Entrevista com Laura Padilha da Ibélia Acessórios - PARTE 1

Summary

In this insightful conversation, Laura Padilha, a fashion industry veteran, shares her journey from struggling to identify her career path during her studies to launching her own accessory brand. She highlights the importance of internal research for personal growth and business success, discussing how customer insights and external factors influence her design choices. Laura also emphasizes the value of social media tools like Instagram to connect with clients, gather feedback, and refine her brand’s offerings. Through practical examples, she demonstrates how understanding client needs and industry trends is key to achieving brand success.

Takeaways

• 😀 Laura emphasizes the importance of internal research before making decisions in fashion and business, understanding both what you want and don't want.
• 😀 Her career path in fashion was initially uncertain, but through research, she was able to identify her interests and focus on production and events.
• 😀 Research is key in creative fields, whether designing a product or creating a campaign. It helps align with the brand's purpose and ensures decisions are assertive and effective.
• 😀 Understanding your customer is essential. Laura's experience shows how research shaped her business and product offerings, including adjusting her target audience over time.
• 😀 Social media tools like Instagram provide valuable insights and allow businesses to engage with customers directly, gathering feedback through interactive features like polls and questions.
• 😀 Through customer feedback, Laura realized her brand appealed to a different demographic than initially expected, showing the importance of staying flexible and adaptable in business.
• 😀 The pandemic affected consumer behavior, with people opting for smaller, more practical accessories. This shift highlighted the need to adapt to external factors in product development.
• 😀 Laura used external events, like the World Cup, to design and launch relevant collections. However, she also showed how context and timing matter, especially when sensitive issues like politics are involved.
• 😀 The success of a product can depend on timing and understanding when customers are most likely to purchase, such as aligning product releases with pay cycles or significant events.
• 😀 Ongoing engagement with customers through surveys and feedback loops helps refine product offerings and allows businesses to make informed decisions based on customer preferences.
• 😀 Laura shares that over time, with experience, her understanding of her customer base became more refined, making her product offerings more targeted and successful.

Q & A

What is the significance of internal research for someone entering the fashion industry?

Internal research helps individuals understand what they truly want from their career and what they don't want. This self-awareness is crucial for making informed decisions, especially in a creative field like fashion, where personal preferences and alignment with one's values play a significant role.

Why does Laura emphasize the importance of researching what you don't want?

Laura stresses that understanding what you don't want can be just as important as knowing what you do want. In her own experience, she quickly realized certain areas like manual drawing and model-making were not for her, which helped her find her true passion within fashion.

How does Laura’s perspective on fashion work align with the role of research?

Laura believes that research is crucial for any creative project, whether it involves designing a product or creating a campaign. By aligning with the purpose of a project and understanding the audience's needs, research helps in making decisions that are more targeted and effective.

How did Laura’s perception of her target audience evolve when she launched her accessory brand?

Initially, Laura thought her brand would cater to a young, modern, and trendy audience. However, through research and customer interaction, she discovered that her real audience was older, often mothers, who preferred simple and practical accessories.

How does Laura gather customer insights for her business?

Laura uses Instagram as a key tool to engage with her audience. She conducts informal surveys, such as question boxes, to learn about her customers' preferences and needs, ensuring her collections align with their expectations.

What role does external context, like current events, play in launching a new collection?

External factors, like political events or national holidays, can greatly impact the reception of a product. Laura provides an example where she delayed launching a collection during the elections to avoid any political connotations that could harm her brand's image.

How does Laura use customer feedback to optimize her product offerings?

Laura monitors the performance of her collections, noting which products sell the most. For instance, while she expected bold statement earrings to be popular, it turned out that smaller, simpler items sold better, which led her to adjust her future designs accordingly.

What challenges did Laura face when transitioning from online to physical stores?

While online sales offer convenience, Laura found that opening a physical store allowed her to better understand her customers in person. It provided insights into who was buying her products, helping her refine her designs and marketing strategies.

How does Laura define the connection between product research and customer satisfaction?

Laura believes that research is not just about understanding trends or colors but also about actively engaging with customers to make informed decisions. By communicating directly with customers, she can tailor her products and offerings to better meet their needs and desires.

What is Laura’s approach to launching a collection at the right time?

Timing is crucial in Laura’s strategy. She engages with her audience to understand when they are most likely to make a purchase, such as when they’ve received their salary. This helps her schedule collections for maximum sales potential.