“We had clients ringing us desperate to get hold of their usual products and it was obvious the world of online shopping was being accelerated and the high street was going to suffer. So we launched our own online store – something I had thought about doing but never got round to it. Launching our own shop really opened my eyes and made me realise how big the world of online retail it is. So don’t ignore it.”
Here’s Marcello’s tips for launching an online store:
1 Do your research – have a look what the big players and your competitors are doing.
2 Don’t do what you like, but what your customer will like.
3 Bring in the experts – Barclays helped me with the payment portals, L’Oreal and ghd were great and our developers really knew what they were doing. Work with people who know how to reach consumers.
4 Use your client data – you will be surprised how much you have that you can use for texts, emails, social and targeted marketing.
5 You need to invest money to hire people who know what they are doing. It’s not something you can do yourself, you need to bring in experts in their field.
6 An online store is for more than just your clients but other people’s clients as well. For us it’s opened up a whole world of opportunity.
7 Add value when you can – the biggest drive is cost so keep your pricing competitive.
8 Invest time and money as it grows and you will reap the rewards.
