The global bicycle market is constantly growing. When it comes to cost-effective and eco-friendly products, more and more people prefer bikes to traditional modes of transportation. According to Zippia, the global eCommerce market is expected to reach $83.16 billion by 2028. So, if you run a business in this market, you should consider a strong marketing strategy as well as an online shop to stand out and make the purchasing process run smoothly. In today’s article, we’ll go over the benefits of the e-commerce platform Shopify, where you can create and manage your online store.
Start with a comprehensive marketing plan
First thing you should do is to write a marketing plan. To keep it comprehensive you should outline your target audience, reach them effectively and boost brand awareness.
Once you define your audience, you should create long-term social media strategy, run ad campaigns if needed, permanently review your performance and do appropriate changes.
Successful marketing plan is a key component for each business long term success, but it can be quite challenging. You can get marketing support from virtual assistants. There are numerous platforms where you can hire VAs depending on your needs. For example, if your business is located in the UK and you need VAs to create your marketing plan, manage social media channels, assist with content and update your website, then you can consider Virtalent.
Analyze your competitorsThe global bicycle market is highly competitive. It considers a large variety such as traditional bikes, e bikes, beach cruiser bikes, regular bikes, tricycles and much more. In order to grab the customers attention and propel your business forward you need to analyze your direct competitors, find the market gaps and try to fill it.
SWOT analysis is an inextricable part of marketing strategy. Once you understand the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors, it becomes easier to define your goals, understand possible issues and find ways to tackle them. It will also reduce the number of potential treats.
Benefits of running shop on Shopify
You can run your online shop on different platforms. Shopify is one of the most famous ecommerce platforms to create online shops, start selling your product and advertise them on other third-party platforms.
Now let’s discuss some benefits that put this platform on an advantage:
Easy to set up
You can easily set up Shopify user-friendly stores. Software and hosting is provided by the platform, so there is no need to worry about technical problems. Shopify suggests fast and secure hosting and automatically handles software updates.
Purchase worldwide
With Shopify you can reach customers around the globe. This service is available for the USA, Canada and Australia. Shopify allows these countries to ship internationally.
Create gift cards
In the United States, gift cards are becoming increasingly popular. According to Statista, in 2022, 50% of US consumers said they bought gift cards because they are practical. Shopify allows creating gift cards and promoting it on your website, email campaigns or other platforms.
Gift cards are an excellent option for bike shops. They are typically appealing and can aid in the promotion of your business. Healthy lifestyles are also becoming more popular, so many companies that promote a healthy and eco-friendly lifestyle will likely consider it a perfect co-worker Birthday Gift.
SEO and marketing tools
Shopify has quite good Search Engine Optimisation features. You can choose data on customer behavior, review purchase history, determine where they are coming from, and improve your sales strategy. This platform also suggests marketing and analytical reporting tools which can assist you with product reviews, email campaigns and social media integration.
Mobile responsive
Another benefit of Shopify is mobile-friendliness. Many people today prefer purchasing on their smartphones or tablets, so having an optimized store for mobile devices is a good marketing strategy to boost your sales.
5 easy steps to create account and start selling on Shopify
Shopify stores can be created quite fast. Let’s go step by step:
Create an account
The first step is to sign up to create a Shopify account. After that you should choose one of these plans: Basic, Shopify, Advanced. You can start with a 3 days free trial and understand which plan is more compliant to your business needs and budget.
Set up a store
After choosing an appropriate plan for your business you can launch your online store. You can choose a lot of themes out of there. Then add your products, write descriptions and of course add good images to capture customers’ attention.
Choose payment system
In order to start selling in Shopify you should set up a payment gateway. PayPal, Stripe, Authorize.net, and other payment gateways are available through Shopify. You can select the best option for your company. Shopify also has its own payment gateway, allowing you to accept payments directly from your store. Aside from the standard credit card processing fees, there are no additional transaction fees.
Set up shipping method
You should choose the shipping zone of your products. You can also add shipping methods and other details (information about weight limit, shipping fees etc) in this section. Shopify allows integrating third-party shipping apps as well.
Manage orders
Excellent customer service is another key element to run a successful bike shop.
Shopify provides management tools to help you streamline the order fulfillment process. After shipping, you can enter the tracking number and keep your customers updated on the status of their orders. Order management accuracy is critical to ensuring that your customers’ orders are purchased on time.
These are just a few simple steps to getting your store up and running with Shopify. However, this platform has many tools to provide you with analytics on the performance of your store. Optimize your store to improve your sales strategy.
Final thoughts
Now you know everything is needed to set up your store and start selling online with Shopify. It suggests a simple and fast way to bring your brand to life. You can consider Shopify as all in one platform as well, where it’s possible to set up a store, organize a detailed purchasing process, analyze your performance and optimize your store.
