Why Shopify Needs To Be Part Of Your 2018 Ecommerce Plans

This is a post from contributing author Victoria Greene – Brand Marketing Consultant & Freelance Writer.

At the end of 2017, Forrester found that 11% of B2B sales were being made through ecommerce — a testament to the rapid and pervasive growth of ecommerce across a wide range of sectors. 

Whether you are selling bespoke building equipment or dance shoes — ecommerce is a business channel to be taken seriously. 

If you want to expand as an organisation in 2018, you will need an ecommerce solution that offers you long-term scalability, supports automation, and generally gives your brand enough room to grow in a sustainable manner.

With these considerations in mind, here are some reasons why ecommerce cool-kid Shopify needs to be part of your 2018 business plans.

Ecommerce Subscription Plans Are Flexible & Agile

Instead of spending loads of budget on a custom web development project, you can be more agile and opt for a scalable SaaS platform like Shopify. Selling on Shopify allows you to be more flexible and reactive when it comes to scaling your business, and is a great way for businesses to kickstart their ecommerce efforts.

Scared about adding a new software to your ecosystem?

Don’t be.

Shopify is an ecommerce host that most likely already integrates seamlessly with your existing accounting and CRM systems. From Xero to Quickbooks and MailChimp to IFTT — Shopify has a ton of user hacks and shortcuts your business could benefit from as you grow in size and complexity. If you opt for Shopify, you probably won’t have to ever invest in expensive process workarounds — it’s in their interest to keep their platform in tune with the market.

With Shopify (and other equivalent ecommerce hosts) all of the security features you need come within one subscription package — keeping costs lower and avoiding things like scope creep (which can be budget killers).

There Are Hundreds Of Shop Themes To Choose From

Cut down on design hours and use a theme for your ecommerce store.

(No, you won’t look generic — just tweak and customise where you can in order to bring your branding to the forefront).

Regardless of your ecommerce intentions, you can access thousands of free and paid shop layout themes through Shopify. You do not need any web design experience to create a fully-functioning B2B/B2C store with Shopify templates.

However, if you do wish to create a more bespoke site design, you can also customise the code on your Shopify store using Liquid. Liquid is an exclusive developer code used by Shopify, but it’s not hard to find Liquid developers who can code for your needs, and it’s pretty easy to pick up as well.

All templates include mobile-responsive design features so that you can rest assured that your site will look amazing on all screen sizes. In fact, ecommerce platforms like Shopify make it almost impossible to design an ugly store with bad functionality.

Shopify Is Already Optimised To Boost Conversions

With the aim of bringing their subscribers more sales, brands like Shopify work tirelessly to ensure that all shop functions run smoothly. From AI-apps to countless social media integrations, you will always be able to jump on all the latest ecommerce trends and make more sales for your business.

Running your ecommerce brand through Shopify is a little bit like having your own web team on-board. Their developers get down to the nitty-gritty of what makes a site work well. You, as a business owner, can just sit back and reap the benefits of their hard work, without investing time and budget into the research and development of new features.

Keep exploring the Shopify ecosystem by attending their webinars and meetups, and don’t forget to keep installing apps to your store to help you drive conversions even higher. You should look into things like cart abandonment emails and referral programs as a standard.

Marketing Integration Is Easy With Apps

Shopify and other ecommerce hosts offer thousands of free and paid marketing apps. These tools can handle everything from gathering user-generated content to managing backlinks for your site’s SEO.

Automating parts of your ecommerce marketing processes frees up valuable business time. With elements like reviews handled automatically, brands can focus on creative planning instead. For more on building a solid content marketing strategy, check out this previous post.

1. Native tools on the Shopify dashboard provide access to analytics data (similar to Google Analytics). You can even find apps that combine Google Analytics and Shopify insights to give you a holistic view of your site’s interactions.
2. Store subscriptions also come with in-built marketing features, such as SEO checkers for titles and meta data. Small details like this help brand marketers keep up with the latest SEO practices.
3. Additionally, it is highly likely that your existing marketing tools will connect to your online store. Shopify is famed for being compatible with practically all marketing applications. You can hook everything up to your store —  from your Mailchimp account to your Evernote sketches.
4. For those who are looking for more help with their marketing, Shopify also offers A.I assistance from Kit. This tool provides automated suggestions for things like social media content and post schedules.

Shopify Makes Ecommerce Future-Proof

Shopify is a place for sustainable business owners — and now they are even letting you buy a business online so that you can look ahead to your next venture.

It’s a platform with a vision to make ecommerce easier for everyone; Shopify has been known to champion small businesses and startup stores as much as its big enterprise clients.

Shopify is also a unique ecommerce brand because it offers support to merchants 24/7. If you’re having trouble with things like setting up international sales pages, you can get in touch with the team for help. Alongside all the free Shopify content and training, there are plenty of resources to help you make a success of things.

Ecommerce tools like Shopify are designed to be easy-to-use and scalable to help you meet your long-term business goals. No marketing or ecommerce experience? No worries, a complete novice can set up an online store with Shopify and start nurturing leads and sales in no time.