Going online is a no-brainer these days. E-commerce grew during the lockdowns jumping to 17% in 2020 from 14% in 2019 in global trade. The pandemic has also hastened the digital transformation. Not only are more people setting up e-commerce companies but more businesses are moving to the online space.

Still, and sadly, there are those who are being left behind. These are established small-town businesses such as the neighborhood meat shop, the mom-and-pop store that sells everyone’s favorite jellybeans, or the quaint bookstore around the corner. These townfolks just don’t know how or are too afraid to try going digital.

If you’re in this boat or know someone who is, there is hope. It’s really not that hard if you take it one step at a time. Here are clear and simple steps to bring your brick-and-mortar operations to the e-commerce world. 

Steps to online selling

1. Create a website. 

This is obvious. Too bad, a lot of people get bogged down by this very important task. They can also end up having a site that is too fancy for their business or too static. It’s not doing anything for the business. A good website is an active and dynamic tool for attracting customers. Remember, we are going e-commerce. 

1. Choose one a website platform

SquareSpace, Wix, Shopify, and WordPress – You need a platform. This is what you use to build a website. The aforementioned four are your best bet.  Those who don’t want to tinker with their website backend should select any of the first three above. These three platforms come with their own hosting. 

For busy business owners who don’t want to tinker under the hood of their website, SquareSpace, Wix, and Shopify are built for e-commerce. They have their own built-in payment modules which is a big advantage. No worries about setting up your payment system. 

You can have carts, product catalogs, and shipping options.  You can remove or add any features that you like. Some features will require more payments. They have monthly and yearly plans. If you are single-minded on online selling, then go for Shopify.

Me? I use WordPress because I’m like a digital grease monkey. I like to get under the hood and twist stuff (and sometimes break them).  WordPress powers about a third of all websites in the world. Why? Because it is easy to learn and quite customizable. 

I also like the idea of freedom. I can move my WordPress site to another hosting provider. I am scared of commitment which is why I said no to SquareSpace, Wix, and Shopify. You cannot move your website to another host. You will lose all your data, analytics, and design. I don’t like being held hostage. The opposite is true for WordPress. You have to look for your own hosting provider.  Then you have to add the e-commerce features that you need. 

We discuss these platforms and more in another post: 28 Websites Every Small Business Owner Needs To Know For 2021. Be sure to check it out.

A website is hosted on servers operated by hosting companies. There are so many that your head could hurt. To spare you from analysis paralysis: you can choose, Bluehost, Hostinger, DreamHost, and HostGator. 

They are all affordable, fast, and offer SSL certificates with their plans.  The graph below shows how important speed is to a site’s revenues. 

Image source: Cloudflare

Go mobile — Make sure that whatever platform and hosting that you choose your site will be mobile-ready and responsive. Almost half of all Internet shopping happens on mobile. 

This trend will only continue far into the future as people avoid crowded places. Further ushering in the death of the shopping mall.  

2. Find a payment solution 

More shopping on phones means more digital payments through phones. Whether by smartphones or PCs, your customers should be able to pay through your website. 

Total e-payment made in 2019 amounted to US$ 4.9 trillion. E-payments use digital money stored in e-wallet apps in devices. The transfer of funds is quick and generally secure. Some sites place the money in escrow until the customer has verified that the products were satisfactorily delivered. 

1. Merchant account — You may already have one with your bank as a business owner. Visit your bank’s website or call them to find out if they integrate with most payment providers. You need this because you want sales to go into your bank account.  

2. Payment solutions — Aside from the usual credit cards, payment systems like Paypal, Stripe, Amazon Pay, and a lot more can be added to your site. 

SquareSpace, Wix, and Shopify already have payment systems built into their website templates. For WordPress, you have to install an e-payment plugin. 

Don’t worry this is way less complicated than its sounds. 

Three of the most popular are WooCommerce, WP Simple Pay, and WPForms. We have a great article on e-payments and mobile wallets for your physical store here: How To Install E-Payment For Your Small Business To Get More Customers

3. Order fulfillment 

Now that you have your website and payment solution. Great. Your next task should be to set up your order fulfillment. This is the process of making good on your end of the transaction.   

1. Create SKUs – Skip this part if you are a service firm. If you sell products, read on to save yourself some giant headaches later. 

Assign an SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) to each one. An SKU is a product code that you can use to search and identify stock on hand from lists, invoices, or order forms. 

