website or local store? which one is more cost-effective?

**starsign11** · 05-21-2010 01:51 PM

as this is the beginning of my business, I tried to control budget, so I didn't choose the local store.
but after my website is done, I found out there isn't a lot of traffic,
wondering if I should let some companies who are specialized in SEO to do the job or open an local store?

experienced business owner please give me some suggestions, thank you

**Paint-Shield.ca** · 05-21-2010 05:14 PM

It really depends what you are selling and what your profit margins are in relations to how many sales/transaction you plan on making.

I use to own a retail clothing store in Edmonton, AB, and my wholesale connections were very good, and our costs were down in comparison to other retailers in our city so we were able to compete directly right out the gate on a local level. We kept our overhead low and had a nice profit ratio that made us competitive (on a smaller scale) to the bigger, established retailers in our city. Had we chosen to go online with our store, even with great web search results and traffic, our prices would have been very comparable to other online retailers. So to sum it up our low overhead, low priced, local retailing was more profitable & competitive then the online endeavor could have been, even if we paid for high quality exposure on the net. But that's not to say your business (which you didn't describe) wouldn't work better in an online atmosphere as opposed to a local retail one.

What does your company do? What products or services do you offer? Where is your biggest client base going to come from? Where are your main competitors?

If you made Special FX latex masks and molds for Film/TV/Stage/etc etc and you were personally located in Flint, MI the ability to make any money as a local retailer would be next to none, and an Online Shop or Relocation would be your only avenue for substantial success/growth.

**rpermana** · 05-21-2010 09:52 PM

1. Market through brochure, referral.

2. Join related forums give feedbacks and tips... if they find your feedbacks or tips useful, they might look into your website.

2. SEO service... if I look to purchase online, I will only visit first 10 sites (1st page of google search).
Those who get top 10 in google are mostly a serious sellers because they invest in SEO... I want to feel secure when i shop online.

**starsign11** · 05-21-2010 11:50 PM

Paint-Shield.ca, yes, you are right, depends on what we are selling. my products are fengshui inspired jewelries and figurines, this is my website www . easternhearts .com ( delete the space between the dot pls)
it's kinda of like 1 in 100 ppl interested in fengshui, so it's the disadvantage of of having a local store, but from another aspect, my products would be pretty special compare with the native US products and I googled it, only 1 fengshui store close by, and our concern is different. they provide service like helping ppl to arrange the office and house. we kinda of can be cooperator more than competitor.

However, I don't wanna limited my business locally

**starsign11** · 05-22-2010 12:05 AM

thanks for the suggestions rpermana.
yes, I do let the printing company made bunch of brochure, it works good for a while, but I have a feeling that it works temporarily. or maybe we should go to the fair and continuing pass them out.
the second one is pretty good idea, will do that
i consulted the SEO company, the price is like half of renting a store (normal traffic).
and another question is if I choose to open a local store, shall I choose the place close to Asian ppl who understand it well, or in a shopping mall which will draw attention from native ppl? (which I'm sure they will curious and come in but not confident if there will buy.)

**Will Hoffmann** · 05-22-2010 04:36 PM

99/100 times a website will be more cost-effective.

**rpermana** · 05-22-2010 09:56 PM

Originally Posted by starsign11

thanks for the suggestions rpermana.
yes, I do let the printing company made bunch of brochure, it works good for a while, but I have a feeling that it works temporarily. or maybe we should go to the fair and continuing pass them out.
the second one is pretty good idea, will do that
i consulted the SEO company, the price is like half of renting a store (normal traffic).
and another question is if I choose to open a local store, shall I choose the place close to Asian ppl who understand it well, or in a shopping mall which will draw attention from native ppl? (which I'm sure they will curious and come in but not confident if there will buy.)

For advertising such as brochure, you need to do it often.. like taking few percentage of your net profit and put it into advertisement

For SEO, it depends on which country and how competitive is the keywords. It may cost around $30 / keyword / month for easy keyword

Regarding your store location, it depends on your price and your fashion style.

Chinatown shops mostly selling cheap cloth with low materials.. They sell by quantity...
If you are selling a high-end material which is expensive, then it will be hard to compete..

Shopping Mall selling a better material but more expensive.... and rental cost is high..

But actually you can try doing online store and do survey on your buyers (like age, country, race.. etc).. you know your market from here