04/ 23/ 2008
Like many of today's entrepreneurs, you may be trying to divide your attention between a physical storefront and an online presence. As you only have so many hours in a day, you may feel torn as to where to spend the bulk of your energies.
There is no universal answer to this question. How best to divide your time simply depends on the setup of your business. Ask yourself the following questions to figure out if your retail or online business needs more attention.
Is most of your existing business local?
If even your online customers live in the area, it's important to try to lure them into your physical space. The beauty of storefront retail is that a well-placed display can bring you additional sales. While people certainly can click around your Web site to see your offerings, your online customers will be more prone to visit the site knowing exactly what they want and ignoring other offerings.
On the other hand, if the majority of your customers will never step foot in your storefront, you should by all means still make the space as attractive as possible, but spend the majority of your time working on Web site functionality, design and versatility.
How do the majority of new customers find you?
While there's nothing wrong with building up both your physical and online presence, concentrating the majority of your efforts on what's working best is a surefire bet for increasing business. Do most of your customers find you by doing a Web search and then end up ordering your products online? If so, you can increase your presence with Google Adwords. If people visit you because they see your ad in the local circular, plot ways to increase your visibility in the local media and community.
Is the community you're serving the one you can serve best?
A possible exception to concentrating on what is bringing you the most business at the present lies in the possibility that you are better suited to serve a community that has yet to find you. If you've opened a sleek storefront, yet none of your customers are enjoying the space, make greater outreach efforts to the local community, holding in-store only sales and other special events.
You could also find your business in the opposite situation, where you're serving your local community, but have a niche product that could attract consumers from elsewhere if only they knew how to find you. You'll have to continue serving your retail customers well if you want to keep them, but you may also need to spend some time burning the midnight oil, reading up on ways to build your online presence and implementing solutions. While you want to pay attention to how your business is currently serving people, don't disregard your original vision for your business, either.
Where do you need employees?
Customer service needs for your storefront versus your online business are quite different. Are you finding that you need a group of well-dressed, personable employees who can handle the various walk-in customers, or do you need a few computer whizzes who can also pack orders quickly and skillfully so they arrive safely?
Your answer to that question will give you a good idea of where to focus your growth efforts and the daily maintenance of your business. While you should look for employees who can handle both, concentrate your hiring efforts in the area that demands the most amount of customer service.
Are both areas continuing to grow equally?
Then you're going to need to find a way to build up both simultaneously. This could mean hiring more staff than a business that operates solely online or in a storefront, and you might spend some late nights filling Web orders after you've locked your doors. But if you've found a way to successfully tap into both of these markets, there's no reason not to keep both growing.
