We’ve been listed on itswebrelated.com!

An important part of an online strategy is to be visible in as many different channels as are relevant to your audience.  Thats why we’re happy to announce we’ve been listed on the website itswebrelated.com.

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Building a Successful Retail Website Strategy: Part 1

Frequently, I get calls from small retail operations looking for a web design. I love working with these sort of clients because I feel they’re prime candidates to reap the benefits of online technology. Let me explain why I say this. Many of local based business are finding it increasingly hard to compete with “big box” retailers such as Home Depot, Walmart, and Barnes & Noble, who are able to offer large selection and discount prices- a combination consumers find hard to pass up.

So, what can small retailers do to compete with larger chains, attract new customers, retain old ones, and increase sales?

In the age of increasing internet use, a well defined web strategy and an engaging website can compliment what small business always offer in personal service. Beyond merely providing information about your store, a small retail businesses’ website has the opportunity to be a gathering point for customer research and a provider of valuable information that is targeted by location and subject area.

I believe there are a few trends that are pushing in favor of independent retail operations. Recognizing these trends and building a strong website and online strategy can bring awareness to your store and build customer loyalty.

TREND #1:

Valuing the quality of their retail experience over the quantity of products.

Though this is not always true, increasingly people want to feel a sense of personal connection with the products they buy. Think about Fair-Trade movement or the rise of smaller grocery stores like Trader Joes and Whole Foods.

As a small retailer you have the unique opportunity to offer costumers a sense that they’re buying something more than a pile of cheap stuff. Moreover, you’re helping them feel good about the money they spend by connecting to the product they buy and the person they’re buying it from.

TREND #2:

Less time for shopping.

Among longer working hours and other demands on people’s time most people (teenagers aside) simply don’t want to spend their free time at the mall researching and purchasing products. More and more people are turning to the internet for a source of better quality information about the products they buy in a much a more convenient format. According to a Neilson and WebVisible study 80% of consumers report researching a product or service online before they purchased offline from a local business. . Is it possible that your customers are moving this way too?

The same study shows that what costumers find most useful are:

Online reviews and comments on product.

Reviews from bloggers

Positive reviews from people in their social network.

And of course, a quality website with quality information (or links to information) about products.

Visit this post for more information

A successful retail web strategy must help customers find quality information about products and help them feel more connected to their purchase as well as the community that values these products.

Here are some ideas for how to improve a small retail website.

1. Perhaps can list info on the vendors or craftsman that make the products you sell. Depending on your budget and your vendor’s budget, you might be able to embed a video of how the product was created on your site or point them to the vendors website where they can learn more about the product. This will enable you to have influence over your customer’s online research process and help build interest about your products.
2. You could also use your website to list all of you inventory, prices, and what is currently in stock. This way you could take some of the guesswork out of your customers visit.
3. Enable customers to make purchases online and then have the product mailed to them or pick up in-store. You have a clear advantage as a local retailer because you can take some of the risk out of purchasing as you can offer them a convenient way to return the product at your store, instead of having to package and pay for shipping.
4. You may think about creating a blog that discusses different areas of interest to people interested in your products. If you’re selling folk art might think about interviewing local artisans or craftspeople and posting the interview on your blog. If you’re a home good store post recipes, product maintenance tips, or food reviews. Your customers can then create a sense of community for by commenting on posts or asking you questions.
5. Think local! Provide a calendar with information local events that may be interesting to your customers. You know your customers well, so what are they interested in? Possibly talks, wine tastings, specials and sales?

Here are a few ideas to get you started. Next post will talk about extending your on site strategy to the realm of social networking. Stay tuned by following us on Facebook!

Tags: retail web strategy, small business websites, web strategy
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New Work: Aayan Creations!

We recently finished an exciting project for Aayan Creations, a custom stationary consultant specializing in “east-meets-west” invitations and cards. For Aayan, a new company, our challenge was to create a logo and website from the ground up. Our strategy was to create an identity that portrayed elegance, east-meets-west/Indian style, and a strong appeal to our target audience: females in their 20’s and 30’s, while not turning off other parties that may be involved in the planning process.

In order to hit our targets we developed a logo that would reach a broad audience and communicate a modern aesthetic, while retaining ethnic appeal. To meet the first part of this goal we used crisp lines and a fresh and high contrast color palette. Additionally, the imagery of the lotus was selected because of its significance in Indian tradition.

Preliminary logo designs

Aayan Creations chosen logo concept along with 3 color variations.

We continued to communicate Aayan Creation’s unique identity while designing the website: aayancreations.com. In this process, we utilized a color scheme that complimented our logo design. Moreover, we attempted to communicate more of the ethnic style embodied in Aayan’s invites by incorporated design elements influenced by henna, which registered as specifically “Indian” with users.

Our final website design for Aayan Creations

Far from just being presentational, our goals for the site were to create something that would be search engine friendly, and therefore, help this new business gain a strong web presence as quickly as possible. For this reason, we avoided using too much Flash animation, which give great flexibility of design, but is not readable by search engines such as Google. Instead, we developed aayancreations.com in XHTML, CSS, JavaScript, as well as Flash, which involved more technical knowledge, but in the end left our client with a superior product.

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Welcome to our blog!

We’ve created this section of our website to provide a place where you can learn a little more about who we are and the kind of work we do.  You’ll find helpful articles that discuss different aspects of web design, graphic design, and branding.  What’s more, you’ll learn about the creative aspects of what we do and, hopefully, get a better idea of what it might be like to work with us.

Sincerely,

The Small Sparrow Design Team

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