In 2020, not many retailers only have a brick-and-mortar store, with many businesses opting to combine e-commerce avenues with more traditional methods of selling. However, managing both your physical location and your e-commerce store can be difficult, and this guide shows you how you may be able to ensure that both are as successful as possible.
Combine Digital and Physical Marketing Methods
Although you might now believe that the only way you can market your products is online, this is not the case. Real-world marketing methods are just as important and can even be more effective for businesses that are operating from a physical location. One of the best physical marketing methods that you can rely on is direct mail marketing, as this allows you to share information about both your online and brick-and-mortar locations with customers within their own homes.
Create a Strong Brand Image
The most important step that you can take to make both your online and real-world stores successful is to create a cohesive image for your company that can be recognized no matter what platform your customers choose to engage with you on. For instance, you should use the same logo and color scheme, as well as an accurate domain name. You might also consider giving them the same experience online as they would get in-store by providing a chatbot function where they can interact with you and ask questions, as well as an easy navigation system that will allow them to browse at will.
Manage Your Inventory
One of the most difficult aspects of juggling an e-commerce store with a physical location is being able to manage your inventory. To do this effectively, you should download an inventory management app that can prevent any double or conflicting orders. It will also ensure that you have the stock you think you do in order to fulfill requests. You should also consider outsourcing your order processing to a fulfillment center, as this will allow online and brick-and-mortar stock to be separated and can ensure that each operation runs parallel to the other.
Give a Click and Collect Option
If you believe that your retail location is becoming redundant, you should consider introducing a click and collect service to your store. This can allow customers to use both your online platform and your real-world location by selecting their order on their laptop and then heading to their nearest shop to collect this. This can take some of the strain away from your online store and can also encourage customers to make spontaneous purchases while they are picking up their order.
Track Your Expenditure
It is hard to keep track of your physical store’s finances and your online store all at once. To do this, you need to download finance tracking software and use the same platform to enter the details of each venture. This will allow you to view your financial situation as a whole on a single page.
