Voz by Daniella Arcila

TABLE OF CONTENTS Mission Statement 1 Story 3 What they stand for

SWOT Analysis 7 Competitors 10 Customer Analysis 13 Benefits of having an app

Introducing the app

Customer retention 28 Marketing 29 Outcome 39

Mission statement With my capstone project I aim to help VOZ make an impact by introducing them to the latest trends in retail and technology. Being able to evaluate their existing business provided me with the necessary insight to develop a unique strategy for the brand. After thorough research, I found that the most efficient way for VOZ to experience growth is by tapping into the m-commerce trend. As mobile shopping takes over e-commerce, many retailers stand to gain monumentally by developing native retail apps in order to reach out to all their prospects and customers. Launching an app and providing customers with an instant and engaging experience allows Voz to be at the top front of the market. Furthermore, enabling the customer to freely navigate through the app and browse exclusive information about the brand, automatically deepens the relationship between Voz and the consumer.

Story VOZ is a collection of luxury artisanal ready-to-wear apparel founded by creative director Jasmine Aarons. Influenced by the traditions of the Mapuche culture in Chile, Voz collaboratively designs handmade garments, accessories, and jewellery, celebrating the craftsmanship of weavers and silversmiths. Voz honours and empowers artisans creatively, economically and culturally by providing free technical educations, sustainable and ethical employment as well as a platform for the protection of cultural knowledge such as sacred symbols and ancestral loomed techniques. Recently, they are thoughtfully building new relationships with indigenous artisans in South America, starting with Qu’ero weavers in Puno, Peru, and are expanding their collaborations to various native communities throughout the world. In 2013 VOZ was certified as a B Corp under Apparel and Education Programs. In Chile, they provide sustainable materials sourced as locally as possible and employ artisans to naturally dye yarns according to their families’ traditional processes – this protects their environment and propagates their dye recipes among their weaver groups. All fair trade wages are negotiated transparently with the weaver group through a consensus process. They buy finished textiles from weavers at 50%-100% higher prices than neighbouring artisanal NGOs or organizations.

What do they stand for? VOZ was founded to be a force for helping indigenous artisans in Chile. The local nonprofits were not generating enough revenue to solve the problem, so the company was founded as a for-profit alternative. Still wanting to promote the ethics and values of a nonprofit, they became a B Corp and proudly show off the badge on every page of their online store. Conserve artisans traditions and share them with modern culture Voz is a platform for cultural preservation where indigenous elders share knowledge and technical abilities with artisan youth. Give authorship to artisans behind the designs VOZ empowers the previously hidden culture of its artisan partners and bridges rural communities to the global fashion market through collaborative design. Promote the brandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s effort towards sustainability and transparency They establish rural production chains from organic raw materials to final product, and thus provide creative and financial freedom to marginalized women. Expand its market Presently operating in Chile and Peru, VOZ plans to scale globally.

STRENGHTS

WEAKNESSES

Environmentally conscious

Lack of information provided in the website

Provide creative and financial freedom to marginalized women

Does not offer a seamless experience across its platforms

Offers the artisans in developing countries a living wage

Poor engagement with customers

Establishes rural production chains from organic raw materials to final product

OPPORTUNITIES

swot

THREATS

Transparency about the brandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s products, process, workers, factories, etc.

Established luxury brands stepping into sustainability and technology

Create brand and customer loyalty

Popular fashion apps already in the market

Act as a pioneer amongst its competitors by tapping into the latest trends in technology

Ability to quickly reach financial security in order to experience growth

HIGH

QUALITY

LOW

HIGH

PRICE

LOW QUALITY 10

“Wearable, modern, fun and elegant…for a sophisticated lady who is looking for bespoke experiences in her clothing.”

Jasmine Aarons

Customer analysis The Voz customer is known as the conscious consumer who values ethical behaviour and transparency in everything from employee rights and fair wages to the supply chain. They strongly believe that information about supply chains, materials and processes can be an inspiring part of a brand and product’s story.

SHOPPING BEHAVIORS The Voz consumer tends to be very concerned about issues regarding the origin of products. They seek out ways to make positive decisions about what to buy and look for a solution to the negative impact consumerism is having on our world. Issues such as equal pay, environmentally conscious manufacturing processes and overproduction of goods are all at the forefront of these consumers’ minds when making choices.

Complementing this growing trend of the conscious consumer is the rising use of technology in our daily tasks. Within the retail industry, technology has proven to be the key to dealing with the challenges created by consumerism. Open data, social networks and mobile tech can change the game. With technologies, retailers can enable transparency in supply chains and their overall business.

According to research, 72% of consumers want to learn more about corporate sustainability initiatives and 75% would be more likely to purchase a product if a company is making an effort to be sustainable. Adding to that, 74% of customers would pay an extra 5% for their clothes if there was a guarantee workers were being paid fairly and working in safe conditions.

