Finding the right ecommerce platform can be tricky. It's a pretty specialised field, and each ecommerce solution offers different features and different pricepoints. You want an ecommerce platform that makes it easy for you to grow your sales, but you also want to balance that with an attractive shopping experience, customisable features, and the business features you need to keep your inventory and account books in order. And when your store makes it big, you want to make sure that your ecommerce platform offers the right support and features that allow to to expand and meet your customers' demands.
As inbound marketing specialists with extensive retail experience under our own belts, we know how challenging it can be to find a solution that meets all those needs. That's why, when we began our search for the perfect solution for one of our most ambitious client projects, we fell in love with Shopify. In fact, we love it so much that we've become Shopify Partners and the go-to ecommerce resource for HubSpot partners and users alike.
Without further ado, here are our reasons why The Kingdom uses Shopify (and you should, too).
A Gorgeous Ecommerce Experience with Shopify Themes
Whether they searched your company name on Google or found you via Pinterest, your website is your company's first impression with a customer. Unattractive or slow-to-load storefronts are one of the number one reasons why shoppers bounce out of a website before they even begin to browse. Your ecommerce solution needs to be up-to-spec, mobile responsive, and easy to navigate. This is where Shopify themes excel.
Shopify has hundreds of themes that are readily available, ranging in price from free all the way up to $180 USD. Best of all, they're gorgeous, so your customers don't have to deal with an outdated or unattractive shopping experience. With built-in mobile responsiveness and many options for customisation, Shopify themes are the no-brainer solution to your storefront. With templates from homepages and product pages, to collections and blog posts, the Shopify templates have the whole package. And customers worrying about integrating their current website with their Shopify experience can rest assured. At The Kingdom, we have plenty of experience creating a seamless transition between our HubSpot hosted websites and a Shopify storefront.
Retail Management Made Simple
For those of you who are not so easily distracted by shiny and pretty things (e.g. me), you're much more concerned with the back-end management of your storefront. Uploading products, taking payment, managing inventory, and fulfilling orders are the bread-and-butter of the retail business, which is why it's critical to find the right solution for your company. Shopify has a ton of features specifically designed to help you out, like managing tax rates in different locations, automatic shipping rates from popular shipping companies, and integrated payment details. Inventory is simplified for you, because Shopify manages it all, automatically reducing inventory when an item is bought so your customers don't get disappointed by a sold-out item. You can set up custom email templates for your automated order emails. Features like allowing your customers to create accounts pay off big, allowing tou to dive deep into how your customers are shopping.
Shopify comes with all the features you need to grow your ecommerce business. Shopify helps you identify your abandoned cart shoppers so you can invite them to complete their purchase. Discount codes and coupons can be automatically created, too, to invite new customers and re-engage your previous ones. With customisable options galore, Shopify is feature-rich and retailer-friendly.
Shipping and Manging on the Go
So now you have your online store set up and your products online, how are you going to stay on top of your orders? Shopify has your back with a beautiful and easy-to-use mobile app for Android and iOS. The Shopify Mobile App has built-in notifications so you can be alerted every time you make a sale. Need to know how your store in performing in the moment? You can get a quick overview just by opening up the app, so you can report on your store's performance in real time. Shopify Mobile also lets you manage inventory, fulfill your orders, and capture payments all from your phone. Your customer database is just a tap away, so you can reach out with a quick email or phone call to answer their questions or contact them about their order.
Seamless Ecommerce Marketing
For those of you curious to know how Shopify will integrate with the systems you already use, don't worry. Shopify integrates with HubSpot, so you'll be able to sync your new customer's contact details into your automated sales and marketing solution. For businesses who would like to precision-target their marketing efforts, there're even third-party integrations like RevenueConduit that enable full buyer behavior data to sync from Shopify into HubSpot. With all this data at hand, you can target each on of your buyer personas with no problem.
Shopify also has some amazing options for shopping outside your storefront on sites like Facebook and Pinterest. These storefronts offer your customers even more opportunities to interact and buy your products, all without interrupting their social media experience. And these social shopping experiences encourage your customers to share and pin their purchases, increasing your brand and your products' visibility.
Unbeatable End-to-End Support
Shopify offers 24/7 support, so you and your customers will never be stranded. Shopify has also compiled an exhaustive Knowledge Base, filled with introductory guides, tutories, and answers to your questions. There's even an Ecommerce University, so you can learn all you need to know about Shopify and running a successful ecommerce store, and discussion forums so you can connect with other Shopify users and learn from their experience.
For businesses with big dreams or complicated existing systems, Shopify Experts are available for you to partner with. With specialties running from custom storefronts to back-end integrations with your existing inventory and accounting systems, Shopify Experts are your best friend in getting your solution working seamlessly with your business.
Custom Ecommerce Solutions
Shopify allows you to create a custom solution that fits all your business needs, regardless of whether you're a start-up shop or a multi-national brand. Shopify has different tiers of pricing to match up to your business needs and plenty of integrations to help build the right custom solution for you. At The Kingdom, we've even been able to create custom solutions for businesses operating off a proprietary inventory management system!
Still wondering if Shopify is the right solution for you? Give us a call and we can help determine all the pieces you'll need to meet your business goals.
