eCommerce for print companies

eCommerce for print companies is our favorite topic to discuss here at web2ink. I want to talk about getting your print shop set up for eCommerce, what to expect and some do and don’ts.

Getting your print shop set up for eCommerce is very easy Just call Web2ink and we will handle everything and get you going. This topic is pretty vast and will be covered in more detail in a future post and provide some checklists for you to get your shop ready to sell online.

It is a common misconception that eCommerce is to expensive to get into for small print shops. That was true several years ago, but now that there are companies like web2ink, Shopify, Inksoft, and many more getting into eCommerce can be very affordable. Despite the fact that you can create a decent eCommerce site for as little as a few hundred bucks, that certainly does not mean that you will sell anything. SO lets cover a few things that you can expect when you decide to dive into selling online. This is focused on selling custom print online and does not apply to selling online in general.

For existing print shops that are venturing into selling custom print online you can consider this venture very similar to setting up a entire new business. Even though your online orders are printed on the same equipment as your offline orders selling online requires the same planning and effort as selling offline. Here is the big big thing to remember about selling custom print online and eCommerce in general. Nobody knows about your website, If you build it, they will not come. Selling online takes work, just like selling offline or in person. The best thing about it is that the rewards can be tremendous, a great well promoted website is going to outsell a team of sales people. Marketing and promoting your website is a great topic that could cover dozens of blog posts. For now lets go over what to expect and a few does and don’ts

Do’s

Do realize that being successful selling online takes time and once you start to see a slew of new customers and they become repeat customers you will start making serious profits. Also realize that it cost money to get new customers, but once they repeat and spread the word for you that cost nothing.

Do create a monthly advertising budget for your new website. Making the budget is easy, sticking to it is hard because it takes months before you will start to see results, but spending the money promoting your site is crucial even if it is only a couple hundred bucks a month.

Do try to incorporate a multi currency online payment gateway into your website so that you can expand your business reach to international customers as well.

Do tell all of your existing customers about your new site, encourage them to use it and spread the word.

Don’ts

Don’t make the investment in a new eCommerce solution and not work it. Websites don’t get sales on their own they need to be managed and worked.

Don’t Just purchase a new eCommerce website for your printing company without first making a plan of action for marketing and promoting.

Don’t think that your new website is finished once it laucnhes. Successful eCommerce websites need a constant flow of new content and updating.

Don’t be overwhelmed with managing your print shops new eCommerce site. If you break down the time needed to manage the site it only requires a few hours a week to promote and keep your site fresh.

Here at web2ink our job is to help your printing business succeed online. Fell free to contact us with any questions or to talk shop.