We often work with brands who acknowledge that there are customers who would simply love to get their hands on their branded merchandise. Usually they have a brand following that cannot get enough of their products, their social content, their collaborations, the whole nine yards! They’ll be much adored beers, sweets, crisps, events and experiences or brands that have managed to immerse themselves into popular culture.

When we build them a webstore though, we need to remind them that despite this fanlove, there’s a big job to be done to launch the store and get customers flocking.

So, we always take steps to get the right questions asked and answered early in the planning process to ensure the webstore gets off to a flying start – and sales stay sky high!

Here’s our top 10:

1. How do you plan to announce and market your new webstore to your audience?

2. How can we maximize visibility across your digital platforms?

3. What role do you see social media playing in your store’s success?

4. Do you have any owned channels or fan groups that could help promote the store?

5. How can we integrate merchandise messaging into your existing email marketing?

6. Could themed campaigns around retail calendar moments be included (e.g. Father’s Day, Black Friday)?

7. How can we involve your internal teams in promoting the store?

8. Would email signatures or an intranet campaign help raise awareness?

9. Would a staff discount or internal competitions drive engagement?

10. How can we ensure the webstore becomes a long-term, revenue-generating channel for your brand?

Of course, there’s more to it than that but by raising the questions about promotion, we focus our clients on the need to see the webstore as a living, breathing entity that needs supported and nurtured. By doing so, we ensure the webstore has clear goals (and targets) defined upfront – and a real opportunity to generate valuable income to our client far beyond launch.