Heather Winchcomb launched her online store, Gifts for Blokes, in 2007 when online shopping was still its infancy. An online gift store that aims to make shopping for men easier, the business was inspired by a series of conversations between Heather and her friends about the difficulty of finding the perfect gift for the men in their lives. Five years later, Heather and her company are reaping the benefits of online retail. One of her first challenges when starting out was convincing dubious wholesalers of the company’s online business model. She has since built strong relationships with wholesalers, as well as her customers through social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Pinterest. For Heather, a successful eCommerce website goes beyond the screen – she believes in providing excellent service beyond the website. She has applied this principle with Gifts for Blokes, which dispatches orders within 24 hours. A model website should also be easy to navigate with an efficient checkout process. Heather’s top five tips for small businesses looking to sell online are:
- Think beyond the website – how will you service your customers, respond to enquiries and dispatch your orders?
- Be niche – it’s easier to define and then target your market
- Keep it simple – what will add to your customers’ experience?
- Be involved in social media – use apps or other online tools if you find it time consuming!
- Have systems in place before you start, but be flexible – as technology changes, you need to be able to adapt
