15.1    What We Mean by Multiple
Channels

To begin with,
we will explain
what we mean by multiple
channels, as there will be a number of individuals that are perhaps
not that familiar
with the terminology.

In previous years and decades the only way you
could sell items was either in a physical store or perhaps by a catalogue
delivered in the post. However, thanks to technology that has changed a great deal and it is essential that your store
takes advantage of these changes,
because your direct competition is already doing that.

In
this instance, what we mean by multiple channels is that you are going to have
to sell via your physical store, classified ads, and mainly via e-commerce
which means the Internet.

You have to remember that buying items online is
fast overtaking buying items in person and if you are not on the Internet, then
how on earth can you expect to generate the same turnover as your competitors?

You do not need to have specialist knowledge in
order to do this because thanks to so many stores now being involved in this
type of selling, there is help all over the place and it will only take minutes for you to be set up and running.

One of the things that you need to keep in mind is
that people now have a tendency to check out
different types of media before they go ahead and make any kind of a
purchase. In all honesty, it is not uncommon for
people to research products online only to then go and purchase them in a real life store or vice versa, and in a perfect
world you want to be positioned to take advantage of both areas.

Furthermore, with the way in which social media has
taken its place in our day to day lives, it also means that you must be visible or present on several of the key
sites, or you will find it very easy to get
lost in the sea of those businesses that have just not grasped the concept of
selling via different channels. Indeed,
you can now even sell through the likes of Facebook and there is no doubt that
this is going to make a difference, at least when it comes
to the exposure that your store receives, and more exposure will often
mean more sales.

15.2    The Key Things You Need to Have in Place

Next, we turn our attention to the kind of things
that you should have in place to sell through these various channels.

It is important that you understand what is going
on and have everything prepared before you go
ahead and start selling.

By doing this, you will appear far more
professional which is important. You want to make sure that people get the correct first impression of
you, as that will not only build confidence in your products, but also make people more likely to shop
with you and spend money.

The key things that must be in place before you can really take advantage of this are as follows.

A business plan

This may sound very basic, but in order to fully
take advantage of selling in multiple channels you need to create a business
plan that includes
an overview as to how your business
and store is going
to be run. The reason why this is so important is because it makes you sit down
and think carefully about each aspect before you go ahead and start implementing any strategies and, at the same time, you
can assess if it is going to be worth your while in the long term.

Understand the different channels

There is no point in just trying to sell your
products for your store in any channel that you come across. Instead, it will be a big advantage to you if you spend
time studying the various possible channels
and get to grips with the formats that are going to be best for you to use. It
is important to remember that not every single sales channel will
be productive for you and your store and if you do not conduct the relevant
research you are wasting precious time and money trying to establish something
that is just not worth the effort.

Understand the
potential returns

Even though this is impossible for you to know
accurately, it is still important that you spend time looking at what your
potential returns are going to be should you go ahead and use a particular channel.

15.3    How to Take Advantage of Multiple Channels

We will take you through
how you are able to take advantage of using multiple channels
in order to boost your turnover without
having to put in too much
time or effort.

If this concept is set up in the correct manner,
then it is going to pretty much run itself without causing you too many problems
and all you have to do is to keep on top of things at your end.

However, as you would expect with technology and
the Internet, there are still certain things that you must take into consideration to get the best return from
this concept of selling via multiple channels.It is perhaps important for you to
think about this as being part of the overall branding of the store because the
more channels that you use, the more visible you become to your potential
customers. Remember that visibility is absolutely everything no matter the
channel that you are on.

We touch on these points elsewhere in
this module, but it is important to look at the details individually because
of the need for you to take advantage of these channels
as quickly as possible.

Your research

Considering the size of the potential
channels that you are going to seek to take advantage of, there
is a need to carry out adequate research before you launch.

For example

Did you launch the physical store without
conducting research into location, products to sell, and the potential
market that was out there?
Of course not, so why would you do that with other
sales channels such as classified ads or even the e-commerce option?

You have to seek to identify your market in the new
areas and to create the plan that fits in with that channel so you know the different steps you will need to take to stand a chance of it being a success. Where is your market?
How big is the market?
What do you need to get there? So many questions
and yet every single question needs to have its answer.

The long term plan

Aside from being
aware of your research to get your store established within a particular channel, you must also understand the long term plan. Often, there is going to be two possibilities. First, the
new channel may have amazing success early on, but it may then slow down, at
which point you may be confused as to
what is going on and how to rectify it. Alternatively, things will take some
time to become established with some
slow growth and it is easy for you to become disillusioned, but that is not to say that you can afford to give up.

