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How To Market a Fabric Store: 7 Easy Steps

Written by Like Sew | Jan 21, 2025 1:00:00 PM

Have you ever wondered how to market your fabric store in the current market? 

We get it: Balancing new trends while staying true to your brand can be challenging.

But don't worry — with the right tools in place, it's easier than it seems. By following a few simple steps, you can create a welcoming space that speaks to both new and long-time customers.

In this blog, we’ll share seven steps to follow that’ll help improve your fabric store's marketing.

Let’s get started.

Related Read: 7 Quilting Trends To Look Out for in 2025

Step 1: Understand Your Audience

To successfully learn how to market a fabric store, your first step is to understand who your customers are. Think about the people who walk through your door or visit your website. Are they long-time quilters, beginners, or somewhere in between?

Getting to know your audience means digging a little deeper. What fabrics do they love? Do they prefer vibrant patterns or subtle hues?

Of course, each customer is unique, but consider them as a group. Generally, what do they like? What are their interests? Understanding these details helps you tailor your marketing to their tastes.

To keep up with these details, create a general customer profile by noting all the qualities of your average customer. This profile can include age, interests, and buying habits.

With a clear picture, craft messages and offers that resonate. By knowing who's interested in your fabric store, you set the stage for meaningful connections and repeat visits.

Related Read: Offering A Quilting Subscription Box at Your Store

Step 2: Build a Strong Online Presence

Creating an online presence is key when figuring out how to market a fabric store. A user-friendly website is like having a virtual storefront that never closes. It gives your customers a place to browse your products and learn more about your business, all from the comfort of their home.

Start by ensuring your website is easy to navigate. Make sure customers can quickly find what they’re looking for — adding high-quality images of your fabrics and clear descriptions can make a big difference.

Luckily, you don’t have to be a website designer to create your fabric store’s website — you can leverage fabric-specific software to help you easily build your site.

Don’t forget about social media, either. Platforms like Instagram and Facebook are great for showcasing your beautiful fabrics and engaging with your community.Share photos, behind-the-scenes peeks, or even tips and tricks for fabric care. This is a great way to show off your brand personality.

Remember: Your online presence is an extension of your shop. Keep it aligned with your brand’s personality, and you’ll attract new faces and familiar ones!

Related Read: How To Manage Serialized Inventory in Your Fabric Store: 6 Pro Tips

Step 3: Leverage Email and SMS Marketing

Email and SMS marketing are powerful tools for effective fabric store marketing. They keep you connected with your customers, no matter the season or time of year.

Imagine crafting the perfect campaign for the holidays, highlighting festive fabrics and special deals. Or maybe a summer sale showcasing your new prints.

It sounds nearly impossible. There’s not enough time in the day to create all those campaigns, right? Wrong. With email and SMS, you can tailor your messages to fit any occasion to keep your store top of mind.

Automation can significantly lighten the load, too. When you set up automated campaigns, you can make sure your messages go out at just the right time — without having to lift a finger. Now, you can focus on running your store while your marketing works in the background.

There are tons of different softwares you can use to market your fabric store. Look for one that’s already integrated into your point of sale (POS) system or e-commerce software. This way, you don’t have to manage too much software at once.

Whether it’s welcoming new customers or reminding loyal ones about an upcoming sale, email and SMS marketing help you reach your audience in a personal and timely way.

Related Read: 9 Mistakes To Avoid When Building Your Online Fabric Store

Step 4: Host In-Store and Virtual Events

Hosting events is a great way to market your fabric store while bringing people together. Whether it's in-store or virtual, events create a sense of community and excitement around your shop.

Consider hosting quilting classes or sewing workshops. These are great opportunities to showcase your fabrics and share tips with beginners and advanced sewers. Plus, they give customers a reason to visit and engage with your store regularly.

If your customers can’t always meet in person, virtual events are a great option. These allow you to reach a wider audience, including those who might be too far to attend in person. Think about live-streaming a tutorial or hosting an online fabric swap.

A mix of in-store and virtual events keeps things flexible and fun for customers — they help build relationships and keep your store packed all year.

Related Read: 5 Networking Tips for Quilt Store Owners

Step 5: Create a Loyalty Program

Creating a loyalty program is a smart move when marketing your fabric store. It encourages repeat business and makes your customers feel valued and appreciated.

Think about what rewards would most excite your customers. Offer discounts on future purchases, exclusive access to new fabric lines, or even free items (like a rotary cutter) after a certain number of purchases. The key is to make the rewards desirable enough to keep customers coming back.

A well-designed loyalty program also helps you gather valuable insights about your customers' preferences and shopping habits. This information allows you to personalize offers and make your marketing even more effective.

An efficient POS system lets you create a loyalty program within the same platform. Look for a POS that is fabric-specific and it will be much easier for you to set it up.

Loyalty programs create loyal customers and help drive more sales. A successful loyalty program turns occasional shoppers into devoted fans by creating long-term relationships that benefit your business.

Related Read: Fabric Inventory Management: 4 Tips & Software Tools

Step 6: Sell Your Products Online

Selling online is a must when marketing to your fabric store’s customers. It lets you reach people that live too far away to shop at your store in person. Plus, it’s an easy way to drive sales.

If you’ve implemented the second step, you already have a user-friendly website with proper photos and descriptions. The hard part is done.

Try offering special deals online to get more people browsing your site — this is a great way to drive traffic and increase visibility.

Look for a system that handles both in-store and online sales seamlessly. This way, you can manage your inventory and orders without any hassle.

You may soon find your e-commerce site drives more sales than your physical store. A fabric store website helps drive more traffic to your store and gives your customers a reason to come back.

Related Read: What To Do With Fabric Scraps: 10 Small Business Ideas

Step 7: Track and Analyze Marketing Efforts

To truly market a fabric store effectively, it's important to keep track of your marketing efforts. By analyzing what's working and what isn't, you can make smarter decisions and improve your strategies over time.

Set clear goals for your marketing campaigns. Whether it's increasing online sales, attracting new customers, or promoting class attendance, having specific targets helps you measure success.

Use tools that track key metrics like website traffic, email open rates, and social media engagement. This data gives you insights into your customers' preferences and helps you understand which strategies are most effective.

And don't forget to review your loyalty program and event attendance. These provide valuable feedback on customer satisfaction and engagement.

To get accurate data, you need a robust reporting hub integrated with your marketing software. An effective marketing software makes integration easy (that is, if it's not already built in).

With the correct data, you can optimize and perfect your marketing strategy. Good business is all about making data-driven decisions.

Related Read: Opening a Quilting and Fabric Business: 6 Things To Know

How To Market Your Fabric Store With Like Sew

Now that you have a clear picture of how to market a fabric store using these seven steps, it's time to put your plans into action. Each step is designed to help you connect with customers and grow your business.

Like Sew is the all-in-one POS solution you need to streamline your marketing efforts. With its comprehensive features, Like Sew makes it easy to implement everything we've discussed (and more), including:

  • Website integration: Build and manage a user-friendly online store.
  • Email and SMS campaigns: Create automated, personalized marketing messages.
  • Loyalty program management: Set up rewarding strategies to keep customers coming back.
  • Event coordination: Organize in-store and virtual events with ease.
  • Sales tracking: Monitor both in-store and online transactions.
  • Analytics and reporting: Access detailed reports to track performance and optimize strategies.

 

Like Sew gives you all the tools you need to take your fabric store's marketing to the next level. 

Ready to see how our software can work for your business? Schedule a demo today to start crafting your success.