By: Andrea Mac | September 13, 2023

If you can only take me in small doses, here’s what’s new:

More than ever: I am working across so many industries right now – professional services, real estate, finance, manufacturing, consulting, and media to share a few. As a self-professed sales nerd, it’s so cool to see how my tools and methodologies translate to every audience, and any stage. Also, as a learner, it’s fascinating to observe the cultural differences between industries.

Does anyone have a referral: I am looking for a PR resource/agency/partner to collaborate with for the Prequal brand.

Speaking of brand: Do you ever think about the things that have seriously benefitted from a rebrand – Avocados (on toast!?), Trailers (Tiny houses?!?) and Fanny packs (cross bags?!??). Gee, who was the branding expert that originally named them fanny? I kinda want to shake her hand.

Building Prequal Vol. 10: Evereve

Have you heard of the clothing brand Evereve? It used to be called Hot Mama, and in my professional opinion, changing its name was a good branding move.

If you know Evereve, you love them, yes? If you don’t know them, let me tell you why you should love them. And no, this is not a sponsored post.

I have followed this brand for quite some time. I bought my first item in 2008, a sweater that I still have and love. I’ve bought many pieces since, and all my best wardrobe staples are from there.

I subscribed to their trendsetter box for a while. I’m on a first-name basis with my local store’s reps (shout out to Christina and her daughter, Coco!). I follow the CEO Megan Tamte on Instagram and love her feed equally for its fashion advice as well as Meg’s missives about living with teens (yes, I call her Meg). Evereve’s clothes are timeless but on-trend, polished yet approachable. I love and wear a lot of their stuff and currently have my eye on some shoes.

I am the definition of a super fan and will happily tell every woman I know about this amazing, down-to-earth clothing brand. (Men, have I lost you all at this point?)

Being the supporter that I am, the moment that Evereve announced it was opening its headquarters for a tour, collection preview, and meet and greet, I jumped at the chance. Space was limited, and I could not click reserve fast enough. Meet Meg AND see where the magic happens? Count me in. It did not matter that I was flying to Minnesota for no other reason than getting to spend an hour immersed in all things Evereve.

This is what super fans do. And if you’ll let me put my revenue consultant hat on for a moment, this is why you and/or your business need super fans. They are your ambassadors and cheerleaders out there making connections and drumming up business without you even knowing.

Flash forward to last week. My calendar hit me like a ton of bricks. Important client work made the trip to Minnesota impossible. I tried to move mountains to make it work, but in the end, it just couldn't happen. I had no choice but to cancel.

Does my story end there? Of course not. Those of you who know me well know that of course I wasn’t just going to show up to the event and attend it passively. I had a plan.

I was going to introduce myself to Meg and hand her an Observations, Insights, and Recommendations (our “OIR”) report. This is a standard report Prequal produces with most consulting engagements. It lays out strengths, weaknesses, where to improve, and what areas of improvement will yield the quickest, best results. The report is basically a company’s roadmap to revenue growth.

So instead of being able to hand it to Meg in person, I emailed it to her event people. Why? Because I’m a super fan and doing anything to ensure that Evereve thrives feels important to me.

My OIR report included the following:

• Use the space in the catalog more effectively. Evereve started sending printed/paper catalogs out about 2 years ago. They do a good job ensuring representation and adding some stories, and for a slim catalog (maybe 12 pages), there are more than a handful of pages that have one or two photos. Often, a full close-up of a model. I imagine a catalog is an expensive investment for the company (and the sacrificing trees). My suggestion: Make it worth it for the reader. Fill up the pages with many products, and show me multiple ways to wear the pieces. These pages could absolutely be used to sell more products. Your job is to sell me clothes and a less stressful experience getting dressed - make it easy for me.

• Evereve has a pretty good grasp on their target shopper. They have done a much better job in the last few years shifting their brand away from just moms, stay-at-home moms, and casual wear. Now, they carry more blazers, coats, heels, and pieces that can satisfy my professional and personal needs. So, I think it makes a lot of sense to use the website real estate and curate outfit ideas based on situations. Not only, does this reinforce that they understand me and my life, but it also makes it easier for me to purchase. (Are you sensing my shopping priorities here?) Can you imagine going to a website and finding outfits organized by what to wear to a school function? Or what to wear from work to a personal outing? Items that can be worn casual and dressy? When you want to buy one trendy piece? For school pick-up, etc. It’s an interesting UX thought. Organize content and products around usage for me, the buyer.

• Loyalty – I’m pretty loyal to this brand. It’s often my first go-to when I need to purchase clothes. I don’t think I get anything for my loyalty. Not even some small number of points that probably wouldn’t amount to much. I did get invited to this headquarters tour, but invite me to special events locally, offer me early access, free shipping – anything? I’m kind of over brands that reward new customers and not returning ones. Why is there so much focus on “winning” new ones instead of nurturing existing ones? Every brand reading this should be focused on their current ecosystem and investing in that audience.

I hope my OIR report is accepted in the spirit it was created. It’s certainly not a criticism of what they’ve been doing. It is more of a love letter written in business consultant language.

I’ll keep you posted if anything happens.

-A

P.S. My hands down favorite item of theirs – these Agolde jeans. I wear them all the time. If you get them, tell them Andrea sent you. Again, I promise this was not a sponsored post. If you’re an Evereve fan, please let me know in the comments. I can’t be alone in this.