October 31, with the time change, the night plummets earlier than expected.
Even though it still feels like Summer, the threat of rain and the premature darkness, it's definitely very Halloween.
Celebration that, by the way, combines two of the things that have no place in my life: refined sugars and terrifying fictional references.
Because, there are enough terrifying real things already.
It is in this state of mind, with children in the background asking for candy (here of course there is not even a sugar cube), that I am about to put in order the thoughts with which I woke up this morning.
I was reflecting on what makes a brand successful, in addition to the quality of its design and materials.
I found that in the same way that music can be art or just another consumer item, in the same way, many brands do not stand out for their quality or design but for mere marketing.
Of course, having a celebrity wearing your products is the dream of every single manufacturer or designer.
But when there is no genuine quality product behind that celebrity, it's just smoke.
And even more so, when it is directly the celebrity, who puts products on the market, knowing that her fame is the only sales argument necessary for customers to buy it.
Understandably, granting licenses for the use of his/her name, in all kinds of articles.
Of course, in many cases the excellence of the product and the ambassador come hand in hand.
A few days ago, knowing that my little personal brand does not exist if it is not seen on Social media and on Google search engines, I decided to add the possibility of appearing on Amazon to my advertising campaigns on Instagram and Google.
I made the video call that verifies my identity as the owner of G&Silk and started the registration process.
Once my identity was verified, by a very kind young man who only read the sentences that he had in his manual as if he were a robot and not a person, I entered the virtual back room of the Amazon Seller.
I had barely been there for half an hour, when I saw that it was the opposite of user friendly,
( in my opinion), so I wanted to cancel everything, but by then, they had already charged me the first monthly payment.
I communicated it and they answered me that it had been a mistake, that they understood that I was requesting a refund.
They understood it, but they haven't reimbursed me and I only get @noreply emails, those who send links that lead nowhere.
So there you have me, a user of Amazon Prime, of the movies and series platform, and at the same time with the impotence of seeing that they keep something that is not theirs and on top of that, they do not make it at all easy to repair the error.
To this bad feeling, a documentary about this platform was added on Salvados, (a private Spanish television tv show) just last night.
Listening to how Amazon sellers recounted that they had lost millions of euros in merchandise and that no one gave them an explanation and how they received returns with different or used objects inside the boxes, I thought: "I've been spared, lucky me!.”
If there are companies that fail to make claims of 3 million Euros prosper, what can I expect with 50 euros improperly charged ahaha.
They want to keep the end customer happy, not lose him as a customer, even if along the way they annihilate small retailers who suffer serious losses.
But joining the two things, my recent experience and the documentary, this morning a deep sadness invaded me.
Sad to see under what unbearable pressure conditions these centers work, only for us to have what we have asked for the next day, which rarely requires such urgency.
Sad to see that to raise the blinds of a business you have to pay so many taxes and permits and licenses and they, on the other hand, have benefits from the administration to build their centers.
It is obvious that they generate employment in the area, but of course with many advantages, not to mention how they avoid paying taxes in Europe.
Sad for how thousands of people want to register, as I did a few days ago, to boost their sales, believing that they have found an ally, and what they have found is a direct competitor who will use their data and customers for their own benefit, they will never become a bridge between them and their clients and will never empathize with losses or incidents.
So I've put my feet on the ground once again.
After assuming that nothing can be done against fast fashion brands in terms of production costs, as I explain in a You Tube video, I now assume that G&Silk does not have the capacity to compete in the marketing arena that requires investments of thousands of euros every month in search engines and social networks.
What is the marketing argument to sell my products?
This is not a brand created by or carried by a celebrity.
It is not extremely expensive, with a logo that gives you status, it is not very cheap either, making a purchase irresistible
It is not the brand that appears on your computer every time you look for scarves on the internet.
It is not the one recommended by a sales platform.
So if you let yourself be influenced, you buy bargains or wear only big luxury brands or the first thing that appears in your search engine, you may never know us.
On the contrary, if as a consumer, you are curious, you value, in addition to quality-price, quality- human conditions in which your product has been made, then we already have a solid argument.
This is a family brand, created in a sustainable environment.
Slow fashion with respect for everyone involved in the process.
A 100% European brand respecting European regulations and laws.
Riding alone has many positive sides, especially the freedom to apply my personal values.
I feel lucky and grateful to have a business where we never send
@noreply emails. To me that is priceless, because lately even real persons responsible for customer care, talk like robots!
Hiding behind the virtual to avoid assuming responsibilities seems unacceptable to me.
An online but human and responsible business is possible, I do not conceive it in any other way.
The same thing happens with social networks. Why should having many followers inspire reliability? Everyone knows that followers can be bought.
That's why I don't collaborate with professional influencers, unless they are genuinely a fan of the brand and what we do.
Because if their value is measured by the number of followers they can influence, I have no way of knowing if they are real followers or boots.
This is Halloween night, I wanted to share this terrifying and real story that we are creating together.
We are giving absolute control to a handful of multinationals so that they can decide for us what we wear, what we listen to, what we eat.
Until we stop being selfish, the consumer society will create many millions of people who suffer in their jobs.
It is no longer enough for us to want fast fashion, we also want everything to arrive quickly.
From here I claim:
As an entrepreneur:
Taking time to do things well.
Respect equally: artists, craftsmen and customers.
As a customer:
Taking into account the conditions in which what I am going to buy has been made.
I confess that I have not closed my Amazon Prime account... I could have deactivated it, but ironically, in the same way I am glad I did not open a Seller account, I trust them when I make an online order.
But know that I know they totally mess with small businesses like mine and with their employees…I think I should.
If we changed the way we consume, the world would be a much better place.
That would be a tale with a Happy Ending.
You decide.
YES or NO?
Silky Kisses,
Gloria.
Scarf YES/NO
