Right now in the Lounge, we’re working on our yearly review and planning for the quarter ahead. As the members were going through their numbers the number one question I got was: should I combine my numbers for eCommerce, Etsy, Wholesale, in-person, etc. or should I look at them separately?
And considering this was the case for the majority of the members on our workshop call I’m pretty confident you might be wondering the same thing.
The answer, you want to do both. You want to look at your business as a whole but you also want to look at each channel separately as well.
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To illustrate this with a brick-and-mortar example. When someone has a chain of brick-and-mortar stores, 99% of the time each store is technically its own business. Legally speaking it’s usually an LLC. Each store is required to support itself. It has to make enough revenue to cover all of its own expenses and turn a profit.
The only time this isn’t necessarily true is bigger brands that have stores in super visible areas. As long as it’s. not losing money and sometimes even if it is, it’s worth it for the store to exist there purely for branding and visibility.
Your business is the same way. While it’s important to look at the big picture because that’s essentially how you figure out how much money you made – it’s also important to break it down.
Why You Want to Look at Your eCommerce Sales Channels Separately
Just like I tell you to break down your traffic by marketing source and conversion by traffic source. You’ll want to look at each channel individually to figure out which ones are contributing to your bottom line, which ones might not be worth your time, and which ones you may want to put more effort into.
The other reason you’ll want to look at these separately is that the levers you pull to hit your goals are going to be different, depending on the channel you’re talking about.
For instance. When you’re talking about improving the conversion on your website you might look to revamp your home page or update your product descriptions. That will certainly help your eCommerce results but it’s not going to do much for your in-person sales.
On the other hand, something like being more consistent on social media or in email has the power to support both channels.
If you’re not really sure HOW to look at your numbers and the growth levers you can pull to improve them check out episode 93 where I walk you through it all. I’ll stick a link in the show notes.
How to Choose What to Focus On in Your Business
Now, of course, you can’t optimize all the things at the same time. So how do you choose where to focus your energy first?
It depends, but typically you’re going to want to either prioritize the one that drives your business or the one you want to improve. That makes almost no sense, right? I know.
That’s why it’s also important to look at your business as a whole too. Let’s break it down.
If your business as a whole is doing good, you’re paying yourself a decent salary. You’re getting to enjoy your life a bit. And you have a main driver of your business that is doing really well. Yes, of course, there is always room for improvement. But essentially, if you did nothing – you’d be good. In that case, you might want to focus on one of those channels you want to improve.
On the other hand. Maybe you’re not quite making as much money as you need to. You’re a little stressed out. Things are feeling heavy. That’s when you focus on the main driver. Don’t try and start something new because you think it’s gonna be some hail mary for your business. That’s rarely the case. Double down on what is already working and improve that.
When Should You Add a New Sales Channel to Your eCommerce Business
And one more note to throw a wrench in all this logic because every business and product is different.
Sometimes the driver isn’t a sales channel… it’s a product. So maybe that thing that’s going to get you unstressed is actually expanding to another sales channel, like a marketplace or doing wholesale.
There are no hard and fast rules. And believe me, I wish there were.
How I can Help Point You in the Right Direction
If this is where you’re at right now and wish you had a little help deciding what the right option is for your particular business and want my help figuring that out. I have two easy ways to help you.
- Come join the Lounge! It’s evergreen baby. Doors are open and they’re staying open. The price is going up at the end of the month so if you want to lock in today’s rates, come join us. You’ve got nothing to lose because we do offer a 7-day refund policy.
- The second option is to book a strategy call with me. These are one-off calls where we brainstorm about your business and your best next steps. They’re pretty damn powerful.
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Important Episode Links:
All the Ways to Grow Your eCommerce Business