Instead, you need to have a long term plan for your new channel because you do not expect your physical store to just be a rip roaring success for
now and forever. At the same time, other sales
channels are not going to operate in that way so you must know how you
are going to tackle issues and problems
over an extended period of time to give yourself
the best chance for success.

Try different
tactics

Just as with your physical store there is no one
type of advertising or marketing that is guaranteed to work for everybody, the same can be said about the other sales channels as well. This is something that can be slightly
hit and miss,
but as the manager you need to be prepared
to try out different
tactics to see which one works best for your type of store and the products
that you are selling.However, one tactic that generates
results for you in a particular channel is not always going to be a
roaring success because your customers may change their buying habits.

Be prepared
to change

 Finally, you have to be able to change your tactics due to the fact that the different channels will
attract different people and the way in which we purchase products will evolve
thanks to technology.

For example

It is now accepted that the use of smartphones has become more popular than ever before
and people tend to now buy things via their phone rather than via a
laptop. That means that if selling online,
you have to make sure that the medium that you use is able to be viewed via
these phones, or you are missing out
on a wonderful opportunity.

You need to be prepared to put in the effort of
understanding what channels are open to you as well as what you need to do in order to take advantage of them. You
cannot remain stuck in your ways when it comes to the tactics
that you have to employ to be a success,
no matter if it is via ads or the Internet. Try different things,
measure the response
that you get, and ultimately you will then be
able to determine what is going to work best for you and generate
the best possible
results.

There is no set rule of thumb that is suitable for
everybody since each business is unique and each marketplace is unique.

You are not different, although it is still down to
you as the manager to take advantage of this in the best way for you.

FACT

Source: statista.com

15.4    The Problems You Could Face

We will look at the kind of problems that you could
face when trying to sell using multiple channels.

By being aware of the potential issues that are
relatively common, it should hopefully mean that you are able to take evasive action or at least be well prepared to
deal with whatever it is that is being thrown
at you.

This is not to say that everybody that sells in
this way is going to run into issues, but it is such a complex and varied matter that it is impossible to predict the
future.

However, as we will now see, even though there may
be problems, they are not going to be insurmountable.

Lack of preparation

One common problem is that retail stores feel that
they have to effectively jump on the bandwagon
when it comes to selling
online, but they do this without thinking
it through enough.

Lack of advertising

As mentioned above, advertising is so important.
You will be aware of the type of advertising that is carried out for your physical store and what works for you, but
that same advertising and marketing approach is not going to be good enough for every single sales channel. Instead, you must be able to
see where, or how, you advertise each channel independently and there has to be a set budget for each
one with the understanding that each channel
is capable of producing its own turnover,
and you should not mix budgets when it comes to the advertising.

Technical difficulties

We have to mention technical difficulties because
the thing about technology is that it is wonderful until it goes wrong, at which point it ends up becoming
a problem. The most difficult
part is when you are setting up the different sales channels because do
you actually know how to set up an e- commerce
website in order to sell products online? You might know how to work Facebook
from a personal point of view, but do you know how to use it for a business?
Technical difficulties do not have to
mean that your computer goes wrong or some piece of technology lets you down,
it can also mean a lack of understanding of how to take advantage
of it all.

A need for better
knowledge

Another key thing that the manager of a retail
outlet will often overlook is the need to improve the knowledge of what is required in order to be a success with each
sales channel before you get too involved. If you have no idea how to run an online store, there are courses and books out there to help you and we do advise you spend
time getting to grips with this straight away. The same can be said with social media, how to advertise
online, and the kind of costs that should be included, and by the end of it all you will be in a better position to take full advantage of these various
sales channels.

Believing you do not require expert
help

This is the final problem that we are going to
discuss at this point and it is one that you have to give some serious consideration to; the need to
get some expert help to set up these different sales channels. No single person is able to understand every single
thing, it is just impossible, and do you actually
have the spare time to sit down and run everything? Of course not and that is
why expert help is going to be so
useful.

Think of it this way.

Obtaining expert help to get things set up and
established will make your life easier and, in turn, there is a good chance that you will be able to generate more sales as a direct result. Expert help
takes the stress off your shoulders which can only be a good thing and you will
also be able to dedicate more time to
dealing with the actual running of the store while benefiting from these different sales channels.

Getting expert help to guide you through
this entire process
will help your store. It may cost yousome money at the outset, but you will benefit in
the long term as your various sales channels will be able to run perfectly.Remember, your competition is not going to be afraid to get help if they believe that it is going to get
them a head start on their competitors. If they can do it, then why would you not follow
suit?