One of the major benefits of providing your clients with a Company Store solution is creating the opportunity to be the exclusive distributor for your client. If you are managing their program, it’s highly unlikely they will shop elsewhere for their promo products – especially if you are providing them with the top-notch service that only you can. Before you invest your resources into offering an online solution, you need to make sure that a Company Store will be the right fit for your client. As much as we would love to see every single company and organization in the world have their own online store – we know that’s just not the case, not all of your clients will need a Company Store. And if a full-blown Company Store isn’t right for them, perhaps they are a much better fit for a Simple Store solution.
So, what’s the magic formula for knowing who will be a good fit for a Company Store?
There isn’t one! We get this question all the time…how much do I need to sell to make it worthwhile? Company Stores can be a good fit for small businesses to large corporations and everything in between. The system is easy to use and very flexible. While we can’t give you an exact number, staying in tune with your client’s ordering patterns is a good indication of whether or not you should move them to an online ordering platform. We can help you with some identifying clues to help you make the decision.
They’re placing multiple orders from different locations…
If your client has a franchise operation or multiple office branch locations, providing them with a centralized online ordering location will not only make the process easy for them but will also help you stay organized when processing and managing those orders.
They’re placing repeat orders or consistently need a quick turnaround…
A Company Store solution would allow your client’s employees or shoppers to order anytime and from anywhere. You can set up a variety of alert systems (email, SMS, Slack) to immediately notify you and your team when an order is placed so you can begin to put that order into motion quickly.
They need shoppers to pay for products using multiple forms of payment…
This is a very common scenario and can happen multiple ways. For example, perhaps your client wants to run a uniform program and give each employee $100 per quarter to refresh their uniform and anything above that would be the employee’s responsibility. You can add the employees as users to the store (or they can add themselves) and add $100 to their account balance at the beginning of each quarter or give them a gift certificate. Once they log into the store they can see and use their account balance or gift certificate. Allowing the store to accept a credit card payment through a payment gateway would give them the chance to pay for any amount above their balance.
They need certain products to only be available to certain employees…
You can easily make that happen by setting up permissions in the store. Maybe the Marketing Department has access to more of the logoed merchandise for events and promotions whereas other employees are only allowed to order uniforms. Once a user logs into the store, they will only see the products they are allowed to order based on their group permission level (Marketing Group or General Employee Group). Additionally, you can set up permissions for payment methods, shipping methods, coupons, and logo options. A Company Store will help you and your client follow any type of restrictions they might need to put in place to their shoppers.
And finally, they’re asking you for one…
This is a big and very obvious clue. If your clients says they just want to go online, see their own promotional products, and place an order with you – telling them no is a risk that could cost you business because other distributors are offering this service.
Company Store or Simple Store?
If you are not sure if your client needs a Company Store or maybe they don’t spend enough with you to warrant the time, money, and effort it takes to build them a Company Store, a Simple Store could be a much better fit for them. a Simple Store very easy to launch – there’s no homepage to design, there are no categories to configure, and there are no product pages to build. Instead, products are listed on a single page for a smooth navigation experience. Shoppers simply add their products to a shopping cart and check out! It’s a cost-efficient way for your low-key clients to place orders with you quickly and easily.
So, what next?
If you determined that your client is a good fit for a Company Store – it’s time to get a move on! Contact Us to get started, join our Company Store Weekly Demo and be sure to check out Your Client is Qualified for a Company Store, What’s Next? and Tips for Presenting a Company Store to Your Client.