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Today’s Agenda
About Us.
Why Sell Honey Online?
Alternative Ways to Sell Honey Online
Photographing Your Products
Shipping Considerations
Promoting your online store.
Quick FactsWe are a family of nine from Nunica, MI
Jonathan and Mieke both grew up on farms.
Jonathan works as a prof in GVSU’s School of Computing and starting keeping bees in 1984.
Mieke markets our honey crops at farmers markets, expos, home sales, online, etc
Family runs a sideline bee operation:
run 40-60 colonies mainly for honey production
retail the annual honey crop
sell nucs when available.
Website: http://hudsonvillehoney.com
Why Sell Honey Online?Expand the reach of your market at low cost.
Less time consuming than farmers markets, physical retail presence.
Target niche market opportunities (brides, brewers, etc.)
Customer convenience (even local customers).
Alternative Approaches
Consumer-to-Consumer eCommerce platforms: craigslist, eBay, Etsy.
“Cookie-Cutter” eCommerce Platforms: Shopify, Yahoo, BigCommerce,
Roll your own custom eCommerce website
C2C eCommerceExamples: craigslist.org, Etsy, eBay
Advantages:
easy to setup
leverage large existing user base
Disadvantages:
Loss of brand visibility - e.g., consumers are going to etsy.com, not hudsonvillehoney.com.
Fees often based on transaction volumes/amounts
Lack of portability, customization
craigslist.orgEquivalent to an old fashioned local classified ad.
Advantages:
Free and super simple to setup.
Very popular platform
Disadvantages:
transaction consummated out-of-band
scammers and weirdos
EtsyPopular eCommerce site for selling handmade and vintage goods
most sellers/buyers seem to be female… niche opportunity.
Advantages: easy to use, integrates with PayPal account.
Disadvantages: lots of nickel/dime fees that add up fast. Breeding ground for “idea stealing”
“Cookie-Cutter” eCommerce Platforms
Examples: Shopify, BigCommerce
Advantages:
Easy to setup.
Hosted on your own domain (promote your brand)
Fees are generally less onerous
Disadvantages:
Not as configurable as a fully custom site.
“Roll your own” eCommerce site
Advantages
You have complete control, e.g. most flexible, move site between cloud providers, etc.
Hosted on your own domain - extend your brand identity.
Disadvantages
Requires more technical expertise to establish
Our Solution
Multi-pronged approach:
Main website: hudsonvillehoney.com
Use Craigslist to promote local sales.
Use Etsy for niche marketing (wedding favors, holidays, etc): https://www.etsy.com/shop/HudsonvilleHoney
Example: hudsonvillehoney.com
Running Wordpress for content management
Uses WP eCommerce plugin for store front.
Integrates with USPS shipping calculator API to compute shipping charges based on weight/destination.
Integrates with PayPal for credit card payments.
Product Images
High quality photos of your products is an important component of your online store.
Options:
Hire a professional.
Befriend or marry a photographer.
Do it yourself.
Shipping Considerations
Select a shipping method that is effective for yourself as well as your customer
Conveniently located drop offs or ability to schedule pickup.
Ability to integrate with your online store.
Rates will vary with package size/weight, destination.
Shipping
You will need to weight / estimate shipping charges in advance.
Use a postal Scale
automatically integrates with shipping providers (USPS, Fedex, UPS) to give accurate estimates.
USPSWe use USPS most frequently as rates are competitive and post office is nearby.
Added convenience & savings if buy postage online and print yourself.
Shipping calculator integrates with most eCommerce solutions.
PackingMake sure those lids are on tight!
Include a packing slip with a reference #.
Pack for worst case scenario!
You can ship glass but make sure you pack well!
Customer Relations
Consumers expect to be able to track their order, so email them a tracking number when it ships.
Set expectations in your product description: e.g., “Product ships within 1-3 business days”
Always give the customer the benefit of the doubt when something goes wrong.
Promoting your online store
Social media is not an option!
Social recommendations are very persuasive!
Double edged sword - learn how it works and use it right!
Social Media Integration
Social Media integration is a
great way to drive traffic to
your new website!
Electronic Mailing Lists
Very good way to drive repeat orders.
Don’t be spammy or people will sign off.
Make sure your newsletters are informative and not just product pitch.
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