According to Melissa Rowlston from Maverick Marketing.
I recently attended an OnlineX webinar hosted by Melissa Rowlston, founder of Maverick Marketing and Maverick Web, for an in-depth, interactive webinar session on getting your business online. Here is some of what they had to say.
Be a maverick when it comes to your business. Test and try new things to gain a thorough analytical understanding of what works for you and what doesn’t. Is your business one that could sell its products or services through an online shop? Have you considered launching your business into the online, e-commerce space to potentially grow your profits?
Moving online may seem like a seamless quick move, but it is important to note that it involves the integration of quality content and applications to ensure it is successful and error-free. In this day and age, more and more people are turning to online for food and clothing orders and even advice, which is why you should seriously consider moving your business online. It places you ahead of your competition and ensures you’re at the forefront of what people are wanting.
One of the fundamental components to moving your business online, is marketing. You can’t expect your customers to find you, you need to give them a reason to find you. So, where to start? To run a successful e-commerce store, there are a few things to consider before jumping into this exciting online journey.
1.
Chose the right platform. Chose the right platform. This could make or break your e-commerce website. There are lots of options out there, but make sure you do your research and choose an e-commerce platform that has been built to offer a seamless experience (for both you and your customer). Rather build slow and strong; than cheap and quick. Shopify and WooCommerce are great examples of this, offering solutions for most of the problems you identify – making your online business experience and your customers shopping experience seamless. We have experience with both platforms and choose which is best according to our client’s needs.
2.
Build to scale. Build to scale. It is important that you have an effective business model, to ensure that it pays for itself. Build it to grow it –, believe in what you’re offering and make it a success. BigCommerce suggests four traditional ecommerce business models, these include: B2B (Business-to-business), B2C (Business-to-consumer), C2B (Customer-to-business) and C2C (Customer-to-customer). Think about who you’re selling to and then strategize to ensure efficiency and success of your online store.
3.
Listen to your customer. Listen to your customer. Know your audience! There are so many research tools that help to gather information about your audience to understand their lifestyles, dislikes, preferences and so much there, that there really isn’t an excuse for not adapting to their needs and wants. Google offers a solution for this, Google Analytics. It allows you to analyze data for your business in one place so you can make smarter decisions. This is crucial to ensure you are selling to the right audience and therefore have a better chance to increase sales. Practice good CRM (customer relationship management) to ensure your business has an even blend of technology and strategy to guarantee great customer experience.
4.
Market, market, market. We can’t stress this enough! You can’t expect people to find your online store. The most effective mediums to marketing your e-commerce site online is through social media (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter), email campaigns & Google Ads. Google Ads assists you in getting in front of your customers when searching for a business like yours. A lot of our clients utilize this service and the data and the ROI very seldom disappoints. We’ve seen first-hand how an integrated marketing strategy that is adapted as the performance is analyzed goes a long way to ensure growth in sales.
5.
Start with good habits. It is important to setup everything well from the beginning to ensure longtime growth and use of the platform. ‘Buy cheap and you will buy twice’ – Avoid this at all costs (excuse the pun). We make switching to online selling really simple!
Thank you, Brand Heart, for bringing our online dream to life, we appreciate all the direction, love, heart, soul and hours you put into getting Good Source online. We are so thrilled and look forward to many more years of work together!
Finally, love, nourish and grow. It is important to believe in your product and know why you are selling it. This is what will help your online business grow to new heights.
Interested in moving your business online? We’d love to help.
