Ecommerce

We've helped many of our clients develop their first ecommerce websites and worked with others to drive more traffic and increase conversion. Our strategic approach sets us apart. 

Our Strategic Approach to Ecommerce

If you’ve been thinking about getting into ecommerce, today’s platforms have made it so much easier. Yet, the real challenge is attracting and converting qualified traffic.


So we focus on the following to help you improve your ability to sell products directly from your site:


  • Positioning you strategically to sell digital or physical products, or courses
  • Using the right builder tools
  • Creating SEO and converting content
  • Helping you focus on what needs to be included in critical pages, like the homepage and products
  • Product and product mix recommendations
  • Creative merchandising ideas
  • Finding inventive ways and channels to promote your online store to grow awareness and drive traffic
  • Other innovative tips, tools, and techniques to help you sell more products and services

Ecommerce Success Starts with the Right Product

Even when we're able to get more qualified traffic, it can still be struggle to get people to buy.


Fixing that starts with — this can't emphasized enough — ha differentiated product people are interested in buying. It's easy for people to bounce from one site to another that carries essentially the same products or services, there has to be a very good reason to buy from you (and not just based on a low price). See why in our blog post about discount pricing


Depending on what you're selling, we can provide insights about that and recommend strategic approaches that might work for you. We have particular methods that work for makers and subject experts that may resonate with you.

How We Choose an Ecommerce Platform

There are basically two ways to set up ecommerce. One is to find a plugin that works with a non-ecommerce website builder. For example, you could add WooCommerce to a Wordpress site; or Gumroad for digital products to any site.

Our preferred fully-integrated website and ecommerce builder is Shopify (although it offers a plugin as well). It's one of the easiest to implement and the most robust ecommerce solutions available. There's still a learning curve, but it can be worth it. View some of the sites we've built on Shopify, like RuffGrip, Birthings, and Kitschy Delish. There are also specialty ecommerce tools, such as ticketing systems, reservation systems, and platforms for selling courses.


What gets chosen depends on the following:


  • Types and number of products you want to sell: For example, physical vs. digital products.
  • Ease of use: Your site should be easy to use and maintain, so it can evolve
  • Low startup (time and money) and recurring costs: Most hosted ecommerce platforms charge a monthly fee which vary widely. There may be hidden credit card processing fees as well.
  • Design: A template that coordinates with your brand should be available and allow you to merchandise the way you want.
  • Hosted vs. Host Yourself: For small businesses without an IT department, we almost always recommend hosted tools like Shopify.
  • Built-in Features: Functionality should include a storefront, catalog, shopping cart and order processing. If you want extras, like 3D viewing, zoom or a certain type of sales process, make sure they're native. Adding too many plugins and getting coders to build custom features can be costly.
  • Reporting and Analytics: Beyond sales volume, you need to know things like which products are viewed or when people abandon their shopping carts. Absolutely essential for seeing how your store is operating, so you to make corrections to improve performance.
  • Mobile shopping: Customers do it and Google requires it. Enough said.
  • Security: You're taking people's credit card info, so this one is obvious.
  • Integrations: You should be able to integrate tools, like email marketing, Google plug-ins, and socials, as well as channels noted below.

The Value of Marketplaces and Wholesale

Getting traction for your products is a challenge when you're just starting out. Beyond SEO and a ready to sell website, is to find creative ways to build awareness.


One way to do that is through established channels that already have attendance, eyeballs, and traffic, like live events, tradeshows, wholesalers, and marketplaces.


In some of these cases, you can take advantage of the buying moment. You won't have such intense competition (with people easily jumping from website to website) and it isn't as easy to make comparisons.


Amazon as a Channel Isn't Our Jam


We aren't Amazon experts, so if that's your main channel, there are plenty of experts available to help you with that.


However, once you have an ecommerce site of your own, there are many other marketplaces and wholesale opportunities you can leverage. With Shopify, for example, you can directly integrate with their Shop app and Google Merchant.


If you're selling creative goods, Etsy might be the place. But there are hundreds of marketplaces, and one or a few of those, may be a good fit. We can help you find the right ones and optimize your listings on them.