| Online Retailing Tips |
Julie Woodard of http://www.Maroque.co.uk gives us an insight into how she has grown her business. Maroque is an online retailer specialising in Moroccan handicrafts. Set up by Julie Woodard in her home in 2002, it has grown in the 6 years she has been trading to be the market leader in its field, complete with a 2500sqft warehouse and showroom in beautiful Suffolk. They currently sell everything from lamps (ranging from 6ft to 8 inches) in glass, brass, iron, henna (painted and cured goat skin), mirrors, furniture, gifts, ceramics, spices, to hard- to- find ingredients including giant couscous, and of course, the traditional cooking pot, the Moroccan tagine, all ethically sourced from Morocco. With over 2000 product lines they have by far the largest online selection in the UK. Julie says “I so enjoy running my own business, I get the delight of choosing beautiful handcrafted items from Morocco and the pleasure of knowing the craftsmen are paid a fair price for the goods we buy: the craftsmen receive half the money when they take on the job and the balance when it is brought to the container. It has been a roller coaster 6 years and I believe the next few will be our most challenging to date. “ Given this challenging commercial environment, especially for retail, we asked Julie to share a few tips she has learnt over the last 6 years. • Love your business, I know it sounds corny, but it is infectious. If you love what you do, other people will too, if you have a bad day, don’t take it to heart, we all get them. Try and keep your enthusiasm alive with new ideas and projects, as a small business there is always a long list. • Keep your web site interesting. Keep your site updated not just with new products but new contents, it sounds obvious but so often it’s not done. People have to have a reason to come back. • Make it personal. Buying on the internet can be a rather impersonal experience and rather daunting for some people, give people the option to phone you, tell them a bit about the company so they can see you are real. • Be honest about your products. If your product is cheap as chips but full of charm say it is, don’t pass it off as something it’s not, it will only come back. • Returns, we all hate them, your heart sinks when it happens, but take it with good grace because it makes such a difference to your customers’ view of you. If you find something comes back more than others, look at how it is presented, people are obviously getting the wrong impression. • Find your market, it helps if you know what your market is, and can direct your marketing and advertising in the right area and it may vary across your product range. But don’t be too high brow about it: look for markets in less obvious places. • Be careful with your advertising, don’t get sold to! We have all done it. “Fantastic exposure to new previously untapped markets normally selling for £1000, yours madam for £300, one off exclusive introductory offer”. Never had one work yet! • Fail fast and move on, we all make mistakes. Easier said than done, but don’t beat yourself up over mistakes (plenty of people to do that for you). Find out what went wrong and try not to do it again. • Careful stock buying, don’t get caught up in your own enthusiasm. Try to keep your business head on. It’s so easy to overstock, especially in my market, so many pretty and unusual things, but will they sell or will you be counting them at every stock take for the next 6 years? Just don’t ask me about my large brass pot, my glass tribal vase... • Chose your couriers carefully, they are delivering your promise. Cheapest isn’t always best, especially if they go bust (always a risk given the current market). It can be your biggest headache; nothing stresses a customer out quicker than waiting in all day for a courier that doesn’t turn up, particularly at Christmas, what season of good will. Find Maroque on line at www.maroque.co.uk and, if feeling and touching items are more your thing than online buying, they have a 2500sqft warehouse and showroom in Needham Market, Suffolk, where visitors are welcome to come and browse. For a taste of Morocco visit www.maroque.co.uk, speak to Julie Woodard on (01449) 723133, or email her at julie.woodard@maroque.co.uk |
| Posted: 16/09/2010 13:28:01 Last Updated: 16/09/2010 13:31:23 |
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