Avant-Garb vintage is a locally owned Tallahassee vintage consignment shop that

has been in business for six years and is looking to expand. We determined that it was

necessary for Avant-Garb to further develop their e-business plan (which currently

consists of only a Facebook page) by adding a website and a twitter account to increase

their online presence. The new website was designed to be easy to look at and simple to

navigate. Everything is virtually a click away! The website provides yet another way for

Avant-Garb to attract potential customers to its store and also a way for them to

communicate with their customers and find out what their needs are. From the home page

visitors can easily navigate to where they need to go via the top navigation menu. Links

include “The Shop,” “What’s New,” “Consign” and “Contact Us.”

A subscription option and a new updates feed are located on the right hand sidebar.

The description on the home page provides an introduction and directs visitors to specific

website pages depending on what they would like to do.

We determined that integrating social media into the website was an important and

viable feature of the e-business plan. This includes embedded social media links to Avant

Garb’s Facebook and Twitter pages and also a Twitter feed.

This is important because the key to customer intimacy is building relationships with the

customers. One of the best ways to do this is through social media as it allows the company

to interact with customers on a more personal level. The new twitter account allows Avant

Garb to attract potential customers who are not on Facebook. Because Facebook status

updates can be synced with Twitter updates, it will be quick and easy for Avant-Garb to

maintain both pages. This ensures that they can give potential customers instant updates

on products, events, or sales. Placing the social media links on the top left corner ensures

that they will not be overlooked. Clicking on the links will take visitors to the respective

social media page where they can choose to add or follow Avant-Garb. By adding the

twitter feed to the right sidebar it is possible for visitors who are not on either social

network to still see what Avant-Garb has been posting about. Last but not least, by

integrating social media, Avant-Garb offers its customers even more opportunities to reach

them Garb to leave comments, suggestions, and make product requests.

The “What’s New” page of the website was designed to give Avant-Garb a simple and

fast way to keep visitors updated on what’s going on in the store. The page is formatted like

a blog with the most recent entries at the top. Recent entries are also displayed through a

feed on the right sidebar on every other page. Entries are organized by categories including

new vinyl, new clothing, new accessories, featured items and sale event. On the right hand

sidebar there is a search bar that allows visitors to search key words within the posts. Posts

can also be navigated through the category menu on the right hand sidebar.

Within each individual post readers are also able to leave a comment if they have any

questions or want to know if the item can still be found in the store.

By using this format, Avant Garb will be capitalizing on a cheap and easy way to make their

customers happy by keeping them informed on what new inventory is in the store. As will

be mentioned next, the subscription feature of the site enhances the potential of the blog

updates by sending out email notifications every time a new entry is added.

A prominent feature on the website that can be found on every page is the option to

subscribe to updates from Avant Garb. This option is found at the top right hand corner of

every page.

When a user enters their email address they are opting-in to receive email notifications

every time a new post is created. As previously mentioned, the blog posts are organized by

categories and are used to keep visitors and readers informed of new items and sales.

Avant Garb also has the option to send email messages to all its subscribers at any given

time and reward them with exclusive deals. By building a subscriber list Avant Garb is

given a new way to reach its customers and is able to use email marketing to potentially

increase its sales. With consistent updates Avant Garb can ensure that even if their

subscribers are not in the market for one of their products at this time, they will be the first

on their mind when they are.

Avant-Garb’s owner has expressed that consignment is a valuable and important

method for running her business. The addition of a “Consign” page will be very beneficial in

promoting the consignment aspect of Avant-Garb as a business, allowing them to attract a

wider range of potential sellers and unique items. This page includes a wish list feature

which is a list that will need to be constantly updated and maintained to reflect the kinds of

items that customers are requesting and would like to see more of. The items on this list

include what Avant-Garb is most interested in consigning but the list is not all inclusive and

visitors with any vintage item they would like to sell are encouraged to contact Avant-Garb

through the contact form. A link to the “Contact Us” page is provided.

The “Consign” page allows Avant-Garb to better serve its customers by helping them find

exactly the items they are looking for.

Avant Garbʼs website will include a “Contact Us” page, that is accessible by clicking

the tab to the top right.

Readers are also directed to this page from both the “Home” and “Consign” pages. This

page was put on the website to help maintain and strengthen the value discipline attribute

of customer intimacy that Avant-Garb strives to achieve. The “Contact Us” page features a

contact form that includes fields for a customer to enter their name, email address, subject,

file attachment, message. The dropdown subject menu which includes the following

selections: “Item Request,” “Sell an Item,” or “Other,” was specifically implemented to make

it straight-forward for visitors to request a product they are looking for or to set up an

appointment to sell their vintage item.

Allowing for a file attachment speeds up the process for setting up an appointment by

making it easier for Avant-Garb to determine whether or not the item is something that

qualifies as a product that they can consign. A visitor is also able to use this form to express

any comments, concerns, or questions they have about Avant-Garb. This allows Avant-Garb

to build closer relationships with customers by finding out what they personally need or

want.

Lastly, Avant-Garb has the opportunity to make money from this website with the

inclusion of advertisements. These are found towards the bottom of every page. Avant-

Garb will receive money based on number of clicks to each ad.