Yesterday for Tower Systems I hosted a discussion about websites for retailers and how to get more traffic. Here is a video of that session. It offers up practical advice any newsagent with a website could leverage. https://youtu.be/E2GlTLAmeuQ
Is Your Website Actually Working for Your Retail Business?
For independent retailers like newsagents, a website is a vital tool for survival and growth. But there is a big difference between having a website and having a website that drives success.
This is a video of a deep-dive session on how local, specialty retailers can bridge the gap between their physical counter and the digital world. If you’ve been wondering how to compete with the “big guys” without losing your local soul, this video is for you.
Why Watch?
Retail in Australia has changed. Online plays a more important role than ever. In this session, I cover:
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The “Curated” Advantage: Why being small is actually your biggest strength online.
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Choosing Your Platform: Why we advocate for Shopify as the “bang for buck” leader for independent stores.
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Local SEO: How to make sure you appear when someone nearby searches for your products.
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Closing the Sale: Practical tips to turn website visitors into loyal customers.
Seamless Integration is the Key
Online and in-store operations should talk to each other. You need one source of truth when it comes to your stock data. POS-integrated websites are key here.
Why Shopify
Shopify is my e-commerce platform of choice because it’s easy to setup, easy to manage and easy to change. I use it for all the e-commerce sites in ym businesses. As of right now, I have 4 e-commerce sites with a fifth to launch today or Monday.
- https://mintcoinshop.com.au/
- https://hugsandlove.com.au/
- https://beanieboosaustralia.com/
- https://myornaments.com.au/
I mention these to show that the advice I cover in the website session comes from a place of personal engagement. there are too many web developers and web consultants out there who tell you what to do without having the experience themselves. This can be okay, but it can also be problematic.
Shopify is a good platform, and it connects to the Tower Systems POS software, which for me makes sense, of course.
Anyway, I’ve loaded the video here for anyone to watch without and gatekeeping. I hope you find it worthwhile.
Hungry beast
The final point I’d make on this is that a website is a hungry beast. If you don’t care for it and feed it, it will fail. The feeding and caring is the work I discuss during the session. Anyone who says a website will work right away once it’s created is kidding you.
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Mark Fletcher founded newsagency software company Tower Systems and is the CEO of newsXpress, a marketing group serving innovative newsagents who continuously evolve their businesses to be enjoyable, relevant and successful. You can reach him on mark@newsxpress.com.au or 0418 321 338.