An SKU system will allow you to track the products, prevent theft, easy stocktakes, spot stock shrinkage, and identify profits. To create an SKU, group words according to importance, e.g. Shoes, Nike, Air Jordan, Size 10, Red, and Black in SKU can be SNk-AJ10-R&B. Here’s a free SKU generator.   

2. Storage – Find a place where you will store your products. This could be your closet, garage, or warehouse. The idea is to have your inventory accessible, organized, and safe. 

3. Picking and Packing — Once the order comes in. You must be able to pick the right item. This is where you will appreciate an SKU which allows you to quickly located and identify the correct item. 

After securing the item, bring it to an area reserved for packing. You need to inspect it for flaws. Test the product. Make sure that all accessories are included. A lot of returns happen because of mistakes and negligence with the pick and pack stage.    

4. Shipping — Once the product is all packed, it’s ready to go. Arrange for pick up from UPS, DHL, USPS, Canada Post, or FedEx. 

Provide an option for the customer to select a courier. As for the cost, you should let the customer pay for the shipping. 

Every now and then, do special free shipping promotions. You can offer free shipping for all products or for a minimum purchase price. 

You can also raise the product price to cover shipping cost or take it out of your margins. 

Shipping can be a big cost center so be flexible and select the methods that will place your company in that sweet spot between revenue and competitiveness.  

4. Target your market

Now that you have a website fully equipped with e-payment, you need to let people know about it. 

First thing is to tell your present customers about it. Tell them that you are launching a website. Get their emails (We’ll circle back to this later). Make a big deal out of this. The next step is to get the buzz going beyond your present patrons. 

Since this is all about small business, we will focus on free things you can do.  

1. Listings – These are directories that list businesses for free. People can find your business on these listings. 

Your first listing should be on Google My Business. It’s the most used search engine so your business can show up complete with a map and link to your website. This is especially important for local searches. Registration is so easy. 

Then there is the granddaddy and the original directory Yellow Pages. Just sign up and fill in the information. 

Next is Bing Places. It’s the second most popular search engine. Okay, it’s a very far second. Like Bing has 2% to Google’s 92% but you should cover all the bases. 

Then join organizations and events in your industry and make sure you get added to their directories.      

2. Social media selling — Social selling is big now. This is where you will also find customers and engage them. Social selling has been proving to improve company sales by 16%. Over 50% of revenues across 14 major industries were generated by social selling. 

For this, you need to look into Facebook, Pinterest, and LinkedIn if you have a B2B business. These are my recommended starters. 

Further down the road, you can do Instagram and YouTube. If retail is your business, then Facebook would be a safe bet. It’s got Shop and Marketplace features where you can post your products. 

For now, don’t go crazy. Just select and use one. The most relevant to your audience.    

3. Content marketing —  Content marketing, to simplify it, is showing up with a solution when people search for their problem. You do this put putting up helpful content on your website. 

Start by writing what you know and how you, and your products, can solve people’s problems. Don’t try to sell them anything. 

Your articles, photos, artworks, infographics, and videos should aim to solve problems of your customers. 

Content marketing is a long game. Patiently wait until Google decides that you have EAT (Expertise, Authority, and Trust) in your area. It could take six months or longer before Google decides to rank your content in searches. It’s a long wait but Content Marketing will sustain your site with traffic long into the future.    

4. Email marketing — Circling back to emails. If you have your present customers’ email, you can start regularly sending them emails. 

I recommend an email once a week but that depends on your product, services, and any newsworthy happenings in your business. 

You can start growing your email list by getting more emails from your website visitors and social media followers. 

Promise them discounts, exclusive items, or helpful e-books. Don’t spam them and don’t give your list to other companies. 

With email marketing, you have a captured audience where you can do various marketing for free.  For every dollar you spend on email marketing, you can expect a return of forty-two bucks. About 49% of customers said they would like to receive emails from their favorite brands.

Conclusion

Going online is a matter of survival for most businesses. Your website is the first thing that people search for when they want to know more about your company. But a website is not enough. You can make your website the main source of revenue for your business. Think about reaching customers beyond those who can go to your shop. That’s a lot of people. 

This digital business pivot is something that all small businesses should be doing. Those who do it too late will find that the ship has already sailed.   

If you are already set up for e-commerce make sure that everything is steady and stable Train your team for e-commerce. Widen your supplier base so that you are not at their mercy if they decide to hike prices or run into supply problems.   

The next step is increasing your online presence. We have an article about free ways to increase the digital footprint of your small business. This should be your next quick read.