Neely Woodson Powell, founder and CEO of the Charleston Shoe Firm, shared perception on the worth buyer engagement in her keynote on the ICX Summit held in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Neely Woodson Powell, founder and CEO of the Charleston Shoe Firm, is concentrated on three methods: promoting her standard shoe portfolio, empowering retailer staff and creating robust, loyal relationships along with her prospects.
All three methods have performed a important position in her 27-year-old firm’s success in addition to its development. However there’s another — Powell’s entrepreneurial ardour — which performs simply as robust a task, if not the strongest.
Powell’s ardour for retail and enterprise started in her younger years as her household ran “folks companies,” she shared throughout a keynote discuss on the ICX Summit occasion in Charlotte, North Carolina. The annual summit is celebrating its eighth yr and was held in tandem with the Banking Buyer Expertise Summit from Sept. 11th of September in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The ICX Summit brings collectively B2C manufacturers to study from business leaders, community amongst friends and listen to from high innovators with regards to revolutionary buyer expertise. The 2 summits are hosted by Networld Media Group, a number one business-to-business media communications firm specializing in digital media, associations and occasions within the cell, self-service, digital signage, retail, meals service and monetary providers industries.
Keys to retail success
Powell’s keynote discuss was considered one of practically two dozen keynotes and periods throughout the occasion.
In kicking off her keynote deal with, Powell, in a tongue and cheek second, described her firm “as an in a single day success.” It began with a trip journey the place she first noticed footwear being handcrafted by cobblers in Central Mexico in 1996 and was immediately smitten given their design and luxury.
Quick ahead just a few years and he or she discovered herself taking shoe design programs on the Savannah School of Artwork & Design after opening her first retailer in 2010 in Savannah, Georgia. Charleston Shoe Firm’s distinctive options include their treaded soles, elastic straps, washability and daring designs, which has earned the corporate a loyal following throughout the nation.
Her success is tied to offering an interactive buyer expertise and constructing the belief of the shopper neighborhood.
“Clients imagine within the product as a lot as I do,” she stated, including prospects are basically model ambassadors which is “magical.”
“We attempt for an genuine relationship. Clients come again and love to come back again,” she stated.
By 2019 Powell was working 32 retail shops, having launched 14 in 2019 alone. Her footwear had been offered on QVC, she had 250 staff and 350 wholesale purchasers.
Driving shoe pleasure by means of Covid
However a yr later Covid hit and all that modified. Powell closed the shops quickly and furloughed staff.
“We bought by means of it,” she stated explaining that she then launched a charitable “shoe pleasure” initiative the place the model donated 500,000 footwear to front-line well being care employees caring for Covid sufferers.
As soon as shops reopened, Powell was as soon as once more transferring ahead and her footwear at the moment are offered in over 800 boutiques as properly. In 2021 the model launched a clothes and niknaks line.
This yr Powell plans to open her first retailer within the Caribbean.
“Our product is superb and the tradition we’ve got constructed is tremendous vital,” she stated.
Easy however efficient buyer engagement
At that new location the staff will proceed a practice that started with the very first retailer — all employees sporting two several types of the model’s footwear.
Not solely is it a sensible solution to put product decisions entrance and heart within the retailer with prospects, nevertheless it’s additionally confirmed to be a really successful buyer expertise method.
“It is normally the very first thing prospects discover when stopping in a retailer. It makes it enjoyable. I need each buyer to come back into the shop and really feel like they’re purchasing of their greatest buddy’s closet.”
And, as a rule, she stated, a buyer might are available sporting their very own footwear however sometimes stroll out sporting their newly bought footwear.
“Constructing that relationship buyer expertise is priceless,” stated Powell. “It is the spine of our firm. Clients and staff are handled like family and friends and vice versa. It is the people who matter.”
That philosophy is the important thing to the model’s success, she stated. “We promote footwear and we’re right here to construct relationships.”
For extra perception from Powell hearken to an interview on the CX Innovators podcast.
