It’s a tough time to be a small brick and mortar retailer. Although physical retail stores aren’t going away any time soon, small retailers are faced with overwhelming competition from big box retailers, who have the size and resources to push prices down to a level unsustainable for many small business, and Ecommerce retailers both big and small, who are able to operate without the expensive overhead required to open and maintain a physical retail space.
Your New Ecommerce Store
In order to increase sales, compete with Ecommerce retailers, and diversify their company, many small brick and mortar retailers are interested in opening an Ecommerce counterpart. Yet opening an online store isn’t as simple as throwing together a few product images, adding a shopping cart, and hoping that online shoppers flock to your store. You must utilize the right platform and tools in order to ensure that your Ecommerce store is successful.
The Secrets of Modern Retail
As the owner or manager of a small brick and mortar retailer, you may already be aware of many of the tools, strategies, and systems in place that maximize the effectiveness of a physical retail space. When you visit a corporate grocery store or a big box store to purchase a gallon of milk, it may seem at first glance to be a simple and straightforward procedure: you enter the store, locate the milk, choose the specific product you want to purchase, pay at the register, and then leave. However, there are many, many things happening behind the scenes that make this simple retail transaction much more complicated to the retailer. Upon entering the store, a shopper is presented with a specific layout of products designed to entice the shopper into making additional, spur of the moment purchases as they navigate their way to the dairy section. In-store signage and marketing materials for one brand of milk may entice the shopper to try their brand over the shopper’s preferred brand. Finally, the store’s customer rewards program registers the purchase of milk, adding to a profile of the customer designed to make coupon distribution and marketing more effective.
Don’t Sabotage Your Own Store
With Ecommerce stores, many similar tools and systems exist to make sure you are presenting your products in the right way, such as tracking customer purchases so you can market and advertise more effectively and converting more online visitors into customers. However, a fundamental mistake that many newcomers to Ecommerce make is choosing a platform and tools based on cost, rather than value. There are many companies that will build an Ecommerce site for free, or offer discount hosting when you “do it yourself” and assemble an Ecommerce site piecemeal over time, gradually adding plugins and components to the site without regards to the overall effectiveness and functionality of the customer experience. When you cut corners at the beginning, you end up with an Ecommerce site that is less effective and may ultimately hinder or completely derail the entire initiative.
AllProWebTools Is Our Preferred Ecommerce Solution
At Blue Zenith, we now offer our clients a comprehensive and versatile Ecommerce platform that meets and exceeds our expectations. AllProWebTools, a startup company based in Colorado, has created an Ecommerce platform that provides entrepreneurs with a complete portfolio of tools and services designed to boost sales, marketing, customer service, and even productivity. If you are interested in learning more about AllProWebTools, visit AllProWebTools.com or contact us today to schedule a personal consultation.