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3 Secrets Behind Asos’ Success

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3 Secrets Behind Asos' Success

asos

What’s behind Asos’ 38% increase in sales?

“Asos is making good progress towards its ultimate goal of becoming the world’s number one destination for fashion-loving 20-somethings.”

These are the words of Nick Beighton, CEO of Asos, the online fashion and beauty store that has sold £889.2 million worth of goods in the last 6 months.

Asos has just released their sales figures, and in the six months the company has made a huge £440.1 million in gross profit, with a 38% sales rise and a 29% increase in active customers.

In this post, we’ll be dissecting key elements of Asos’ strategy, and offering actionable insights that you can apply to your eCommerce store.

1. Clearly define your target market, and tailor everything to them.

It only takes one look at Asos’ Instagram to know who is buying their products.

With bright colours, modern styles and young models, Asos are undoubtedly after the fashion conscious teenager/millennial market.

One factor in Asos’ success is that they have tailored everything they do to a specific demographic.
There are no inconsistencies, no ‘general’ content.
Niching down has allowed Asos to create content and adverts that engage their market, turning Asos into a fashion authority for young people.

2. Leverage Social Proof with User Generated Content

Imagine this scenario…

You’re at an amusement park, and there are two roller coasters in front of you.
Ride A has a long line of excited customers eagerly waiting to jump on-board, whilst Ride B’s line only consists of two very bored looking people.

Considering the waiting time isn’t an issue, which roller coaster do you feel more compelled to ride?

Probably Ride A, right?

You’ve just been influenced by ‘social proof‘.

“If all those people approve of Ride A, then it must be good!”

Social proof is the brain’s shortcut to making decisions based on the validation of other people, very often, people similar to yourself.

And it’s incredibly powerful.

Asos have created social proof by introducing a special hashtag, #AsSeenOnMe.
Customers post photos of themselves wearing Asos apparel on Instagram, using the hashtag in their caption.

Customers get their shot at fame by being featured on Asos’ website, and Asos generate an incredible amount of social proof for their products.

Dependent on your industry, you may be able to utilise User Generated Content to drive more sales.

If you sell products that appeal visually, then encourage your customers to post photos or review their orders online.
If you’re selling digital products, such as courses, encourage customers to share their results or achievements on social media.

If you choose not to feature your customers photos on your business’ social media or website, you may instead want to offer a discount or special offer to customers who do this, just as an incentive.

3. Make Good Great Customer Service a Priority

Did you know that Asos have achieved the fasted possible message ‘response time’ on their Facebook page?

I wanted to test this, so I sent Asos a message myself.

Within 10 minutes they had got back to me with a warm, personalised reply.

Responding to customer enquiries and complaints rapidly should be one of your biggest priorities.
Helpful, honest and fast customer service can make or break an online store.

It can save disgruntled customers from withdrawing their business from you, and it can help nurture a positive reputation for your brand.

In a world where ignored complaints now have the ability to go viral on the internet, it is especially important.

All it takes is one complaint to go viral and it could damage your reputation permanently, unless of course you’d be willing to part with a large amount of cash for a reputation management company to help limit the damage.

Eliminate this possibility.

Look after your customers and your customers will look after you.

Hopefully, this article helped you identify some areas of improvement for your eCommerce store.

Asos have done incredibly well, fast becoming one of the world’s biggest online fashion retailers.If you’d like to get started selling online with your own store, contact us, we’d love to help turn your vision into a reality.