Nearly three-quarters of Americans check their mobile phones at least once per hour and almost all – 90 percent – of that mobile-phone time is now devoted to using apps, an analysis reveals. On average, people have 26 apps installed on their phones. Furthermore, recent reports suggest that 85% of customers favour apps over mobile websites.

Celine Age: 28

Director of Public Relations

Income: 70,000

Aware of Sustainability

Sophisticated

Appreciates Culture Diversity

Benefits

OF HAVING AN APP

Having a web presence alone is no longer sufficient as consumer trends continue to shift toward mobile and apps become an integral part of the shopping experience. As a result, many retailers are developing apps to provide customers with the best omnichannel shopping experience. Even luxury fashion brands are tapping into this new generation in order to reach out to all their prospects and customers. Small companies as well are now taking advantage of the benefits that a mobile app can provide in attracting customers, speeding sales, and building a brand. This rise in mobile-phone usage means that smartphone apps have become a key marketing tool for companies of all sizes. Mobile apps increase engagement with customers. They boost repeat visits and permit a wide variety of online transactions, including the deployment of loyalty cards, push promotions, and e-commerce transactions. Apps deliver coupons and send announcements that build your sales with customers. They also accelerate contact with your company, which enhances relationships with customers in a world where speedy responses are prized by buyers. Based on research, customers that use a retailerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s app stay longer in the platform, return more and buy more. Furthermore being able to send push notifications directly to the customerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s phones results in instant engagement with the app. Studies reveal that 30 to 60 percent of users open push notifications and about 40 percent interact with the app immediately following the notification. Developing a mobile app for your brand will not only put you at the up front of the market but it will also create an instant, engaging experience for the customer.

key points EASY ACCESS REINFORCE THE BRAND BUILD RELATIONSHIPS BUILD LOYALTY INCREASE VISIBILITY GENERATE BUSINESS - REPEAT BUSINESS PROVIDE ALL INFORMATION IN ONE PLATFORM MOST AFFORDABLE AND EFFECTIVE WAY TO REACH OUT TO CUSTOMERS

Introducing

VOZ NEW APP

Voz will launch its new app as an effort to deepen its relationship with customers and promote transparency of the overall brand. A broad part of the app will focus on providing customers with information about the artisans, factories, production process, weaving techniques, etc. By doing this Voz is able to achieve its main goal, which is to empower the artisans behind the production and design of the garments. In addition, the app will show behind the scene photography of indigenous lifestyles in Chile, culturizing viewers about the Mapuche people and their living traditions. Tutorials of the artisans traditional weaving, dyeing and cultivation of fibers will be offered for customers who are interested in building cultural intelligence. The app is designed to be used as a lifestyle app, where customers can learn, apply and share information to their daily life as a step to become the ultimate conscious consumer aware of the community, the environment, and current issues affecting our world.

Features

OPENING PAGE

HOME PAGE

Once downloaded, the app will open the landing page displaying the latest collection editorial. Followed by the Home page, the user is presented with a pop-up menu where they are able to choose from a variety of info tabs. About page provides customers with an overview of the brand and its mission.

ABOUT

MEET THE ARTISANS

The Artisans page will consist of different artisan profiles showcasing their work done at Voz. Information on materials they use and techniques executed to create the product will be shared on this page as well.

The Travel to Chile page allows customers to peek into Voz factories located in the Mapuche Village of Aucarania, Chile. They will have access to view different environments where the Voz artisans reside. Shown here is one of the Voz houses where the user is able to peek inside by tapping into the photos and founding out details of their traditional house designs.

TRAVEL TO CHILE

PEEK INSIDE

OUR HOME

Further on, a live chat is available for customers looking for a quick response. Here they are able to either write or call directly with just one tap. The Shop section of the app provides customers with the full product range as it is available on the website. After choosing their products they will be able to access their Cart. In order to complete their purchase, they must sign up or log into their account.

CHAT

SHOP

Customer retention

Push notifications are largely viewed as a great mobile marketing tactic to attract customers into an app. Over the course of the years, push messages continued to improve app user engagement and retention hence companies increasingly taking the path to personalization. One of the most effective uses of push messages is to encourage inactive users to re-engage with an app. When crafted as a friendly reminder or helpful tip, push notifications can better position an app in the minds of users. Although this may sound all beneficial for the brand, some customers dislike constant reminders of attention and prefer not to be bothered. Therefore, allowing them to explore the app before asking him/her to enable push messages will increase the possibility of customers agreeing to opt in. Push notifications about new features, deals, and collections added to the app will be sent to subscribers. Instantly promoting the newly added content and receiving an immediate reaction from customers. Reminding users to continually return to an app, helps keep the brand at the top of their mind and strengthens the relationships throughout the user lifecycle.

