When I was first hired, we came up with the idea that one of my first big projects would be creating a Company Store and writing a blog about my experience. We knew that a lot of people were hesitant about doing a DIY Store because they felt they weren’t tech savvy enough or because it seemed too large of a project for one person to take on. My goal was to:
1) Learn our software and the process that our clients (you) go through, and
2) Provide an unbiased view of what it’s really like to build a company store on your own.
Towards the end of this process I realized that I had written more of a J.R.R. Tolkien novel, than a blog, so we decided to split this up into a series. Over the next month or so, we’ll be covering the entirety of my adventures along with lots of tips and tricks for building your first Company Store.
So here we are, with Part 1, which covers what my initial expectations were and what it actually was like to build my first Company Store.
I am fairly tech-savvy so I figured this would be an easy task. I knew it would take some time and commitment but beyond that, I figured it would be fairly straightforward. It would have been, had I done my preliminary work. Because I thought I could just jump in and figure it out as I go, I ended up redoing quite a bit of my store. As you know, time is money, so make sure to use it wisely. If you are just looking to learn our system and see everything that it can do, then I would suggest just jumping in and learning by trial and error. However, if you have a deadline then I would suggest having a few things ready to go in advance.
Things to have prepared prior to building your Store:
1) Thoroughly fill out the Discovery Document (either yourself or with your client).
2) Have a general flow and layout of your store. Imagine being a shopper on your site and what the process would look and feel like from logging in all the way to placing an order.
3) Make sure to have ALL product details ahead of time. Everything from product images and descriptions to sizes, color options and even dimensions. This will will make manually setting up your products a breeze.
Hope this helps and be sure to look out for Part 2 where we dive into more detail of building my first Company Store.
For a look at my first Company Store click here. To see different user views, use the following login information:
- – UN: TThomas PW: test1234!
- – UN: MMurphy PW: test1234!
Disclaimer: To be clear, I can’t write code nor can I hack anything. But I can shop online like a pro, tweet like a champ, and manage a CRM like no one’s business – so I suppose that counts for something, right? After all, I am a marketer who has a passion for understanding people, good food, motorcycle rides, oldies, and the simple things in life.