If you successfully sell products or services online, you may have considered offline expansion- That is to open a physical store.
However, it is difficult to change from simple online business to multi -channel merchants. The cruel reality is that not everyone has enough time or resources to do this … or not at all.
If you are seriously considering going down your Woocommerce store, then you need to consider several important things before making a major leap . If you can solve these factors in advance, it will give you a better chance of success.
From location to personnel equipment, to all things related to payment, the following is a complete list you should consider before entering the \”real world\”.
Where do you plan to open a store
The location of your store will be directly related to your degree of success, so you should first solve this problem.
Although you can expect some customers to find your same ways (such as Google search) to track you offline according to their use for
, You still need to be your store for your store Provide the correct position to attract enough customers to achieve success .
The position of \”correct\” depends on what you want to sell and who you want to sell to. If you provide cheap or potential impulse purchases, such as toys, cosmetics, and even clothes, then you should occupy space in indoor or outdoor shopping malls: Curious customers can (and can) go in and see your stuff \u0026 #39; Re -sales.
Shopping center may be a good place for some stores. But for others, the traffic from looking for discounts and discounts will not help them at all. However, if your store will store more expensive items, such as jewelry or high -end clothing, or products that need time and research to determine, such as lawn equipment or home decoration supplies, then you will not It will benefit from the mall because the step will be very low. In this case, you should look for an easy -to -access single unit, or it may be near the neighbor.
Finally, the most important thing is that
carefully consider the general area where your new store is
. It is very important to open a lawn nursing shop in a small town with a vast garden and farmrighteous. However, in the concrete jungle in New York City … it may not be a good idea.
Looking back:
If your product is very good It may be impulsive purchase, please meet with similar companies in shopping malls, Outlets, or similar areas to attract customers
If the goods you want to sell will take a longer time to come for a longer time Decision, please find a separate unit , or it may be a complementary neighbor (for example, put your clothing shop next to the salon)
Make sure your store area needs to be sold for you to sell Product -The grass cutting machine will not help anyone living in the apartment, but they will create a miracle for rural residents
The location can achieve or destroy your new store, so continue to continue Before, please take as much time as possible. Entrepreneur provides more prompts and 22 good questions when choosing you may think useful. Who will work in the store (when)
So far you may be the only employee of the company. However, when you establish a retail business,
you will have to accept such a fact, that is, it is impossible to wear all these hats.
You must make a series ] How many people do you need to help your store
Who will be responsible for managing your physical store
Who will be responsible for managing you Online Store
Whether you are in person Manage a store or two stores
If you plan In small retail stores, you may find that you only need one employee except you (because, hey, maybe you can work in the online store from a new place!). However, if you are actively expanding to the physical store,
You will have to make some serious decisions on your role in the entire operation
. You may find that it is time to take a step back, let others manage your online store, and at the same time recruit and expand offline. No matter what role you decide to play in all of this,
Do not try to do it alone. It is difficult to manage a store.At the same time, running two may lead to burnout (even worse), so please start asking for help as soon as possible.
If you are in the United States, please check this article from the US Small Enterprise Administration to learn about the relevant employment Your first employee should understand. Not in the United States? No matter where you are, NOLO’s list has some to be checked.
Which products do you sell offline
The next step on the list of things to be handled: Decide to the product you will actually sell in the new store. Your response to this problem may be \”uh, what I sell on the Internet is the same.\” But you may not want (or do not need) to accurately copy your inventory when you open a retail store.
There are things like \”too many products\”. If you move to a narrow retail environment, you will immediately realize this.
Some things may prevent you from storing the same products in two stores, for example:
Demand increased Stock
Insufficient
There is no need for specific products -Some products may sell well online because people looking for them can easily find them, but maybe no one wants or need them because of your area where you are located. In offline
,
order delivery time
is extended -for example. Customers may wait on the Internet for a week or two to buy personalized products, but ask them to return to your store to pick up the goods again. ], Because let us face reality, you may not have enough space to double the inventory
Before adding it to the product series of the new store Products
. If something does not meet the needs of your customers or their expectations -or, if it is not suitable for the storage room! -We first, don’t waste your money or energy to store it.
