Retail business is far from dead and it’s not going anywhere either so long as there are physical products to be touched and inspected, and in-person services to be received. In fact, many brick and mortar businesses are doing very well, much better than some online retail stores. The things that have died are the old ways of doing retail business which encompasses everything from internal operations to marketing and customer acquisition.

Physical locations can offer experiences and benefits that online retailers never can. However, as someone who is starting a new retail business, you need to be aware of the importance of having an online presence not only to survive in this highly competitive environment but also to scale up and lead a path of growth. For this purpose, we are going to talk about some of the things that you can do right out of the bat to secure your foothold in the retail business.

Set Up a Website

The changes in the commercial landscape had led up to changes in the customers’ behavior. For many consumers, the internet serves as an entry point to the marketplace. If they are in the market for a product or service, they start gathering information about different options online. Having a website is like having a sales representative who provides useful and relative information about your business every hour of every week.

But having a referencing tool is not enough, you need to be able to sell online not only through your own online store, but also online marketplaces all around the web such as Amazon, Walmart, or Target. Making your products available all around the web is crucial for future-proofing your brick and mortar business and the best way to do that is by setting up an online store that you can use as a home base to expand your marketing efforts and integrate with all the different online marketplaces as well as to directly sell your products.

Even if you are highly focused on serving your local market, having a website can help with customer retention and encourage repeat purchases. It also exposes you to a much wider market and sets the grounds for your future scale-up plans. In the early stages of your business, you don’t need to spend tons of money on a bespoke build, there are lots of inexpensive off-the-shelf solutions that can get you going.

Set Up a Delivery System

Streamlining the customers’ path to purchase is a goal that you should constantly pursue in your marketing and sales endeavors. Price and value are not the only factors that appeal to customers, convenience plays an important part as well. Setting up a fast and reliable delivery system makes the sales process smooth and seamless which is important for a great portion of the customers on the market.

In addition, if you plan on setting up an online store, delivery is an essential component you can’t disregard. You can start by local delivery to test the waters and figure out the ins and outs before expanding operations. There are also a number of high-profile delivery service providers that you can outsource to who handle everything from picking up the product at your location to packing, shipping, and delivering them to your customers.

In some industries, delivery can also be used as a way of marketing and promoting the business. For example, one of the most useful restaurant marketing tips would be to use food delivery services such as Grubhub or Uber Eats as they have already accumulated a significant customer base for new restaurants to tap into.

Local Marketing and Advertising

For local businesses, the smart and efficient way is to limit the reach of your marketing and advertising to the geographic reach of the operations. Why waste your marketing budget on deploying your advertising across channels whose audience you are not able to serve? Local marketing comes in a variety of forms, from traditional channels like regional newspapers to online marketing practices such as local SEO.

One of the first things you need to do is set up a Google Business profile. Formerly known as Google My Business, this is a free tool that allows you to list your business location on Google Maps and local search results along with information such as your address, telephone number, and working hours. Google has guidelines that you can use to improve your local ranking and appear in the local pack results.

Optimizing your website for local SEO is would be your next area of focus. According to Google, 46% of all queries have local intent behind them. Developing a well-thought-out strategy around localized terms and localized link building is key to drawing more customers to your physical store. Also, as you rank higher and attract more customers, you’ll generate more reviews which in turn will improve your click-through rate which again leads to higher foot traffic. You can reinforce this cycle by asking your customers to submit a review on Google as well.