their website or other marketing materials? Get permission from the photographer and share them. Sharing marketing materials with your stores gives them a reason to put your product on their priority list.

Good PR in the fashion industry is priceless. Literally. You never know what print editorial in Lucky, InStyle or even some of the weekly mags can bring to your business.

So how do you get your hands on it? Take FBI’s workshop on May 7th “Do PR Like the Pros,” hosted by PR guru Debra Stevenson.

She’ll teach you how to write blockbuster press releases and connect to hard to reach editors.

Click here for more information