Is Brick and Mortar Dying? How can you Prepare and Secure Yourself for the future

Since 2019. the whole world is working in unison to help combat this deadly virus. Not only has it caused havoc in the lives of people, but it also has not even spared any business. All businesses are struggling to make ends meet some businesses are trying hard to just survive. During the lockdown period, shops and other businesses were forced to shut down, causing an inclination towards ecommerce. Even after the administration of vaccines for COVID-19 worldwide, we all are still struggling to go back to normal life.

With businesses being forced to shut their physical stores, businesses have seen a sharp decrease in their sales. Some businesses have turned towards ecommerce, but small local businesses are still struggling to strike a balance. While the world is hopeful to return to normalcy, businesses have started to look for alternatives to help secure their future. As many businesses could not afford to pay the rent for brick-and-mortar, they have given up their stores and have completely turned their business online. To prepare and secure your future, you must turn to ecommerce, before it gets too late.

THE DIGITAL SPHERE

Various ecommerce platforms, that have been existing before COVID-19, have gained tremendous popularity in the past year. Due to the lockdown restrictions, the general public has been forced to stay at home and do all purchasing online. This has caused almost all businesses to work on their digital presence, instead of working on their brick-and-mortar presence. Already existing ecommerce platforms, such as Shopify, have been of great help to businesses who are new to the ecommerce world. However, if you wish you start with your website, it is never too late; if you do not have enough experience in it, you can ask for professional help too. DigAptics is one dedicated team of experts, who help you to achieve your desired goals within a set time frame. They would be your safest bet to help boost your sales by providing you to exposure your business needs.

For achieving visibility online, you must make use of social media platforms. Since there is so much competition on these platforms already, you must strive to produce unique and engaging content regularly. Again, one piece of advice: look for professional help so that your page or profile can stand out from the rest. Using social media to create brand awareness and increasing your following is the in thing these days. A business’s success now depends on the number of followers the page has and how frequently they post the content. Since all age groups are active on social media, your social media presence should be strong. Furthermore, having an online store is much cheaper than brick-and-mortar, making it a feasible option for most businesses.

THE SURVIVAL MODE

Surviving in this tough competition can be difficult. Therefore, your digital presence should be felt and should help you attract more customers. An increase in sales would mean a higher Return On Investment (ROI). A few techniques to help you survive in this digital sphere have been mentioned below:

1. Have A Website For Your Business/Brand

This gives a very professional look to your business and will get the most clicks by the users. It must be up-to-date with all the relevant information.

2. Your Website Should Have A Quick Loading Time

This is a trick to stop your customers from running away. For any website that takes longer to load, viewers, close the tab.

3. Your Website’s Store Should Be Synced With Your Inventory

To prevent any glitches and disappointments, your inventory must be synced with your online store. This allows for a smooth running of the orders.

4. Drip Email Campaign

A drip email campaign can help you to attract more customers to your store. It helps you to reconnect with old customers as well as new customers. It can even help remind customers who have abandoned their carts.

5. Having a Blog For Your Website

Having a blog on your website allows you to add more keywords to your website, which can help you to drive more traffic to your store.

6. Having a Straight-forward and User-friendly Interface

If your website is easy to use, customers would not run away. A complicated website will cause users to close the tab.

7. Mobile-Friendly Website

Your website must be compatible with mobile devices and provide an optimum experience to the users.

8. Having a Mobile App For Your Store

Mobile apps help to provide a unique experience to the customers.

9. SEO

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an important aspect of marketing that helps to improve the search visibility of your website on search engines. Having a blog for your website is considered to be a good SEO practice.

10. Ecommerce Platforms

Apart from having a website, you can even rely on ecommerce platforms to help increase your sales and brand visibility.

11. Social Media Presence

As discussed before, your social media presence is very important for increasing your brand awareness and sales. All age groups use social media, therefore, you must take your social media presence seriously.

12. Referral Programs

Provide existing customers with discounts if they refer your store to a friend.

13. Customer Service

Customer service is an important aspect for customers. The customer service team represents your whole brand and they must be available around the clock to help solve their issues. A good customer service team is a must-have for all brands and businesses.

14. Product Photography

If you are selling products, you should get professional product photography done to show the product clearly to your customers. Since most people are not visiting physical stores, you must provide them with a similar experience.

15. Paid Advertisements

Paid advertisements on social media platforms allow your brand to get better visibility. You can even advertise on Google to get more traffic and clicks on your website. Advertising on social media even allows you to monitor your social media campaigns so you can tweak up your campaign to get the desired results.

FINAL WORDS

In these uncertain times, it is very hard to predict what the future of brick-and-mortar will be. One should be hopeful that things will be back to normal, but you must also look for alternatives to prepare and secure the future of your business. This security can be achieved via a strong online presence, including having an online store. When things get normal, you can juggle both the stores simultaneously; it will just mean extra sales for you.

However, due to tough competition, your store must stand out from the rest of the stores. For some business owners, handling an online store might be something new and might overwhelm them. While you look after other matters of running your business, you can hire professional marketers, who can help you increase your ROI. DigAptics works closely with their clients to ensure that their clients achieve their desired goals. Contact them today to get an estimate for your business.