Some small businesses sell their goods in physical marketplaces, others shift their products online. The most successful brands, however, switch seamlessly between the two, giving their customers flexibility, freedom and a consistent experience.
There’s no reason why your business shouldn’t be taking advantage of this “omnichannel” holy grail – even if your enterprise is on a small scale.
“From the very beginning, we couldn’t afford big marketing, posters, celebrities etcetera,” says Alexander Shaf, chief executive of Lock’d Escape Games, a live-action puzzle company in south London. “This was not available.”
Instead, Lock’d started small. “We created a really good quality product that was [better than] known competitors and created very good quality images explaining the product,” he says. “We connected it to TripAdvisor and Facebook and observed the miracle.”
Shaf, who has a career history that includes theatre courses, five years in music school, two degrees in physics, an MBA, and a passion for engineering, designed the rooms himself. The company uses Square for its sales across multiple platforms, taking payment over the internet for some bookings or on-location if customers prefer. Once in the game, participants have one hour to figure out how to break out.
“Back in 2014, escape rooms were literally as the name describes: a room so horrific, spooky and complicated that you wanted to escape it,” he says. “I thought: ‘Why couldn’t it be immersive, cinematic, magical, and fun?’ Lock’d was probably the first company in London that designed truly immersive escape rooms.”
The novel nature of the business soon led to media attention and the audience grew. Despite its physical nature, extending the brand online has been crucial in helping Shaf make a success of his business. Lock’d is very active on Instagram and uses targeted online advertising to reach a local and relevant audience. “But, most importantly, we aim to maintain our product well, so it remains exciting and fun,” he says. “Three years have passed, and we are still receiving excellent reviews.”
Having opened three escape rooms, Shaf is now working on a new project. He’s keeping tight-lipped on details, but keep an eye out for The House of Alastair Moon, which will open its doors early this summer.
“One of the biggest pieces of advice I have for anyone who is looking to start a small business is just to go for it,” he says.
Another way to come up with a business idea is to think of something you would like as a customer, but cannot find anywhere. This is what the team behind From the Land has done.
“The idea for our business was to make objects we would like to have in our own home but couldn’t find with the qualities we were after,” says Kezia Regan, one half of From the Land. Regan, a textile designer, works with Alastair Mitchell, an architect. “We formed From the Land to combine what we learned from these disciplines, designing homewares and surfaces, with a focus on material and provenance.”
They started out making Conpot planters; handmade concrete minimalist forms using stone from different regions of Britain. Then they went on to produce a collection of furniture and homewares and are continuing to research material ideas for a series of surfaces they have in development.
While From the Land’s business is very much in the real space, making and selling furniture and homewares, it relies on the internet. “Instagram was integral to building our brand’s visibility, and is invaluable as a marketing and networking tool,” says Regan. However, she says, the environment of Instagram seems to be changing, and From the Land is finding it harder to reach new audiences. Instead of seeing this as a challenge, they are looking to it as a positive – it has encouraged them to find new ways to extend their reach.
“Without the internet, we don’t think our business would exist,” says Regan, adding that there have been some issues in trying to maintain the slow pace of their work with the fast pace of the internet. “It’s great that we can spend months working on a product, yet have it available online in a moment, but it can be hard to keep up.”
However, it is important to remember to grow the business at your own pace, she says. “It’s taken us four years to realise that it’s necessary to take breaks and that the business will still be there when you get back online.”
Tips for an omnichannel business
- Create and maintain a strong presence on the major social media platforms.
- Maximise your SEO by making sure the details of your business are correct on Google and Bing, encouraging customer reviews and creating your own online content.
- Ensure your e-commerce experience is simple and easy to use for customers.
- Have a consistent brand look and feel across the real world and online.
- Make sure your customer care is as good online as it is face-to-face.
