In this article we will see what the web-to-store as a whole and give you web-to-store strategies to put in place for your physical brand.
Today more than ever physical stores are facing increased competition.
Those making the digital shift now have a big advantage in the race.
We often talk about web to store, drive to store when it comes to digital strategy for physical stores.
But then, what does that mean clearly?
How to be visible on the web and how to overcome local competitors?
This is what we will see in this article!
Whether you are a franchise, a chain or a single establishment, web-to-store is key to the sustainability of your business.
Summary
- Web-to-store definition
- 6 examples of effective web-to-store strategies
Web-to-store definition
Web to store or ROPO (Research Online Purchase Offline), is the act of attracting a customer to a point of sale via an online interaction.
6 examples of effective web-to-store strategies
1. Be listed on Google Maps
This may seem obvious to many, especially when we are talking about web to store, but if your brand is not referenced at all on Google Maps, you will never succeed in the online game and your competition will take on more and more market shares !
So how to be referenced on Google Maps?
To be listed on Google Maps, you will need to create a Google My Business listing for your brand. This will make you visible on Waze, Google, Google Maps.
You will then need to optimize your Google My Business listing to stand out from the competition.
2. Have an optimized and up-to-date Google My Business listing
Once your profile has been created, you must optimize it in order to stand out from the crowd and attract customers to your brand and not to your competitor! This is the whole purpose of a good web-to-store strategy.
Local SEO is a discipline in its own right and complex, but we are going to reveal some important elements to you.
There are many techniques for optimize a Google My Business listing and go back to Google Maps.
Here is a shortlist of key elements:
- A form filled to the maximum
- Have Google reviews for reputation
- Up-to-date information (schedules, covid info, attributes)
- Recent photos
- Choose the right categories
- Have products and services
- An informed FAQ
- Publish Google Posts frequently
- A website optimized for SEO
- Have consistent citations
3. Google reviews to boost your local visibility
Your file is well optimized, your website too but you still do not exceed your competitors?
Google reviews have a very important weight in Google Maps referencing and therefore in your web-to-store strategy. It is advisable to have a solution to help you collect Google reviews simply.
- If you collect your customers’ phone numbers, you can directly send SMS campaigns requests for opinions in order to encourage them to submit a positive opinion.
- If you don’t have your customers’ phone numbers, you can set up a point-of-sale QR code system like at the checkout for example. Once the customer scans the code, he is redirected directly to the review section of your Google listing and submits the review in one click.
If you are looking for a simple and effective review solution, we advise you to test LocalRanker for free!
4. Web to store Click & collect strategy
Another interesting web-to-store strategy, simple to implement and widely democratized today is the Click & collect strategy.
Click & collect is simply the fact of making your purchase online and picking up the order in store.
In most cases, payment is made online. But then, why is this strategy interesting?
Quite simply because it allows the consumer to take the act of purchasing directly when the urge is strongest and don’t wait to come to the store.
A conversion for your brand that is necessarily higher than without Click & collect!
You may also like: How to delete a Google review?
5. The Store or product locator
The store locator and the product locator are two fairly similar web-to-store strategy concepts.
THE store locator is to have a directory on your website of all your points of sale. This can also be represented with a map for increased visibility.
A simple way for your potential customers to go to the point of sale closest to them.
THE product locator consists of indicating the availability of a product in all the shops (In stock, out of stock, etc.).
6. Localized Facebook Ads
Our last interesting web-to-store strategy is the use of localized Facebook ads per establishment.
You can promote your current discounts and encourage potential customers to come to the point of sale.
The advantage of this channel is that you can reach a much larger target than with other web-to-store strategies.
However, it must be kept in mind consistency is very important.
If you advertise on Facebook without a working Google My Business listing or with a bad address, customers may not find your store. Today, most Internet users wishing to visit a point of sale search for it on Google Maps.
If this does not exist, you will greatly reduce your chances of visit and conversion.
You may also like: How to get more Google reviews?
Generally speaking, web-to-store strategies seek to achieve a common goal, which is to encourage visits to the point of sale.
Start with these strategies and never neglect the power of local SEO for the sustainability of your point of sale.
Web-to-store FAQs
Web-to-store definition
Web to store or ROPO (Research Online Purchase Offline), is the act of attracting a customer to a point of sale via an online interaction.
What web-to-store strategies should be implemented?
– Be listed on Google Maps
– Have an optimized and up-to-date Google My Business listing
– Google reviews to boost your local visibility
– Web to store Click & collect strategy
– The Store or product locator
– Localized Facebook ads