Will the online store be transferred offline? Tip: First provide your \”the hottest song\”.
Click the tweet
The safest way is to sell your \”most popular products\” (that is Push to customersRecommend other products you provide on the Internet, and hear feedback about what they want to want to see in the store. Once you get some feedback, you can decide what inventory is -and more confident in adding it because you will know that there is a demand. How you will manage the inventory between stores
Speaking of the product, you also need to consider
How to deal with the inventory overlap between online and offline positions
.
The last thing you have to do is to sell a large number of products at your retail place, but find that some of these products have promised online customers. You don’t want to waste valuable time to snatch products from the sales site or update the inventory in WooCommerce manually.
If you use a sales point system like Square,
You can keep the inventory update between two places without any manual adjustment
. Square will simultaneously invent up between its system and Woocommerce, showing what you can use -and prevent what you actually don’t actually have (any party).
SQUAR Products, etc.
Here we get all the detailed information about us integrated with Square, including how to save time by setting up ultra -fast inventory between two positions (and prevent tricky sales from selling you. To.
How will you receive the last big event you need to consider when preparing to open a retail store: How will you get a reward .
Fit Small Business provides super detailed guidelines for offline credit cards and debit cards, which can help you get started. The basic knowledge you need to understand is: You need to rent or purchase the sales point system (POS) to get cards and cash
to accept Credit card, you may need to apply for a merchant account , which is a bank account that allows you to receive payment from consumers
The cost of receiving credit cards and debit cards Card type and processor varies from
Finally,
You must pay taxes on the new income of retail stores
-Mre information from the US Small Enterprise Administration
How many steps are required to accept credit cards and debit card paymentJust like using a credit card online. But with the right suggestion, you will start and run immediately.
You need to remember one point: Square can pay for Woocommerce and your actual location or manage inventory. Many small companies choose Square as their first offline payment processor, but you can also use it online . This allows you to greatly simplify settings and avoid paying fees to multiple companies.
Other matters to be remembered when you are offline
We are here to discuss here Key points -location, personnel equipment, product classification, inventory and payment -are the most important things you should consider when you are going to transfer your existence to offline.
As the last step, you need to consider other things. They may not be as important as these other projects, but they must ensure that you give them some ideas in any way:
Marketing your new store -How do you plan to promote your new store Intersection Since your existing online customers may be everywhere, it will not reduce it in email and social media. Study targeted online advertising, PPC, etc.
Local search engine optimization (SEO) – When nearby shoppers search for products you sell online or your store type, you definitely need to appear. Learn from Moz to understand all information about optimizing local search.
How is your store linked —— If someone visits your retail store, how do they know that you have an online store, and vice versa? Consider whether to make pages for retail stores on your website, make business cards for online stores, and so on. Customer contact information -If if you have a telephone number of a physical store, can online customers call to ask questions or doubts now? Clearly what options are the best (but try to avoid \”no\”).
If you have solved these factors, then it is time to take this step
Check these things in your mind? It feels like smoking? If you have read this article and are thinking \”Hey, I can do it\”
, then go!
Take a big step and start offline expansion.
If you feel not so confident, please don’t worry: you
Now
There is no last period or expects to have a physical position, even at all.The important thing is that you make a decision that suits you and your customers , even if this means only keeping online.
No matter what your next move is, we hope that the offline sales guidelines will help you to some extent.Are there any questions or feedback on us?Comment waiting.
Related Reading:
Use Square and Woocommerce to pay anytime, anywhere
You can use 5 products sold by woocommerce [
123] 4 methods to add physical products to any store
, which is a bank account that allows you to receive payment from consumers
Marketing your new store