Programmatic advertising is the use of a software to buy digital ad space, it provides complete autonomy for businesses. In the past few years it has made great strides in its development with a whole heap of tools, platforms and resources available for businesses looking to streamline their online advertising.

This form of advertising uses data science to improve your online conversions, it considers seasonality, user behaviours and much more to model paid search results. It essentially uses predictive analytics to monitor, maintain and enhance your ads based on a number of behaviours namely customer demand.

For this you need the right data sources, this allows you to build models to explore customers behaviours. There is a whole heap of data out there when it comes to Online Marketing and your business (I would argue too much, some useless data which only causes confusion when trying to make decisions). 


A fully data driven approach requires autonomous decision making such as AI & Machine Learning provides has become vital over a manual approach analysing 1000s of sets of data. Using AI & ML provides valuable Marketing insights which a manual approach can’t deliver and can be used to streamline future campaigns.

There are a few things to consider when using an automated approach:

  • Define your goals & outcomes: What is your campaigns end goal? What data is relevant to be collected and collated? Knowing your aims & goals allows you to decipher what data is the most relevant and appropriate to use.
  • Complete a data audit: Your business probably has an abundance of data readily available. Data from Analytics, Webmasters & Ads plus any CRM data or transactional data from previous orders and enquiries. Assess this data and work out what is relevant, what can be used and what would provide value to your business and its online efforts.
  • Consider external data sources: Alongside having data about existing customers, creating an online profile for a new potential customer is essential. Use public data sources such as Google Trends, UK Data Service and other readily available datasets to identify any existing online retail trends.

Undertaking Machine Learning & utilising AI in Marketing is in its infancy for businesses with only large multi-nationals having the facilities and resources to build bespoke software to fully utilise it. But there are a growing number of software available for small businesses to utilise with the pick of the bunch being Phraseee, Optimove, Rapidminer and Automat.

It's not!

One of the common misconceptions I come across from garment decorators is that they class a 'website' order as an order if the customer pays for it online. This is perceived as somehow different to somebody who finds you online and picks up the phone or emails, or visits your store to give you an enquiry or place an order.

It's all about choice for customers. 

If you've got an 'all singing, all dancing' website where customers are comfortable placing an order for their embroidered or printed clothing online, then great. Lots of them will and you should definitely make that option available to them. 

But if they give you an enquiry and you win the order by any other means then put that in your 'website orders' folder as well. 

A commercial website (brochure or e-commerce) is a sales tool first and foremost.

Make sure it looks professional, promotes trust and reflects the brand and values of your business, and of course sells something. Your homepage especially needs to do this, but equally important, it must be flexible enough for you to easily update with your latest offers, promotions, best-selling products, content, social media campaigns and so on.

Try looking objectively at your homepage, if you're not happy with it then it's unlikely your potential customers will be. If you want an idea of just how critical this stuff is online, I found this article 'a real eye opener': http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/223150

Focus on marketing, your businesses biggest potential income generator. 

When all that hard work and effort you have put in to promoting your new or existing website starts to pay off and the orders, customers emails and phone-calls are coming in, whatever you do, don't send them back to the place they just came from (your website) to try again, 'cause they'll go somewhere else!

Making sure your website gives the best customer experience possible, and when you get to that dream position of how to handle all the orders then look at the rest of the stuff.

When is a Website Not a Website?

If you want a website that books the job in, does the proofing for you, creates the delivery note, sends the invoice, collects the payments and even makes the tea. That's not a 'website'! 

There's plenty of software out there that'll handle all that (maybe not the tea) and will serve you well. You can get it built specifically or integrate it with your website. We meet lots of people in our industry who tell us about how much time they spend on this kind of stuff, trying to do it themselves, trying to figure out how these systems work, attempting to upload a zillion products, worrying about whether they need to add more widgets or features to make it better for them. 

What about the customer? 

Excercise caution if you find something that promises to do it all in one, that's a tall order to be all things to all 'platforms'. 

What if you want to change your website? 

You shouldn't have to change your order processing system. What if you want to update your brand and improve your marketing or get a swanky new responsive website, you shouldn't have to change your proofing system or accounts package.

Don't get me wrong, it's not that this stuff isn't important, it is! But they are not the same and none of it will win you any business...

One last thought... 

Try setting up a new site from a website design company online, fully branded for your business to sell your embroidered or printed clothing. It will cost £10k+ and take months of planning and consideration.

For a sensible solution that helps businesses actually generates income get in touch on info@etraderwebsites.co.uk or call 029 2074 1663

We will happily chat to you and see if we can possibly help grow your business and its online presence.

In this weeks blog we have put together our top five ways we help print & embrodiery businesses with their websites.

We provide garment decorators the most comprehensive website for their business providing them a proven sales tool for their business. In no particular order here are five ways we help print & embroidery businesses succeed online:


We take the stress out of your hands and actually build your website for you. You need to focus your energy and effort on running your print & embroidery business and do not need to be wasting time building one yourself. 

Where our competitors offer a drop and drag website you build yourself we do the hard work and build for you. Save a considerable amount of effort & time and leave it to the web design company to actually build your website for you, we aren't just an off the shelf solution.


If for some reason you ever need to get in touch with us we are simply a phonecall or email away. We love to help customers with any queries they have and ensure we provide them quality, quick and reliable UK based customer support. 

You won't find us using a ticketing system or using a North American or Australian call centres!


We have 100s of brands available for customers to sell on their websites. Simply pick & choose what you would like on-site. You don't have to be tied in to any particular wholesaler or supplier, you sell exactly what you want to sell on your website.