Marketing To promote Voz new app and guide potential customers smoothly from the website to the mobile app, a pop-up advertisement will be incorporated into the websiteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s homepage. Also, to further encourage customers to download the app, Voz will offer a series of promotions catered specifically for the app users. To start off, customers will be offered 30% off their first purchase in addition to receiving a one of a kind small accessory designed just for the launch of the app. The accessory giveaway will only be offered the first three months after the launch as a way to entice customers into downloading the app and making a purchase. Further on, Voz will continue to offer exclusive deals just for the app users, encouraging the customer to maintain active and loyal to the brand. In addition to promoting the app through the website, Voz will focus on social media advertising as their primary resource. Catering the required content specifically for each platform and using hashtags such as #VOZNEWAPP and #empoweringartisans will help create awareness across Voz customer base.

The pop advertisement will redirect the customer to a new page where the app will be explained further.

At the end of the page there will be a direct link to the iTunes store, making it easer for the customer to view the app.

SOCIAL MEDIA Social media marketing will be a big part of the marketing strategy for Voz. Based on research, using social media marketing can enable small businesses to further reach to more customers. Nowadays customers are interacting with brands through social media, therefore, having a strong presence is the key to tap into their interest. The ad campaigns for the app continue to follow the brands aesthetic with a minimalistic presentation adding short and simple phrases to enforce the purpose of the app and further intrigue the customer to check out the new platform. Each post will contain a short caption with hashtags created just for the purpose of promoting the app. This will be followed by a direct link to the iTunes store in order to facilitate the search and download of the app. 33

Instagram Facebook Twitter

Analytics Smartphone usage has been on a tear as of late. Nearly three-quarters of Americans check their mobile phones at least once per hour, according to a Gallup survey. Almost all – 90 percent – of that mobile-phone time is now devoted to using apps, an analysis reveals. Nowadays people spend 174 minutes on mobile devices every day. Mobile sales are estimated to have reached $74 billion in 2015 — up 32 percent from 2014. Thirty percent of all online purchases by Millennials are done on mobile devices. This jumps to 33 percent for moms and 43 percent for U.S. Hispanics. However, apps aren’t just for commerce businesses. Push notifications can be used by any niche to put your brand name directly in front of the smartphone owner. Apps can be used for any type of activity: booking systems, file uploads, vouchers, newsletters, digital magazines, support, providing information, showing videos and so much more. Even businesses that you wouldn’t have thought would benefit from an app are proving critics wrong by producing innovative and engaging apps. Non-game app downloads are estimated to grow 23 percent in the next five years, exceeding $182 billion in 2020. Smartphone adoption in emerging markets should see mobile app store downloads more than double between 2015 and 2020. Current data about mobile purchasing across the different age groups gives a strong indication that in 5-10 years, everyone is going to be a mobile shopper.

Outcome Voz has the potential to thrive in the market as the leader of sustainable fashion. Its methods and efforts to protect the environment enable the brand to step forward on every aspect of the market. With consumers now becoming more aware of what they buy, companies look for ways to reach their demand by exposing their business as transparent as possible. A unique opportunity exists for Voz to connect with customers by providing exclusive access to the brands business model, ethics, and values. As an effort to offer customers an exciting and engaging experience, Voz will launch its new app featuring behind the scenes content of their over seas factories, production process, workers, etc. This will help create customer loyalty and brand awareness further maximizing sales in the future.

REFERENCES http://www.ecouterre.com/help-voz-bring-its-artisan-crafted-chilean-clothingto-new-york-fashion-week/voz-jasmine-aarons-2/?extend=1 https://www.fashionkind.com/collections/voz http://www.madebyvoz.com/pages/story https://angel.co/jasmine-aarons http://buildfire.com/fashion-retailers-mobile-apps/ h t t p : / / m a d e b y v oz . t u m b l r. c o m / p o s t / 9 4 0 9 5 3 6 7 3 8 9 / v oz - a s - a - c e r t i f i e d - b corporation http://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2015/feb/06/how-mobileecommerce-changing-fashion-industry h t t p : / / w w w. f o r b e s . c o m / s i t e s / a l l b u s i n e s s / 2 0 1 4 / 1 1 / 1 7 / h e r e s - w h y - y o u rbusiness-needs-its-own-mobile-app/#173d106b5c76 http://blog.como.com/2015/02/4-ways-keep-customers-returning/ http://www.madebyvoz.com/blogs/community/92514823-vozwoman-abigaildoan https://econsultancy.com/blog/62326-85-of-consumers-favour-apps-overmobile-websites/ https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/articles/mobile-app-marketing-insights.html http://punchmobility.com/the-benefits-of-having-an-app-for-your-business

by DANIELLA ARCILA