Building a Successful Ecommerce Business

Building a successful ecommerce business

Jordy Heis @jordyheis @melbourneGA

QUALIFICATIONS:

MY STORY

I HAVE 10 YEARS INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE AS A…

DESIGNER MARKETER BUSINESS OWNER

We build sites for makers. We’re a design-led eCommerce agency partnering with growing brands.

QUICK WORKSHOP POLL

What do you want to sell or are already selling?

The current environment + market:- Can quickly and cheaply test your idea

- ecommerce platforms are easy to get started - Social Media platforms are evolving to send more traffic to your store and to buy natively

- Sourcing products more accessible & transparent

THE OPPORTUNITY HAS NEVER BEEN BETTER!

93%Sales still done offline

JUST REMEMBER, OFFLINE IS STILL KING

Source: NAB Online Retail Sales Index Nov ‘15

Source: dialog.scarborough.com

LET’S KICKOFF!

http://dialog.scarborough.com

‣ Defining and validating the proposition

‣ Growing the business with effective marketing

‣ Choosing the right platform for your online store

‣ Setting up a basic store on Shopify

‣ Making a website that generates sales

‣ 10 tips for a high converting website

OUR AGENDA

YOUR PITCH

‣ What problem are you solving?

Tim ‘Mr Steak Knives’ Shaw

YOUR PITCH


‣ Why you and not someone else?

YOUR PITCH


‣ Why you and not someone else?‣ How do you do it?

YOUR PITCH


‣ Why you and not someone else?‣ How do you do it?‣ How will their life be better?

YOUR PITCH


‣ Why you and not someone else?‣ How do you do it?‣ How will their life be better?‣ Call to action

Watch the infomercial here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiATDMHU7gc

Validating your business


‣ Market Stall

Source: bondimarkets.com.au

http://bondimarkets.com.au


‣ Market Stall

‣ Online Marketplaces

‣ Pop-up Stores


‣ Market Stall


‣ Pop-up Stores

‣ Crowdfunding


‣ Market Stall


‣ Pop-up Stores

‣ Crowdfunding

‣ Your first ecommerce store







OUR AGENDA

GROWING THE BUSINESS

‣ PR – mass media


‣ PR – mass media‣ PR - bloggers


‣ PR – mass media‣ PR - bloggers

FINDING INFLUENCERS


‣ PR – mass media‣ PR - bloggers‣ SEO


‣ Offsite SEO ‣ Links, mentions‣ Onsite SEO ‣ Good, original content‣ Onsite technical ‣ Code quality ‣ Site speed


Good content ‣ Useful‣ Interesting‣ Funny



Ideas ‣ What to wear …‣ Travel suggestions‣ Interviews with ‘influencers’‣ ‘How to’ articles‣ Top 10 presents for… X i.e. Valentine’s day



Ideas ‣ What to wear …‣ Travel suggestions‣ Interviews with ‘influencers’‣ ‘How to’ articles‣ Top 10 presents for… XAVOID…News about the company (BORING!)


‣ PR – mass media‣ PR - bloggers‣ SEO‣ Social



‣ PR – mass media‣ PR - bloggers‣ SEO‣ Social‣ Mailing List

email

search

social

Source: flamanko.com

http://flamanko.com

OFFER INCENTIVES TO JOIN YOUR LIST



SEND: OFFERS

SEND: LAUNCHES

SEND: EDITORIAL



‣ Online Retailers



‣ Online Retailers‣ Physical Store



‣ Online Retailers‣ Physical Store‣ Repeat Business

GET THE FIRST ORDER RIGHT!

Benefits:‣ Trust

‣ Social Proof ‘others like me like this’‣ You can read what happens post purchase

LOYALTY PROGRAMS

LOYALTY PROGRAMS

Benefits:‣ Loyalty Rewards Make you Stand Out‣ Points/Miles Collectors Spend More $$$

‣ Encourage Return Visits

HANDWRITTEN NOTES

INNOVATIVE PACKAGING







OUR AGENDA

MAJOR ECOMMERCE PLATFORM OPTIONS

MAJOR ECOMMERCE PLATFORM OPTIONS

Open Source (Free) + Self Hosted Typically you pay more $$$ upfront and less $ after to host your site

Software as a Service (SaaS) + Hosted for you Typically you pay less $$ upfront and more $ after p/m to license the platform

PICKING THE RIGHT PLATFORM FOR YOU


Small Businesses

‣ Easy to Setup‣ Cheap to Run

‣ Simple to add more features & functionalities


Small Businesses



Small/Med Businesses

‣ More customisable‣ Better for SEO/Blogging

‣ Most Popular platform in world - 30% of stores


Small Businesses



Small/Med Businesses

‣ More customisable‣ Better for SEO/Blogging

‣ Most Popular platform in world - 30% of stores

Med/Large Businesses

‣ Able to run multiple stores‣ Schedule sales/promo’s

‣ Great for high traffic / speed performance







OUR AGENDA

Try Shopify for yourself

SHOPIFY IS GREAT FOR STARTUPS

https://www.shopify.com/?ref=onlinestoreguys

Modern designs ‣ Desktop, mobile & tablet optimised ‣ Easy to update ‣ Marketing features ‣ SEO friendly

Plans start from $29 / month

Try Shopify for yourself.

About Shopify

Hosted platform ‣ Continually upgraded ‣ Fully PCI compliant ‣ Reliable and fast ‣ 24/7 phone and live chat support

Connect Online with offline ‣ Keep real time stock management by

connecting with Shopify POS + Online Store

https://www.shopify.com/?ref=onlinestoreguys







OUR AGENDA

source: ecommadvisor.wordpress.com

http://ecommadvisor.wordpress.com

Write original, useful product descriptions

Write original, useful product descriptions

Short, descriptive URLs

Check the site on desktop, mobile and tablet

Use Engaging Lifestyle Photography

Use Engaging Lifestyle Photography

Write compelling copy

Large Product Imagery

Informative Product Descriptions

Social Proof: Customer Reviews

Social Proof: Customer Reviews

Social Proof: Trust Badges

Interesting About Page

Use Categories: New In, We Love & Top Sellers

Test out your site search

Offer Gist Cards

Live Chat

Free Shipping

Free Shipping With Limit







OUR AGENDA

10. Make it Obvious What you Sell

9. Add CLEAR Contact Details

6. Add Best seller, New In, & Sale Categories

4. Differentiate Yourself

3. Offer Free Shipping in Some Form

2. Set up automatic cart recovery emails

BONUS: Ask your customer why they didn’t complete checkout

BONUS: Watch someone else use your store

Hopefully this isn’t you!

Resources

Usability ‣ Five Second User Test ‣ usertesting.com ‣ Google mobile usability test

Site Speed ‣ Pingdom Speed Test ‣ Google Page Insights

Conversion ‣ ConversionXL Blog

Analytics ‣ Google Analytics ‣ Kiss Metrics

Further ecommerce advice ‣ Shopify Blog

http://usertesting.com

Q&ABUILDING A SUCCESSFUL ECOMMERCE BUSINESS

[email protected]

OnlineStoreGuys.com.au

@jordyheis

@melbourneGA

http://OnlineStoreGuys.com.au

Building a Successful Ecommerce Business

Small Business & Entrepreneurship