Creating an Online Shop for Your Low Vision Small Business

In this blog post, we will walk you through how to create an online shop for your small business. Most OrCam distributors currently operate out of brick-and-mortar shops in cities all around the world. But even if the coronavirus hadn’t forced all in-person businesses to come to a halt, in 2020 it is important that all small businesses have an online presence. Why?

First of all, because your competitors likely have an online presence. Second, because you want to be found by the people who need your service. Modern customers are tech-savvy, and if a potential customer searches for “shops for low vision near me” in your city and your store does not show up, there is no way for them to know your business exists.

Lastly, building relationships with your customers is so important for long-lasting brand loyalty, and satisfied customers are your best marketing tool. Satisfied customers will give you positive reviews online, which will then send other customers to your website. Social media is a great tool to communicate with happy customers while letting the world see positive interaction.

In this blog, we will walk you through the basics of creating an online shop for your store.

Step 1: Buy A Domain Name

If you’re going to build an online store, you will need a website. If you’re going to build a website, the first thing you need to buy is a domain. Domains are not free, and they are generally purchased at an annual cost Prices vary from different hosts and there are a number of places you can purchase them. GoDaddy.com is a very popular one, and the world’s biggest domain registrar, currently managing more than 75 million domains for 17 million customers around the globe. Another popular hosting site is Namecheap, which is easy to use and has great value. Do some research to find the host that is right for you.

Keep in mind that there are many domain name options and the cheaper ones will likely be something you haven’t heard of and your customers won’t remember, such as .io or .net. The .com ending is worth the few extra dollars for optimal SEO and to clearly mark your site as an e-commerce one.

Step 2: Build Your Website

Once you’ve bought your domain, it’s time to start building your website so you can grow your ecommerce business. If you know a web designer, you can hire them to build it for you.

For a more economical & quick option, you can build something simple on your own with Wix Stores or Shopify. These sites come with pre-made templates so you can just plug in your information without any coding know-how. They are customizable so you can put your stores logo or brand colors, as they are built for small businesses just like you who are looking for an online presence with ecommerce capabilities.

Of course you will need pictures and descriptions of all the products in your store to upload into your website, and they will need to be updated as inventory changes daily.

Step 3: Marketing Your Online Shop

As opposed to selling products out of your brick and mortar store, the advantages of selling through an online shop are trifold. Firstly, your customers are not limited to the the opening hours of your store–they can shop at anytime! Second, your customers can shop from all over the world! They don’t have to be able to physically walk down the street to reach your store. And third, you can test out what advertisements work best with little labor on your end. No dismantling and rebuilding mannequins, rearranging shelves in the store, all you need to do is own a computer.

Like putting a sign on your storefront to attract customers, now that you have a website, you need to attract website visitors, a.k.a. traffic, i.e. people, to your site. Slowly but surely your website will gain steam, but here are some ways to give it a boost:

• Email marketing – Use the list of your past and current customers to get started. Then, add a form on your website to collect the email addresses of anyone who visits. The most optimal place to put this form is in the footer of the website, such as Adidas did in the below image. Email marketing software makes it easy for you to track and analyze the efficiency of your email campaigns. If you see a spike in website traffic, you’ll be able to know exactly where it came from without making assumptions. Some popular email marketing software options are Constant Contact, HubSpot, and MailChimp.

• Social media presence – In this day and age, your store can not afford to ignore social media. In particular, Facebook. Facebook’s user demographic skews older than other platforms, has the largest user base, and is accessible to the visually impaired, making it a prime platform for your business to have a presence on. Creating a Facebook page is free and easy and takes just a few minutes.
• You will want to post content frequently and respond directly to your followers to show them that you are listening. You can also use your page to post links to your website and direct traffic there. To get an idea of what to post, you can check out what ads other brands are running through Facebook’s transparency feature. To see a brand’s ads, go to their Facebook page, click on “Page Transparency” on the right, and it will take you to their Ad Library where you can see if there are any active ads.
• Influencer marketing – Find local people in your city who are well-known and who also use your products and invite them to become “influencers” for your store. If you can get them to post about your products, it will drive more traffic to your website.

Step 4: Invest in Digital Advertising

Digital advertising options abound, but the two quickest and easiest ways to get started with promoting your online shop are with Facebook and Google.

Both platforms allow you to target specific audiences, so you can ensure your dollars are spent efficiently. This means you can reach people based on their age, gender, location, household income, personal interests, occupations, and so much more.

Creating content doesn’t have to be hard. With websites like Pexels and Pixabay, you can download free stock photos & videos shared by talented creators to use in your ads. If you get stuck with writers block or are just lacking creative inspiration one day, check out Taboola Trends to get a glimpse into popular trends within online behavior that can influence your ads. For example, within the USA on April 22nd, 2020, the below topics were what people across the country were reading and interacting with:

By advertising on the Google Display Network, you can reach people while they’re browsing their favorite websites, showing a friend a YouTube video, checking their Gmail account, or using mobile devices and apps. While the Search Network can reach people when they’re already searching for specific good or services, the Display Network can help you capture someone’s attention earlier in the buying cycle. With just a small investment of $300-$500 per month, you can reach thousands of relevant, qualified leads who can turn into loyal customers. And with Google Ads, you only pay per click, so if someone sees your ad but does not click on it, you don’t get charged.

If you’re an OrCam distributor, or would like to be one, and still have questions about creating an online shop, drop your info below and we will get back to you shortly.