How to take your brick-and-mortar business online.

With years of experience in taking businesses from brick and mortar to booming online, here at Feek Media Group, we want to share tips on how to fast-track the process for you.

Let’s be honest, marketing and running a business is full of hurdles and the majority of your successes have definitely come through trial and error. If you currently run a business that has seen success without the use of the Internet, congratulations! In this day and age, that can be an extreme challenge. With all the high street favourites sadly closing their doors, what is it that's causing this shift?

E-Commerce (Electronic Commerce) has taken centre stage for everyone's go-to needs. The pandemic put online purchasing at an all-time high with millions of businesses around the world doing even better than they thought. Many clients we have worked with have even had to upsize their facilities and online systems to handle the demand that online business has brought them.

This was only possible with their willing attitude to make the shift from in-person business to online retail.

In contrast, sadly many businesses that carry a heritage with their brand have closed down due to their lack of keeping with the times.

Household names such as Wilko and M&Co in the UK have recently closed along with historic American brands that we all knew and loved, such as Blockbuster and Toys R Us.

All of these great businesses were missing one thing. An online presence!

In this blog, we’d like to shed some light on the most efficient way to get your brick-and-mortar business online.

1. Just start, don’t get caught up on all the specifics!

The number one issue we have seen that plagues CEOs, founders and directors of businesses when going online is worrying about the specifics. We’re talking colour schemes, names, images, catch lines, phrases and all that in between.

In the short term, none of this matters! Worrying about these things will crush your drive and waste a lot of your time. It’s best to first, make a list of competitors, have a look at what they are doing online and in all honesty, copy them! Another thing to keep in mind is that data is king, this means pay attention to what your existing clients or customers already like. Is it a certain product or service they love that sells well, or is there something they say or do that keeps customers coming back to them for more? Whatever it is, logging this information from your own business in a database will help you keep track. Before making the leap online, consider using a CMS (Content management system such as HubSpot, Shopify, or Magento.

If you can’t at the moment budget for a marketing agency like Feek Media Group to help you, there are some great free courses at HubSpot that will teach you how to get ahead with your online business.

A content management system will help you create a website and store the data for the visitors that come to your site. Normally a website is written in HTML, JavaScript and CSS code languages which is a skill in itself to learn. A CMS will simplify this whole process for you so that you can put your time and effort towards something more important.

2. Buy your website domain and market your business with the same title.

The first practical step to bring your business online would be to buy your website domain. This is going to be your address for your online business. Just as your physical business address has a postcode or zip code, your online business needs a website domain.

Your website domain will usually be hosted by a company that acts as a holder for “yourname.com”, companies such as GoDaddy, HostGator and domain.com will function in a similar way that a landlord may lease your business property to you. You have full permission to make any changes to the property but if you don’t ‘pay rent’ the landlord has full permission to evict you.

To avoid such a situation most businesses will opt for a long-term lease of a domain up to five or even ten years. This would be a good idea if you have the budget to do so. It would also be an investment, as your business grows, the value of your domain will grow.

A common mistake many business owners will make is buying a domain that is not connected to the company in any way. For SEO (Search engine optimisation) purposes, you will want to choose a name that is relevant to your business. If you are a counsellor or therapist, consider something along the lines of (yourarea)counselling.com or if you are a personal trainer, try using something like (yourname)pt.com or (yourname)fitnesstrainer.com

Such descriptive names will help when people in your area are searching for your product or service in their area which is the most common way people search in 2023. If you run a global business it would be best to use your business name (Feek Media Group) and build your brand around that name, so that when prospective clients search for your name, they won’t have a hard time trying to find you.

3. Social Media, or not?

Social media, the allegory of the 21st century.

For some, depending on your age and culture, social media can feel like the Wild west, and it’s really not that far from it. If you’ve ever ridden on the London Underground or the subway in New York at 5 pm you’ll understand what it’s like to be on social media. Crammed full of people with all sorts of opinions, breathing all over each other just trying to make it home. On the odd occasion, you’ll come across a cute puppy or a beautiful piece of music but you’ll always be close to the edge.

Social media has such a long history in somehow, such a short amount of time. Currently, the mount-Rushmore of social media platforms are Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Twitter (Now called X) and a big one for corporate business, LinkedIn.

Something 99% of marketing agencies will not tell you is that you actually might not need social media for your business. Most marketing agencies will milk your pockets dry and convince you that you need to pay them to get you on every platform on the internet, this is simply not necessary. Although it will depend on your business, for some a simple Facebook page will do, but for others, all the bells and whistles are needed.

The necessity for social media will vary from case to case. If you are a clothing brand for example, Instagram and TikTok are definitely a great idea, especially video content. As mentioned before, don’t worry about the details and overcomplication, just start off by displaying your products, explaining what's new, why you like what you sell and maybe a behind-the-scenes clip. Interview all of your staff members! Remember what we said about data? People love people! Everybody loves to listen to opinions and thoughts on products.

In contrast, if you’re in corporate or in some kind of professional field you may want to opt for a more formal approach. A Facebook page is good for every business but maybe think about using LinkedIn too. LinkedIn is a platform that will allow you to connect with other businesses on an approachable but professional level.

For a moment we definitely need to acknowledge the effectiveness of Facebook groups for all businesses, especially small/local businesses. If you’re happy to, use your personal Facebook page to get into niche groups that can act as an echo chamber for your service or products. Groups like “Beauticians in (your area)” or local groups for towns and villages usually advertise events or have people asking where to find certain things they’re looking for.

The word ‘Forum’ comes from the Latin word that meant “public place outdoors”. In ancient Rome, anyone and everyone would use forums for business, debates, and to discuss philosophy. This is where online forums got their name. In the same way today, online forums like Reddit and radio-hp are great places to gain traction for your online business.

Some businesses have been very surprised upon looking at their online analytics to find that 10% of their online sales are coming from people sharing their product links in online forums.

4. Consistency and longevity.

Here’s the verdict, if you’re not going to commit to marketing your business online long-term, don’t bother at all. There’s nothing worse in business than wasted time.

That being said, committing to having a consistent attitude will help you gain success in the long term. A practical plan and schedule need to be in the plan. Don’t just shoot in the dark. Aim to research the market you’re in and figure out what works best for similar businesses.

Methodically choosing where you’ll start and setting milestones is a good way to get going. If your goal is to start up an online store then start with some of the steps discussed in this blog post. Buy your domain name, create your website, upload a category of products, and then start to advertise.

If you’ve made it this far and you’re considering reaching out for help, Feek Media Group will be able to help you with all of the above. We have a vast knowledge of digital marketing and we have a commitment to being transparent with what we think you may need.

If you would like a free consultation, you’re welcome to contact us using the information on our website. If you have found this blog helpful we will be posting lots more resources and guides for businesses on our website and social media. Stay tuned!