Top Shop Exhibits Top Level Service
2020 will go down as one of the most memorable and impressionable years of our times for a variety of reasons. The predominant topic under discussion is — “COVID-19”. Perhaps, linguists in the U.S. should have waited before crowning the Word Of the Decade in January 2020, as we were yet to learn of what would befall our fates in two months later. Businesses are trying their best to cope with the chaos, maximize digital presence to survive by starting conversations, maximizing conversions thus leaving a lasting impression.
To this end, Top Shop is a fashion brand trying to stay afloat amidst challenges faced by retail clothing businesses the world over. Top Shop attempts to differentiate itself by providing high-quality style, convenience, and by implementing a product diversification strategy.
The Digital Delivery
During the initial stages of the Coronavirus outbreak, Top Shop developed a bad rapport when customers were unable to get refunds for their products along with being incorrectly charged for products and delivery. Since the customer service phone lines and emails were shut down, customers were left in the lurch. Top Shop learned from their mistakes quickly and set up avenues on social media where customer service was quick and reachable for its audience. One of those touchpoints was a Top Shop Help twitter account which dealt with service issues. Additionally, the Top Shop Instagram page with over 10 million followers contains a direct email link to their customer service department.
From a brand recognition perspective, the official Top Shop twitter page has easy to identify product offerings and a light mood on its posts. This pandemic has taught us all that a happy customer becomes a lifetime customer. Top Shop is trying its best to guarantee the highest level of comfort to its customers. To cement its digital presence, Top Shop has taken the initiative to have an engaging Snapchat account and make use of the newly released Reels feature of Instagram.
The Top Shop Persona
Top Shop is known for its British style, heritage, and also for its celebrity collaborations which include Beyonce, Kylie, and Kendall Jenner. It has a friendly, fashion-forward, and approachable presence on its digital platforms. This brand identity has remained intact throughout the coronavirus crisis. Since Top Shop aims to attract a younger demographic, it has offered a 10%–20% discount for all students all year round. The Top Shop blog is another way the company is in sync with its young and trendy brand image. The blogs offer style guides and general sartorial advice. There is consistency in their brand voice on all digital platforms and the image it has cultivated with 60 years of history. Top Shop has done well to keep customers happy by involving them in its marketing strategy but still falls short of unshakable loyalty among its segment.
Post-Covid-19 Communication
Transparency in communication with customers is as important as the clarity of the business. Understanding the product offering alone is insufficient to help capture additional market share. Creating a sense of community has become a necessity. The method of communication, how feedback is valued, and turned into actionable plans has gained importance in today's virtual world. The customer base must be incentivized to become stakeholders in the brand's engagement efforts for them to stand out and succeed in a post-Covid-19 era. Collaborating with the customer promotes loyalty and my long term results. Social Media is atop the communication hierarchy. It is the easiest and most efficient global reach program. Through these digital channels, brands will need to show consideration for and appreciation of their customers to communicate that customers are more than just a mechanism behind profits and losses. The creative mix of media strategies must be personalized to address changing needs. The future will be very different than what we had imagined, however, adapting is inbuilt in the human cognitive architecture. Therefore, I believe that we will come out of this “wiser” than ever!