Our easy to use online ordering makes winning business easy. Whether its creating a public/private shop for a repeat customer or using the easy to use four step process both your new and existing customers will find ordering quicker and simpler than ever before.


We don't stop once the website is built. Our team help you maximise your websites potential with in-store and online training in a number of areas including but not limited to SEO, PPC, Email Campaigns, In-Store Marketing, Blogging, Social Media and much more...

For more information on how eTrader Websites can help your print & embroidery business you can reach us on
029 2074 1663 or email info@etraderwebsites.co.uk

2018 was a big year for Digital Marketing in many ways including Social Media platforms offering businesses more functionality than ever before, the continuous rise of Video Marketing, the introducing of Mobile First Indexing by Google and of course the introduction of the dreaded four words we all love to hate General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).

For Digital Marketing, we can expect Social Media interaction with customers to continue to grow and develop. Video Marketing will continue to dominate and grow rapidly with user generated content through Instagram, Youtube, Facebook Live etc. Businesses are striving to create ‘Positive Social Proof’ as someone customers can deal with and have a great experience with.


2019 promises to be an interesting year with the introduction of new technologies being used as part of the Marketing Mix. 

Here are three key trends to keep an eye on in the upcoming year:

Chatbots: There are no such thing as opening hours online, customers have access to your business, its website and Social Media 24/7. Chatbots are becoming more and more important to deal with your customers queries on demand. 

Frequently used on Facebook to help customers communicate with your business Chatbot usage is expected to rapidly grow. 

Chatbots can be integrated in a website, app or on your business’s social media accounts, they can act quicker than humans in dealing with customer requests and can provide a more personalised service by gathering user information that can later be used to tailor your businesses Marketing campaigns.

VR/AR: Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality are seen by many as a Sci-Fi like future, but they are very much here and slowly creeping their way into businesses Marketing activity. This is still at very early stages and for the foreseeable future will begin to grow exponentially but it’s a great time for businesses to invest and explore the options. 

VR/AR gives your customers the chance to be both engaging with your products/services and actively participating in your Marketing activity in ‘another reality’ putting them at the heart of your business.

Voice Search: 2019 is widely expected to see a significant growth in voice searches & queries - almost 1/3 of the 3.5 billion searches performed in 2018 were carried out by voice assistant devices such as Apple Siri, Google Home & Amazon Alexa leading the way.

This is expected to grow to almost 50% of searches in 2019. Your online presence needs to consider optimising content specifically for Voice Searches, focusing on ‘Position Zero’, Local SEO and creating content around questions your customers may ask.

Taking your garment decoration business online is now more important than ever before for your business. A large proportion of garment decorators are traditionalists in nature focusing purely on their love of print & embroidery, relying on word of mouth and repeat orders for success with little regard for their online success.

But now with the growth of online businesses, consumers have more options than ever before online and are not afraid to shop around. Customers are looking for alternatives, convenience and importantly the best prices! The million dollar question is where on earth do I begin?

There are a number of options out there to help take your business online, it is all about picking the right option for your business, your target customer base and lastly your budget - you don’t need to throw your hard earned cash at going online!  

You want your online business to be a reflection of you, your personality and become an extension of your in-store business. Starting out it sounds daunting but it is manageable if you simplify it.

Keeping it simple

Start off small, unless your tech savvy focus on the basics. Your garment decoration businesses site needs to look professional, smart, modern and not like something put together in a slap-dash manner. Give your customers a high quality user experience, a site that is easy to use, one that communicates your businesses key selling points and promotes your core products/services.

Importantly, your site should be something that you are comfortable using… you need to be able to understand, your site & what it offers. For example, you can offer online buying, but do you know how it works behind the scenes? E-Commerce is a whole different world in itself, so do your research, seek advice and familiarise yourself before dipping your toes into the online pool.


What options are available?

There are a host of options out there and different routes – but it all boils down to your budget & what you want from going online. If you merely want an online presence then a simple site should do the trick something visually pleasing, basic, and cost effective but limited functionality.

But if you are serious about the online game, there are businesses out there that offer online web solutions specific to the industry (ourselves included!) These solutions are geared towards garment decorators who know what they are after and willing to invest a little in online success.

To sell or not to sell?

There are a number of brochure sites (sites that don’t sell online) & e-commerce options available, just do your research, visit trade shows, have live demos and get to know the options before making the best informed choice for your business. 

Brochure sites are a low cost way of getting an entry level site for your business online, you can create these yourself using various software Shopify, WordPress etc. Creating these can be time-consuming but often a money saver, the downfall of these is they often look homemade and you get what you pay for. For a more professional alternative, there are businesses out there like ourselves offering both brochure & e-commerce sites for garment decorators. 

E-Commerce gives businesses the chance to sell online but if often a mine-field, there are a number of options out there for your business to consider, Sagepay, Paypal, Stripe and many more, picking the right package is important for your business, check out their offerings, transaction rates and make sure it all adds up.

It is all about picking a site that works for you & your business and that you are comfortable with. Simply do your research and understand what your options are.

One last thought

You are running a business, do you have time to manage a site? Or create one from scratch? There are options out there for your business, your site can be managed for you by the ‘experts’ so you just sit back, relax and take care of the orders!

Want help or don't know where to begin?

Find out how we help garment decorators with their websites. Our team can offer expert advise and arrange a consultation for your business.

We also run an online demo highlight how we can help, to book yours email info@etraderwebsites.co.uk or call 029 2074 1663

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