We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Becki Feldmann. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Becki below.

Becki , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. One of the most important things we can do as business owners is ensure that our customers feel appreciated. What’s something you’ve done or seen a business owner do to help a customer feel valued?

We have done some pretty typical customer recognition and appreciation things like a loyalty rewards program, gifts, special sales, and more. What I think sets us apart is the personal appreciation experiences that we offer to our customers. Appreciation isn’t just about gifts. While that might be the most common, it isn’t always the most meaningful! That’s what sets us apart in how we recognize customers.

For our second birthday we hosted a VIP Champagne Brunch to spend quality time with our customers. It wasn’t just about shopping. It was about spending time with our customers who really have become friends!

We also recently created a Brand Ambassador program where we ask some of our active customers to be a part of our mission to “empower women and build confidence through style.” Not only are we spending quality time with these customers but they are also able to get a discount on clothes they wear at the event. They feel proud to help other women feel comfortable and confident in our clothes too.

Lastly, we try to lift up other women in everything that we do. We do fundraisers for causes that are important to our customers. We host customer events where they can share their business too such as wreath making, cookie decorating, other small businesses and more.

We always say this is so more than shopping for clothes. It’s a community of supportive women. And that is sometimes hard to find!

Becki , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Lilac Ivy Boutique opened for business in March of 2019. Yes, you heard that right. We opened a small business at the very beginning of the pandemic! And it rocked our business model in a wonderful way.

Our initial business model was to take the “show on the road” carting clothes to ladies’ homes for parties and personal styling sessions. The day after we met to finalize our plan, the world pretty much shut down and we needed to pivot and figure out another way to connect with our customers and bring them our styles.

We quickly adapted using Facebook Live for private parties and this experience has continued today although we do now offer a “shop the closet” in-person experience for ladies who are local!

We are known for really taking the time to build relationships with our customers. When Marcia shops, she has customers in mind when she selects styles. She knows what Kristina will like and what Joyce will not like! We are known for having styles for all ages but I often say our audience isn’t “teeny boppers,” if you want the whole shirt, come see us.

We are known for our Liverpools! If you don’t know about Liverpools, you will be a lifer once you try them. They hold everything in and will make you feel so confident wearing them. You might even wear a belt for the first time in years because you realized you really do have a waistline! Show it off!

We are known for helping women step outside of their box. When you come to shop the closet with Marcia, she will have you try on styles that you might never select for yourself – and then you will surprise yourself and love the way you look! That’s our goal – empowering women and building confidence through style.

We are known for Marcia’s videos! Marcia is like a local celebrity in the grocery store as women recognize her. A few times a week, Marcia goes Live on Facebook to share styles she has created and also a few YAYs for the Day. YAYs for the day are a few items she has selected to offer for 25% off for one day only. SO many customers look forward to seeing Marcia and they miss her when she’s not online!!

What really sets us apart though is the uniquely personal shopping and styling experience you get when you come to shop the closet. Whether it’s a 1:1 appointment with Marcia or a group shopping event, you will feel a part of something very special. You will meet other women and have the opportunity to lift one another up! When customers leave Marcia’s they often share how the experience made them feel and THIS is what we are most proud of.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Gosh I feel like the pivot we had to make almost immediately in our business model due to the pandemic is a great example of resilience! Another great example of our resilience would be onboarding a new business partner when our initial business partner had an awesome opportunity in her professional life.

Marcia and I quickly regrouped to understand business needs to keep going in the midst of change. We made sure we were aligned on priorities, our own personal capacity, and what we needed in a third business partner.

We brought on Julie just a few months ago and we are getting into a groove that I think is working really well.

We are three women of different generations, different body types, and different styles both fashion wise and personality 🤪

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

One of my favorite memories early on was us going live from each of our individual houses because we couldn’t be together during quarantine. When it became acceptable to be together we were still wearing masks with one another during Facebook lives. From a marketing standpoint, it was surely strange but it really seemed to work! Women loved watching us with masks and all as some were really craving connection. We really were able to connect with women in their homes through a tiny video on their screen :)

To this day, our customers still chat with us during the Facebook lives. We know where they are on vacation, we know that their kid is getting married, we know it’s their birthday and we just have a ton of fun.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lilacivyboutique.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lilacivyboutique/
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/LilacIvyBoutique
• Other: https://m.facebook.com/groups/202698007641719