The benefits of taking your business online in a pandemic.
12 minute read
It has been a tough year for the high street. No doubt about it.
As someone who has studied and worked in retail I take a professional interest but this year, my heart has something to say on this too. My heart goes out to all of the small and independent businesses that have been pushed to their limits this year. I have some insight into what it is like to be a small business owner and rely on inconsistent sources for income. What I don’t know is how that feels when you have employees and other dependents. This must be another level of worry and responsibility that many cannot really imagine.
However, I’m reassured and so buoyed up by the posts I am seeing on social media and from the public in general. People posting on local groups saying ‘ Hi all I am looking for X, Y, Z item or service but I want to buy local - Who can show me a small business for me to take my cash to?’. It. is. So. reassuring! Amazon did spectacularly well out of the first lockdown, I am sure they can spare the sales.
Let’s spend locally and save our independents!
The drive to support small and local businesses is truly heartwarming, but there is another hurdle. As we are once again separated from these smaller retailers by another lockdown it is more important than ever that we can get to these businesses online.
I am talking shops, artists, makers, creatives, tutors, growers, musicians, chefs and so many more.
With an online presence businesses can still serve the customers who need their services/products and WANT to spend with them!
Navigating the online space can be confusing at the best of times. When you’re busily running a business it is even harder to find time and energy to get online. Building a website, setting up an online shop, connecting payment processors, attaching domains… The list goes on. But. That is why I am here. I can help.
I am experienced in retail. I know the importance of branding, the value of customer loyalty and the pressures of shifting stock. Please, if you are a small business owner, an artist, maker or creative with goods/services to share and you are struggling to get your biz selling and connecting with people online, get in touch!
My “thing” is creating a friendly, communication led and supportive 1:1 experience. This means; no baffling tech language, lots of supporting docs (including page planners for nailing your copy) and a process that leaves you happy and empowered to manage your site in the future.
If you’re after a corporate, big team of coding tech guys then I maaaay not be the designer for you. But, I really want to help businesses get online, sell their goods and even thrive in these challenging times.
Aside from the emotion (sorry, I am passionate about this!) here are a few other reasons why setting up an online shop and a proper website is massively beneficial to your business…
1. A genuine welcome to your customers
It’s not a Google My Business account or an Etsy page. It is a website designed to fully show off your brand and business to customers. Space to tell your story, use your voice and share as many pictures, testimonials and insights as you wish. This way customers are shown the value in your brand, business and offerings. It is a way to show people what goes into your product, service or art and explain why you do what you do.
2. Build your email list
I hate to say this but, Instagram isn’t everything. I have friends who have spent years building a following on IG. Amazing pictures, a great community and insightful captions galore. And then disaster. They wake up one morning, their account has been hacked or randomly cancelled and they are back at square one. The same can happen with Facebook pages.
Although social media is a great way for people to find you, you never have full ownership of your following. The solution?
An email list.
I KNOW no one likes spam emails, but you will collect customers and site visitors who want to keep updated with your news. Care about when your next event or pop up is. Want to know what your new CV-19 trading looks like.
An email list is a database that you own as a business, no one can take it away from you and it is such a valuable tool for building rapport with customers, keeping hold of interested visitors and converting them later and keeping people up to date with your business.
3. Control your shop
When you are selling with your own website, you are in total, 100% control. New stock, discounts, waitlists, discount codes, customer appointment bookings. They are all on your terms.
You can stick exactly to your sales plan and be in total control of your stock and service bookings.
No mandatory % off because of a marketplace’s site-wide promotion. Total freedom and flexibility mean you can try new things, monitor stock levels and use simple analytics to see what your popular products are.
In terms of fulfilling orders, you can download packing lists, take special instructions (eg. engraved messages, sizes or allergies) and mark orders as fulfilled once they are on their way. This makes managing all your orders smooth for you and faster for the customer.
4. Money & margins
Of course, all of these features are not free, once they are set up there are ongoing costs. However, they may actually turn out to be more cost-effective than some leading marketplaces. I don’t know what market places you’re currently on, but what I do know (inside-out, back-to-front and forwards) is Squarespace commerce. Here I have put an outline of all the running costs of a Squarespace shop on the most affordable business plan…
Squarespace business plan: £15 pm
Squarespace % transaction fee: 3%
Paypal fees: 2.9% + 30p
Stripe (card processor) % fee: 1.4%
Domain: Prices vary on this!
Money-saving tip…
If you move up one level to the Squarespace basic commerce plan then there are zero transaction fees! Investing in this plan actually works out as more cost-effective if you are processing more than £168 worth of transactions a month.
It is a win-win as you get all the added features and are not losing profit to the 3% transaction fee!
If we work together you will receive 20% off your first year of Squarespace business plan payments as I am part of their professional network - You’re welcome!
5. Calendar Integrations
Say you are a biz that involves hourly sessions over zoom, or booking of some sort. Squarespace has an integrated booking offering. This can automatically sync to existing calendars and your Zoom. The end result for the customer is online booking and payment and a zoom link sent to them - all without you getting involved, meaning you have more time to actually do your biz!
A great example of this would be an online tutoring business…
The teacher connects their calendar to the site. Students then choose the lesson type, choose their slot and pay through the site.
This would automatically register in the teacher’s diary with the student’s booking, blocking the time out. If zoom is connected , an automated zoom link is sent to the student and the lesson is ready to happen at the booked time with the zoom link, appointment time and booking fees all taken care of!
Save time by automating all your calendar matching, payment processing and Zoom link sharing into a streamlined, hands-off process.
6. Serve the world
Finally, and perhaps most excitingly of all, your customer base can include the world (at least, the limiting variable becomes DHL, not you!). If you are selling online, no matter how niche your business, you are no longer confined to your locality.
Sales no longer pivot on passing footfall or the weather.
You really can serve the world, or at the very least, truly represent your brand and business online and show site visitors who you are and the value in your product.
I hope this has been useful for you and your bizz in these challenging times. Feel free to share this with anyone who is considering how to navigate their business online!
Ottilie Xo
PS. If you have been thinking about a subscription model for your biz, read this post and find out Why a subscription offering could be the answer you’ve been looking for.