3. Protect your Shopify store with e-commerce insurance
Busch’s biggest worry as a Shopify owner is her site going down. “There would all be a bunch of us in trouble because it’s really the only way we have to collect those orders and make sales, and I don’t know what we would do.”
For protection against some e-commerce store risks, Shopify store owners can get business insurance coverage. NEXT provides e-commerce insurance including:
- General liability insurance is the most common type of liability coverage. It helps cover non-employee bodily injuries or accidental property damage.
- Commercial property insurance can help cover damage to a commercial property you own or rent. It also helps protect your business inventory, equipment and building from unexpected events.
- BOP insurance (Business Owner’s Policy) which combines general liability insurance and commercial property insurance into one package, which is usually less expensive than buying the coverage separately.
- Workers’ compensation insurance helps cover expenses related to illness and injuries for employees (and it’s required in most states).
- Commercial auto insurance helps protect drivers and vehicles related to your business.
4. Choose a domain name that fits your brand
Because you compete with big names online, you must nail down your ideal customers and niches. Your brand identity is going to help you connect with your customers.
Every decision, from your color, logo, business name, store design and even product photos, helps you differentiate from big retailers — this is where you communicate your brand value and mission.
To simplify things, Shopify has ready-built themes (free and for purchase) to help you set up your pages. Store owners can find these in Shopify’s theme store.
Also, many themes come with templates to give your online store a consistent look and feel sitewide. Most theme and template elements — such as fonts, style, navigation menus etc. — are customizable.
Your store name should also translate to a URL, so grab your custom domain name and social channels when you decide on something.
5. Select an e-commerce platform
Shopify is one of many choices, so take the time to shop around for the right platform. A platform needs to be easy for your customers and user-friendly for your day-to-day management.
Busch switched from WooCommerce on WordPress to Shopify. She explained that the switch was necessary because the previous platform became too challenging to manage.
“It was tough because we couldn’t do anything ourselves. Maybe now I could navigate my way through that backend, but at the time, it was like you always had to hire someone to make changes and run your store.”
6. Build your Shopify website
Next, you will need to add products to your Shopify website via product pages. When you add products, you need to include product names and descriptions. For product descriptions, speak to your ideal customer’s needs. This may involve highlighting benefits, anticipating their objections and using easy-to-read text.
Photos help sell your product because they show your customer a realistic view. Upload multiple photos to give a better perspective. Keep photos the same so your overall site appears cleaner. Add details via alt text to help with accessibility.
Once you start creating multiple product pages, take the time to tweak and experiment. You can experiment with different themes to see which features work best. You can also organize product pages into groups so your site is easier to browse. Read more about e-commerce product listing optimization.
Busch also says that Shopify is an excellent resource for optimizing your website. She explains:
“They will just start giving you advice on how to grow your business, and they’ll kind of peek in the backend and go, have you thought about doing this, or you’re not taking advantage of some of these other features that you could have on your website that would increase conversions or bring more traffic to your site.”
Optimize your store so customers can find it in search
Once your e-commerce website is set up, you can optimize your copy for search engines by incorporating relevant keywords naturally throughout product descriptions, titles, and meta tags.
For example, TiScrubs sells scrubs to entire medical practices and individuals. So, instead of just including the keyword “scrubs,” they should also include keywords related to medical practice uniforms.
Focusing on high-quality, informative content that addresses customer needs and questions can improve search rankings and drive traffic to your store. Regularly updating and refreshing content also helps maintain the effectiveness of SEO (search engine optimization).
Create non-product pages to build customer trust
Don’t forget your non-product pages. These are the pages where you get to tell your brand story so you can convert your customers into regulars. These pages include:
- Homepage
- Contact page
- About
- FAQ
- Store policies pages — return policy, privacy policy, terms of services, shipping details, etc.
7. Price products to cover your costs
You must have a firm grasp of your costs and price your products to make your small business profitable. You can partner with an accountant to analyze your costs. But you must take into account your variable and fixed costs. Additionally, you need to have a profit margin that is high enough to make money while also pricing to stay competitive.
Busch likes using Shopify analytics to inform pricing decisions. The feature is called Shopify Audiences. This tool helps identify potential customers and even provides data about what they may pay for your product.
“It combs all of the websites that are using Shopify and gathers information about their customers and then aggregates it, and then kind of throws it back to you so that you can use it to market more effectively to customers based on all the data that they’ve collected on those people.”
Additionally, you must factor in shipping, taxes and payment options as part of your pricing structure.
Set up your shipping system
Busch has enjoyed Shopify’s ability to price out shipping options. You can plug in different options and see the cost differences. You can factor that into your pricing. Generally, your shipping can show up in these ways:
- Free shipping
- Rates of chosen carriers
- Flat rate
- Local pickup or delivery
For Busch, she offers free shipping for orders over $75. At that price point, she’s found that it encourages her customers to purchase a full set of scrubs to get the complete experience.
“We’re so confident that our scrubs are awesome that I want you to try them. When customers try them, they like our return rate. The number of people who return our scrubs is incredibly low, and I think that’s because once they get the product in their hands, they’re satisfied.”
She believes free shipping and returns are the key to new customers. She advises that new Shopify store owners factor that into their pricing.
Choose payment options
Shopify Payments lets you accept different payment methods online and choose payment options. Different payment options come with fees; for example, Shopify Plus owners who use Shopify Payments as their primary payment gateway will have their transaction fees waived.
Generally, you can make decisions on:
Generally, you can make decisions on:
- Payment type: credit cards and/or one-click options like PayPal
- Currencies
- Fraud protections like requiring customers to input their CVV for credit card payments
Take the time to consult an accountant about setting up appropriate sales tax charges. While Shopify’s platform includes tax settings you can adjust, consulting with a professional is wise to ensure compliance.
8. Connect to sales channels
Your Shopify store can connect to other sales channels beyond your shop’s website. Here are a few examples of other places you can sell:
- POS: you can sync your in-person store to Shopify
- Social media: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok
- Marketplaces: eBay, Amazon, Etsy, Walmart
- Google: shopping tab
“I think it’s probably good to give your customers a chance to find your products where they like to shop, but that was not my mentality in the beginning.”
Busch focused on growing her Shopify store on her own site. “I think I’ve changed my mind over the years, but initially, I always thought you should just have them come to your website and find you, where you could control your brand and everything. “
9. Manage your inventory
Inventory is expensive. You have to buy it to fulfill orders reliably, but you may not sell everything, so you must plan carefully. There are advantages and disadvantages to having excess inventory.
Busch understands this and continually adjusts her inventory. Having the right inventory is key when selling scrubs to medical practices.
“If you can’t outfit an entire practice, you’re in trouble.” You need to be able to provide every size and color, and you need to be able to handle orders for new hires in a medical practice.
Shopify has helped her manage inventory. She uses their inventory analytics tool to stay on top of inventory ordering.
10. Build customer relationships and loyalty
Busch has maintained a steady pace while maintaining good customer service, so she has plenty of loyal customers and referrals. But she also focuses her marketing strategy on attracting new customers through online marketing, such as Google and Facebook ads.
Early on, she took her online store to in-person events. She says, “We have customers who have been with us since the very beginning, that we actually just went out and met at a trade show, and who are still with us 10, 15 years later.”
