Here at eTrader we deal with SMEs and their websites as our bread and butter. A website is the main resource required to succeed in virtually every industry and the garment decoration one is no different.
It is a difficult thing to get right – which is often what throws businesses off the straight and narrow and down two paths.
Firstly, a quick fix for their businesses, producing some sort of site online to merely get themselves operating online dealing with all the problems and glitches as they come. Secondly, the polar opposite over-complicating and over-working the wheel, a time consuming process which produces a flash modern website on the outside offering some sort of functionality but ultimately it is what it is.
A complex approach to building your website often leads to pitfalls (pretty much every step of the way) and forgets what the main purpose of the website actually is – TO SELL!
The garment decoration industry struggles to find the fine balance between functionality versus design with customers often walking down either the first path or second path. Ideally, SMEs and business owners need to take a step back, remember the basics - I want my businesses website to sell, I want a functional website that actual sells my businesses goods.
It’s all about getting the basics right, making sure your business delivers online. Then the rest will come naturally whether it’s Responsive Design, Improving your User Experience (UX), revamping your website with new features, your site develops as your business develops. Our approach to it is to put your customers at the heart of the online experience, think what do they want from your business and how do we give them as simple an experience as possible.
Here’s a few of our top tips for Small Businesses looking to succeed online:
Make Ordering as Easy as Possible: A big gripe of ours we continue to preach!Sales are what keeps your business alive, make your customers shopping trip as straightforward as possible. Have them checked out in a few moments. See an example of one of our sites www.mygarmentfactorycardiff.co.uk to see how we focus on easy ordering.
Keep it Simple: Don’t over-complicate your website and burden your customers with features that bluntly delay your business selling online. Something the industry calls ‘Featurecreep’.
Personalise your Customer Experience: A huge point in the garment decoration industry, offering features to retain customers and keep them away from prying competitors. Offer potential large customers a personalised experience, private login, private shop and whatever it takes to secure the sale. Perfect for both B2B deals and B2C dealing with sports clubs, schools or any other club/organisation you can think of.
Going online doesn’t have to be Capital Intensive: Creating a website to do exactly what you want can be a very expensive process, especially in the garment decoration game (at least upwards of £10000). Product Data as far as the eye can see, an ordering process so complicated to produce effectively for your customers… but you don’t need to break the bank to make your businesses website work.
eTrader offers small businesses in our industry the simplest way to succeed online. For more information simply email info@etraderwebsites.co.uk or give us a call on 029 2075 5733.