Launching your online store is an exciting stage in your business development journey. In last week’s blog, we highlighted some ways that customers can best support small businesses during COVID-19. This week, we’re turning our attention to small business owners who want to see their vision come to life. If this sounds like you, read on.
Starting a small business is no small feat. The to-do lists and checklists are endless, not to mention the fear that all this hard work might not pay off. While we’re not here to promise you that you’ll be a millionaire by next year, we support small businesses launch and help build them into successful brands. Today, we want to share our expertise with you.
Step 1: Define Your Brand Identity
Before you market your business, first you need to take time to establish your brand identity. Firstly, who is your ideal customer? What is that customer looking for? Do you know what tone of voice to use? Have you developed your narrative? Hopefully you have already put considerable thought into these questions. That said, we can’t emphasize enough how important it is to develop a clear branding strategy. The stronger the better.
To help you with this stage, we’ve developed a totally FREE branding workbook. In this workbook, you’ll clearly define your business’ goals, including who your audience is, what your brand voice is, and a strong call to action.
Step 2: Build Your Online Store
To be successful, a business needs to have an online presence. Whether your business is service- or product-based, an online store is vital to your success. COVID-19 has demonstrated the harsh reality of this. If you want to build an online store, Shopify is an excellent platform; we use it for all of our clients. We highly recommend that you do, too. Shopify is currently offering an extended free 90-day trial, and it’s easy to set up. Click here to get started, and contact us if you have any questions along the way.
Step 3: Check Your Checklists...Again
Before the big launch of your online store, get all your ducks in a row. As a small business ourselves, we know how many ducks there are, it’s easy to lose track! To help you round out some of the unknowns, we developed The Complete Good Commerce Launch Checklists. This 19-page comprehensive guide is packed with step-by-step checklists that will help fill in the gaps between inception and launch. We’ve included every step in these checklists, including branding, finance, admin and marketing. If you want to elevate your business and stand out among the competition, get this guide.
Step 4: Integrate Apps to Fast Track Success
We love Shopify because there are so many app integrations that make it easier to do business with your customers. These days, offering contactless delivery is a huge perk. But, without the right tools, coordinating shipping and calculating costs can create a lot of unnecessary headaches. To help with this, we recommend the app Delivery Rates by Zip Code. This app calculates tiered rates based on zip code, and it is compatible with all countries that Shopify supports.
There are tons of other Shopify apps out there to help your online store succeed. If you’re looking for any tips or recommendations, ask us what we’d recommend for your store.
We’re Here to Help
We love talking about branding and marketing strategies, and we love to talk shop about Shopify. If you have any questions about launching your store, get in touch with us! We’re ready to help.