For many organizations, providing an external audience the option to order branded merchandise is an exciting opportunity. The most common example is a school store where relatives can order apparel to show school, athletic team, and extra-curricular club pride . That’s one use case, but there are any number of reasons why you might want to sell branded merchandise to an audience beyond employees or members.
Whatever the reason, there are a few key considerations to keep in mind ahead of developing your next digital enterprise solution.
Related Content: What to Consider When Building a Company Store
1. Ease of Ordering
Offering a simple process for placing orders is a necessity for any type of online store. When you have an external audience, there's an increased importance on prioritizing the user experience and simplifying the steps needed to complete a transaction. For example, an internal buyer - like a general manager - is much more likely to place bulk orders for certain products during specific times of the year, whereas your customers are more likely to order only one or two items at a time.
Ensure that your company store is easy to use for both applications. It should be intuitively laid out with a practical search function and must also be formatted for mobile devices.
2. Internal vs External Options
When you make a company store widely accessible, you need to consider inventory options for employees vs. non-employees. The most obvious being uniforms - something your employees need, but don't want available for anyone to buy.
The easiest way to segment audiences is by creating a login system for your store that includes different user types. Select members must create an account that allows for purchases of items beyond what's shown to the general public. This allows you to have control over what inventory different users can access.
3. Loyalty-Based Earning
Integrating a customer loyalty program with your online store is an easy way to offer rewards. Depending on the type of loyalty program, you can provide redeemable rewards to be used on your site such as simple coupons or a points-based system. Whatever option you choose, keep the idea of a loyalty program in mind to show appreciation to your most dedicated customers.
Related Content: Comparing 5 Popular Customer Loyalty Models
4. The Right Platform
Not all online tools provide you the functionality you need to segment your audience, offer selective inventory, and process transactions accordingly, all while delivering a seamless shopping experience. At QRG, we use XPRESSLink to create modern, mobile-friendly shopping environments for both internal and external audiences.
XPRESSLink's online shopping portal simplifies ordering, tracking, and distribution of branded merch, making it easy for employees, affiliates, franchises, and more to order and manage what they need.
Keep these four core considerations in mind when making your current online store environment available to the public, or when creating a company store from scratch.
Related Content: 5 Ways XPRESSLink Stores Increase Efficiencies
Create a Custom Company Store with QRG
Our enterprise solutions create a simple process for ordering, tracking, and distribution of controlled brand assets. Share offerings with employees, sales teams, affiliates, franchisees, and anyone else you choose. Products include marketing collateral, sales tools, branded merchandise, identity apparel, uniforms, and much more.
QRG Online Store Benefits:
- User-friendly storefront experience
- Quick implementation
- Manage budgets and spending accounts
- Reduce inventory
- Limit availability by user or location
- Flexible payment options
- Control costs
- Eliminate errors
- Improve communication
- Control brand and quality
- Aggregate purchasing power
- Empower decentralized ordering and fulfillment
QRG is a customer-driven, single-source commercial printer, branded merchandise agency, and direct marketing firm tailored to meet your business goals. Our corporate identity solutions create deep connections with a lasting impact on your audience. Learn more about how it works and check out our website for more information.
