How to Build Your Shopify Brand
This is the how-to guide for every future-designer dreaming of starting their very own clothing brand on Shopify.
There are three phases to developing a Shopify brand. The first phase is understanding and using the basic tools Shopify has to offer. Next, you need to explore common methods of growing a business beyond the Shopify infrastructure so that you can maximize your reach. Finally, at some point you will need to set off on your own. Eventually, your brand will grow out of Shopify and it will be time for you to take your next steps.
1) Understanding Shopify
Shopify is an e-commerce platform that helps people launch business from the ground up with website development, marketing, and sales assistance.
Shopify takes you through a multi-step process to create a platform on which to sell your product. First you set up your website and choose integrated payment and shipment methods. Next, you design and add your product to your website. Shopify gives you access to countless marketing tools to kick-start your sales. After completing these steps, you should be left with a functional website and a method to sell, advertise, and ship your product, all organized through one platform.
2) Using All of Your Resources
Shopify has many tools for marketing available in their subscription, but there is always more you can do as a business owner to maximize your company’s reach and profit.
There are a few key things that Shopify can’t do for you. One is defining and categorizing your product. With an online template platform, it’s easy to sell anything and everything you can figure out how to make. However, it’s important to clearly define your product and your market not just so you can understand it, but also so that a customer knows exactly what they are looking at the second they click on to your website. Keep your Shopify brand targeted and make sure you can always sum up your target market in just a few words.
Another piece of the puzzle that Shopify can’t always help with is customer relationships. It’s no secret that customer retention is one of the largest drivers of profit, and in order to retain customers you need to connect with them. Reach out to your customers beyond Shopify’s platform. Email marketing is a game-changer in customer retention. We all know promotional emails can be annoying, but the next time your customer needs to buy something, they will probably turn to the most recent brand they have seen in their inbox, and you want that brand to be yours.
3) Outgrowing Shopify: The Next Steps
Shopify can get you pretty far—in a few steps you can go from having an idea to making a profit—but any long-term business will eventually outgrow it. While it has a lot of options, there are limits to its customizability, and eventually a growing company needs to work directly with a manufacturer to fine-tune their product. However, it can be really hard to find a sustainable and ethical manufacturer as a small business owner, and it’s often nerve-wracking to set off on your own.
You don’t have to just jump off the deep end, though. Dhakai is a company made for small-to-midsize clothing businesses in this tricky transition phase—the Dhakai team works with each client to find a manufacturer for them that suits their needs and can bring their exact vision to life. With a cohort of professionals in the fashion industry and apparel supply chain, Dhakai provides a network that can set you in the right direction with sourcing, marketing, PR, and even website development. Dhakai’s flexible structure and endless resources are a simple and exciting next step for owners ready to grow their business.
Learn more about Dhakai's services at www.dhakai.com or by emailing [email protected].
