Canadian Retailer - Summer 2015 - 26

MystoRE retailer'S Guide Vol. 11.3: online retail

a day and teach the web store manager how
to set up a photoshoot and prepare photos for
the web. Similarly, sites like elance are good
places to find writers who can write product
descriptions and graphic designers who can
work quickly on short-term contracts to write
product profiles and marketing copy. These
resources can help you to establish frameworks and training so that the web store manager can do the work themselves.
* Understand how the system functions. The
functionality on many web store platforms
is extensive, and many functions, like sales
metrics, can add to the business's intelligence. Budget time to learn how to drive,
otherwise prepare to stay in park.
shop all thE tiME at biko
biko Jewellery has been around since 2004. in 2011, the
owner corrine anestopoulos rebranded the business. the
rebranding created an opportunity to redesign the website
to include an ecommerce platform.
the store's new site has generated steady sales with minimal investment, says anestopoulos. She uses Shopify's
ecommerce plan and invests in artwork for the site. "[the
set-up] is self-explanatory. You can have it online with little
money out the door," she says.
one of the chief advantages of the website to anestopoulos's web store is the ability to sell at all hours of the day.
"You're always open," she says. "the online store gives you
the ability to be on vacation and going about life and still
making sales." She says her sales were up, including on
holidays. "it's incredible," she says.
the challenge with biko's web store is keeping up with the
site. the store needs refreshing, the messaging, imagery,
and copy need updating, and the marketing requires attention. it's work, and it's a challenge anestopoulos says she
enjoys. "it's not a challenge for me so much as it is exciting,"
she says.
anestopoulos is redoing her website again to keep it fresh,
just like she constantly refreshes her marketing by talking
up the site and sending out postcards.
"You constantly have to talk about the website," she says.
"You constantly have to put it out into the world."

4. Maintenance

Once the website is live it needs to be maintained. The maintenance involves technical
maintenance but it also needs time and creativity to keep it relevant and strategic.
* Follow up with patches and update from
platform provider. Your site will need updates and patches to keep the site functioning and secure. Most of these patches
are simple and easy to install but they will
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canadian REtailER | Summer 2015

need to be installed quickly, especially if it is
a security patch. Build time into the schedule to check for updates. Make sure the person managing the web store has the skills
required to install updates.
* Integrate the web store into the larger strategy. Eventually, the shine will wear off the web
store. It's new at the beginning, but new things
become old. What's important is that you don't
slip into old habits by treating the web store as
an appendix to the main business-it is crucial
to the main business, so make it a central character in the story you write for your future. And
remember: you're focusing on a specific group
of customers, not everybody in the world. How
can you use your web store more strategically
to connect with these customers?

Tip: your site will need updates and
patches to keep the site functioning and
secure. Most of these patches are simple
and easy to install but they will need to be
installed quickly, especially if it is a security patch. Build time into the schedule to
check for updates.
* Find ways to refresh the content. It's important that customers have reasons to visit your
web store beyond the convenience (although
if convenience is the draw, run with it). You
might want to look at your web store the same
way you do your physical store. When you
redo the windows of your brick-and-mortar
store, redo your web store's windows. Update
the product photos (you might want to take
extra photos during the photoshoot so you
can refresh the photos easily) and renew the
product descriptions and store copy. Whatever it takes to keep the store looking new.
* Test to see what works. A web store will
give you the chance to test your marketing
in ways that a brick-and-mortar store can't.
For example, you can modify colours, copy,
photos, promotions, and placements and see
what garners a response from which customers. By harvesting this intelligence, you can,
over time, tailor messaging and presentation to align more closely with what your target group of customers wants.
For more Retailer's Guides offering tips and
tools for small businesses, visit www.retailcouncil.org/research/publications.

http://www.retailcouncil.org/research/publications http://www.retailcouncil.org/research/publications

Canadian Retailer - Summer 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Canadian Retailer - Summer 2015