Turn an Ecommerce Website into a Digital Sales Rep for Your Store

Coronavirus Business Tips / Digital Marketing Tips

The importance of having an ecommerce website is greater now more than ever. Due to the recent outbreak of COVID-19, many brick-and-mortar businesses are struggling to serve their customers at a time when most people are staying home. Regardless of the industry, businesses of all sizes are seeing less customers walk through their doors. So, how can you—a business owner—still provide your products or services to customers from afar? Set up shop at a new location using an ecommerce website.

My business has done well without an ecommerce website thus far. Why do I need one now?

Right now, you may be thinking of the old saying, “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.” If brick-and-mortar has been working for your business in the past, why try to change it? We get it—really. Frozen Fire truly values face-to-face interactions, and we make intentional efforts to meet with our clients as often as possible. However, in times of crisis such as the current COVID-19 outbreak, your normal way of doing things might not work anymore. If your loyal customers can no longer visit your store, or do not feel safe doing so, what are you doing to keep their business? It’s not enough to simply hope they remember you when the crisis is over. You need to stay top-of-mind and give them another avenue to purchase your products or services.

Here’s 3 reasons why you should set up an ecommerce website now:

1. Safety for Employees and Customers. COVID-19 is easily transmittable. By keeping your store open, you’re putting both employees and customers at risk. Launching an ecommerce website sends a message that you value the health of those around you, and that you’re taking the appropriate steps to ensure you’re not unnecessarily putting people at risk.
2. Convenience for Customers. Even before COVID-19, a large portion of consumers preferred to shop online. According to Statista, 67% of Millennials, 56% of Generation X, and 41% of Baby Boomers prefer online shopping to in-store shopping. Now, at a time when consumers are choosing to staying home, even those who prefer in-store shopping are making the switch to digital. An ecommerce website makes it convenient for customers to browse, learn about, and buy your products or services. Sticking to strictly brick-and-mortar makes it much harder for customers to purchase.
3. Legality. You may not think safety is an issue in your community, and you may not think your customers are being affected by the inconvenience of a brick-and-mortar store right now. But, for legal reasons, your business may be forced to shut down. In many communities across the country, authorities are closing down non-essential businesses in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19. If your community hasn’t enforced these measures yet, look ahead—is there a possibility that you could be forced to close your doors in the next few weeks? If so, do you have a plan of action for keeping your business afloat when it happens? Whether you’re closed due to legal reasons or simply want to be proactive, launching an ecommerce website will provide a way to bring in revenue when brick-and-mortar can’t.

My employees are great and know how sell our products and services. How can an ecommerce website make a sale like them?

Your employees are valuable—irreplaceable. Ecommerce websites are a great complement to a human sales team. For instance, if your brick-and-mortar store is closed due to COVID-19, your hard-working employees may find it especially challenging to make the sale. Think of your online presence as your digital sales rep. An ecommerce website can do the heavy lifting on the front end, making it easier for your sales team to close the sale. In addition, your website can be a valuable resource for sales staff to reference for outreach topics, FAQs, general product info, and more. It can even be a resource for training employees on brand guidelines, brand voice, or positioning.

Here’s 4 reasons why an ecommerce website is the ultimate sales rep:

1. It never clocks out. Your employees are most likely not working 24/7. So who is educating potential customers when your store is closed? Who is making the sale after normal business hours? An ecommerce website never sleeps. It can inform, persuade, and complete transactions just like your employees can—the difference is that your ecommerce website works 24/7.
2. It can handle multiple customers at once. Who is helping that waiting customer when your employees are already helping others in the store? An ecommerce website is an unlimited sales rep—it’s never too busy helping other customers. It can give a sales pitch to hundreds of customers while simultaneously checking out 20 other customers.
3. It shows you data-backed ways to improve. With traditional sales reps, it may be hard to pinpoint exactly where potential customers fall off. Where’s the gap in your sales funnel? Is it the sales pitch, or the price? Is it your value propositions? With an ecommerce website, you can gather the analytics that will help you make business decisions. For instance, you can gather data on the number of times a customer visits your website before making a purchase. This may prompt you to implement retargeting efforts or increase the frequency of follow-ups. You can also narrow down your target audience. With brick-and-mortar, tracking customer demographics can be difficult. With an ecommerce website, you can narrow down the age group, gender, or location of your most profitable audience.
4. Its operating costs are lower. An ecommerce website removes the expenses typically associated with in-store businesses. You can save money on employee wages, rent, electricity, and more. The scalability of an ecommerce website is also much quicker and less costly than a brick-and-mortar. You can diversify your offerings or grow your business in terms of sales or customers with ease.

I’m interested in launching an ecommerce website, but is it a costly and time-consuming project? And where do I even start?

Building an ecommerce website doesn’t have to put a strain on your business’s finances, and it doesn’t have to take up all of your time. In many cases, you can launch your ecommerce website in a matter of days or weeks. So you can have your website up and right when your customers need it the most.

At Frozen Fire, we can handle all aspects of your digital presence—including your ecommerce website. We’ve created hundreds of websites for businesses in varying industries and of varying sizes.

In an effort to help businesses stabilize operations in this time of uncertainty, we’re offering our ecommerce website package for a discounted price during the month of April. Whether you’re a restaurant, a product-based business, or another type of business impacted by the decrease in foot traffic, Frozen Fire will help you seamlessly integrate an ecommerce solution that fits your needs.

We see first-hand how the COVID-19 situation is affecting businesses—indeed, online accessibility is an immediate need for brick-and-mortar stores. Reach out to the Frozen Fire team today to see how we can help your business. Contact us online here or give us a call at 214-745-3456. To learn more about what we do and how we do it, visit our website here.