Thinking about starting an Online Store for your Business?
You’re on the right path.
Since the Covid 19 pandemic, millions of global businesses have realized the importance of going digital.
Whether you’re looking to increase your revenue or thinking about adding an additional revenue stream, digital is the way to go.
New York’s Grind Coffee recently went digital to improve business management and offer convenient processing options for customers. The customer-focused café has always embraced the customer-first approach to cater to customer needs.
According to Café Owner Cathan O’Brien, “Having a comprehensive customer profile is a critical tool for business management today. If you don’t understand your customers and their tendencies, you cannot understand their requirements.”
O’Brien understands the importance of creating an exceptional experience through every level of the customer’s journey. From the moment customers walk through the door, Café Grind’s inviting ambiance is designed to curate an exceptional experience.
However, a key part of the experience is technology.
Here’s how Café Grind has established a successful online business by integrating digital tools.
Creating an Inviting Digital
Experience
The pandemic was a key reason behind the digital shift for Café Grind. The Irishman was looking to keep his business going during the pandemic, so he thought about offering the products online. O’Brien wanted to make sure that the café’s mouth-watering assortment of desserts and beverages could be effectively showcased online.
Cathan’s decision to create a website was an obvious choice. The platform would allow him to showcase the product range of the café and receive online orders.
A key part of the equation was the creation of an attractive digital experience. O’Brien wanted to explore a cost-effective option without committing significant capital. His was first thought was about creating a free online store
. He decided to go with Clover Ecommerce to have a compact solution that covered both physical and online needs for Café Grind. Clover’s reputation was a key factor behind the decision, according to O’Brien.
“I feel like Clover was an obvious choice. As a business owner, you want to go with a digital partner that provides you with the right resources and support to have a successful launch. For me, Clover felt like the complete package to help me create my digital presence.”
Developing a Hybrid Rollout
Strategy
Café Grind opted for a hybrid rollout strategy to ensure that both physical and digital sales could be covered through the digital store. Aside from having online purchase options, the store also allows customers to make reservations and book in advance. The café took that design to ensure that the experience could be improved for customers of the store as well.
This helped the café amplify its revenue generation through dual channels instead of relying on a single outlet. Clover eCommerce played a key role in the process by allowing the café to process payments by digital and physical customers. Restaurant Owner O’Brien credits the payment gateway as a significant reason behind the café’s growth.
Integrating a Reliable Payment
Gateway
Before launching Café Grind’s eCommerce store, the management was adamant about ensuring that customer trust was a key factor in the online experience. The restaurant wanted to ensure that customer could seamlessly process their payments in a secure environment without worrying about security.
Clover Payment Gateway was a straightforward choice for the company.
“We had extensive experience working with the Clover team in the past. The integration of the Clover Payment Gateway allowed us to receive payments from different methods. If we went with another option, we would have to deal with a number of compatibility and conversion issues.”
For other business owners thinking about expanding into digital sales, Clover offers a streamlined adoption pathway
Creating a Free Online Store –
The Options
Businesses can choose between a number of popular online services to set up their online presence and get started with eCommerce.
Here are the most popular options available to consumers.
Wix eCommerce
Wix is rapidly becoming the most popular choice for businesses to go online. Wix simplifies the store development process by offering drag-and-drop development options. The platform allows users to develop websites without needing to have advanced programming skills. This simple interface can make it highly simple for businesses to develop a basic store and offer products to their customers.
The platform provides convenient plans to support an affordable launch. Power users can explore premium plans to access the complete range of development tools needed for a comprehensive eCommerce experience.
Wix also provides integrated SEO and security support to ensure that end-users don’t have to manually handle these aspects while creating their eCommerce stores. Wix websites deliver decent performance right out the box without requiring advanced optimization. This means that you can focus on designing your website and benefit from the complimentary support for the platform.
Squarespace
Squarespace is considered to be one of the most popular website builders currently available in the market. The company has rapidly grown in popularity thanks to its creative design options and low-code approach to e-store development. The builder allows businesses to choose from pre-designed templates to simplify development.
Squarespace’s builder includes a drag-and-drop tool to help users create a compact eCommerce store. When users choose Squarespace, they get to have integrated backups, security, and redundancy management in an integrated environment. The monthly bundles include hosting, security, and other elements at a single price to simplify the process for business owners. The platform also provides around-the-clock live support to solve issues and provide support for your e-store.
Embracing Social Media
The Owner of Café Grind understands that eCommerce is the future. Expanding to digital interaction mediums has been a key part of the process and has allowed the company to significantly increase its revenue.
The Café has invested in developing an inviting eCommerce store to simplify the ordering process for customers. The store has served as an invaluable asset for the brands by increasing lead generation and offering the company’s outlook to digital customers.
“Clover continues to be a cornerstone of our digital strategy,” O’Brien said. “We’re constantly looking for new ways to improve the customer experience and offer incentives for customers, and in today’s landscape, having a reliable payment partner is a critical part of the experience.”