Every brick-and-mortar store should have a digital store. There are no excuses in today’s age. It is incredibly easy to set up a great online store, and it is easy to link that digital store with your inventory system. You can allow customers to buy items to be picked up or ship locally to reach a greater number of customers. You can even put together subscription boxes or surprise boxes to help build a stable, profitable revenue stream.
Online shopping is only increasing, and there are so many ways to enhance your brand and increase your revenue when you open up shopping online. Many small businesses have either no online store or a poorly designed one. It is time to change that. With this guide, you’ll have a stunning digital store and new revenue opportunities that will help you grow your business and reach new heights:
Collect Ideas from Competitors
The first step is to have a list of ideas about what you want from your store. This can be the overall look, the features, and so on. Next, screenshot ideas, write down thoughts you have, and then look for a professional web development agency. You will also want to decide which eCommerce platform you want to use. For example, Shopify is a great choice, and once you know the platform and ideas for how your website and online store should look, you can get great results from Shopify development services.
Set Up an Online Inventory System
The last thing you want is to accidentally sell products you don’t have in stock. This can easily be handled by linking your online store with your inventory system. Many eCommerce systems, like Shopify, allow you to link your shop with inventory systems. The good news is that by using solutions like Shopify, you can also facilitate sales through Facebook, Pinterest, and even Amazon. The easiest way is to create a centralized inventory, which is easy to set up for your online store as well as your brick-and-mortar establishment.
Decide Which Products You Will Sell Online
You don’t have to sell everything online that you do in-store. Some items are just not cost-effective to sell online. It can take a lot of effort to photograph all of your products properly, so start by putting up your best sellers and then expanding your online inventory as you grow and expand.
Create Online-Exclusives
You will also want to consider adding online exclusives. This gives customers a reason to shop online independently from your store. For example, you can offer subscription boxes online and not in-store. You can have a special product range that is only sold online as well. These are great draws and excellent for your digital marketing efforts.
Create Great Product Photos (and Videos)
Every product you put up online needs to be professionally photographed and even videoed. If you have a decent enough camera to start, then investing in lights and a backdrop for your photos can be a great investment. Photo backdrops can be fabric, or paper, depending on the look you are going for. Investing in this kind of equipment now will also make it easier for you to create product photoshoots for social media and send press releases out.
Write Stellar Product Descriptions
Never underestimate the power of words when it comes to selling your product. Product descriptions are fantastic to help sell your product, and they are also key to have to improve your SEO strategy. You will also want to create a set of tags that you use so that customers can eventually filter through your products quickly and so that you can offer customized recommendations to customers in the future. Tags and recommendations aren’t strictly necessary when you have a minimal product line-up to start with, but as you grow, you will be thrilled to have this set up from the start.
Link Your Products on Social Media
Once your products are up on your online store, you will then want to go through the process of linking them to your social media. This can be done on Facebook, Instagram, and even on Pinterest. Linking your products on social media is an easy way to make your social profiles look more professional and is a great way to increase sales on your new digital store. You can also promote your products and content with some of the best free press release sites for attracting buyers and rank higher in search engines to beat your competitors.
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