So you have finally decided to transition your brick-and-mortar shop to the great online. While it’s a smart move, the changes are many and can even be a bit confusing – and with so many options, how are you supposed to know that you’re making the right choice?When it comes to digital business solutions, there’s no one-size-fits-all, and the strategy you choose needs to be tailored to work specifically for your company.
Here is a handy guide to how you can move your brick-and-mortar shop to exist exclusively in the clouds, making it a bit easier to get back to business as usual.
Finding the right platform
The first couple of decisions you make will be the most important ones and may even determine how well your business thrives on the online market. An increasing number of businesses are moving to the clouds these days, and online sales are projected to reach $500 billion by 2018 – when the consumers prefer to shop online, it’s the only sensible conclusion a business owner can reach.
As so many retailers have moved online instead of offering their products on the high street, we’ve also seen a confusing amount of platforms. You may choose to operate through an online marketplace such as eBay or Amazon; you can focus on selling through social media exclusively – or you might opt for a fully-fledged site.
While you can find pros and cons to all of these options, the latter enables you to build an online store and start selling with just a few clicks. Have a look at the options of e-commerce pricing before you make a decision, and keep in mind that a social media presence beneficial regardless of the platform you choose.
How do I choose?
Think about what you intend to use the platform for, first of all, and whether you’re just interested in selling merchandise or if you also want to build a relationship with your customers. If you don’t have time to maintain and operate a fully-fledged e-commerce site, it’s probably better to let a third party take over.
With so many advantages and disadvantages to each, the best way to go about with it may actually be to transition your brick-and-mortar shop online through multiple channels. While marketplaces allow you to tap into a wider user-base, it gives you little freedom over your own brand. Social media, on the other hand, makes it easy to access your customer’s details in order to gather data, but the shopping experience isn’t ideal.
By taking advantage of each one and make use of their strengths, you’re eliminating their weaknesses as your customers will be able to click their way from Instagram to your website – and the experience will be so much better.
Whatever platform you choose to sell on, make sure to take full advantage of their strengths, look at cloud storage solutions, and keep the transition seamless.
Ask for feedback once you’re up and running and make it clear that you still want to keep a strong relationship with your customers – that way, they won’t start shopping from your competitor’s site instead.
