Challenge: Adapt and adjust a product's design and pricing for successful e-commerce.
E-commerce storefronts let entrepreneurs share their products with customers around the world. Consider how your Glowforge product design and pricing can be adapted or adjusted to support a successful e-commerce business. Think about the cost of production, labor, and shipping, as well as how your Glowforge products could be customized for customers. Develop your business plan for an e-commerce storefront.
Use an existing Glowforge product of your own or develop a new one in the Marketing Magic challenge.
Facilitation Guide
Background
E-commerce, the sale of goods and services online, continues to grow, allowing even companies with physical stores and products to reach larger audiences and sell products 24/7.
Successful e-commerce businesses understand their target market and provide user-friendly online shopping experiences. They also understand sales funnels, a way to describe how visitors become purchasers. Sales funnels can help businesses understand the user experience on their e-commerce storefront, and generate revenue by acquiring new customers and retaining existing customers.
E-commerce business owners must also consider how pricing affects their customer cost and profitability. Production, shipping, and fulfillment are major costs to consider when developing a pricing strategy. Prices not only impact customer satisfaction, but also profitability and scalability. Some businesses add customization or personalization options to increase value for their customers at little or no additional cost to the business.
Glowforge helps businesses create engaging products and build a memorable brand. With the ability to cut, engrave, and etch, the customization and personalization options are endless, making it the ideal tool for e-commerce products.
Explore
Research and explore e-commerce platforms, e-commerce business plans, and elements that may influence sales for your Glowforge products. Consider the following:
- What e-commerce platforms and business plans have proven successful for your target market or product type?
- What key features do customers look for in an e-commerce storefront?
- What common challenges do entrepreneurs face when setting up an e-commerce storefront?
- How does product design influence leads and sales on e-commerce platforms?
- How does pricing influence leads and sales on e-commerce platforms?
- How might you build a sales funnel for your e-commerce storefront?
- What types of product customizations could you offer customers?
Explore Tip
Need more inspiration? Check out tip number 8 from Bailey on Glowforge Livestream as she discusses how to customize your Glowforge products using Trace and Magic Canvas.
Reflect and Review
Take a moment to reflect on the research you did for your e-commerce storefront.
- What did you learn about e-commerce platforms and their impact on sales?
- What did you learn about product design and pricing that will influence your e-commerce decisions?
- What are some ways products can be customized to attract customers?
Are there any other resources or techniques it would help to explore before moving on to the Ideate stage? There you will brainstorm ideas for your e-commerce storefront.
Ideate
Brainstorm different ideas for your e-commerce storefront, business plan, and possible Glowforge product refinements. Think of as many ideas as you can without worrying about whether they’re good or bad. Consider the following:
- How will you differentiate your e-commerce storefront from competitors?
- How might you adjust your product’s design to influence leads and sales?
- How can you offer product customization options or props for better photo marketing without adding significant cost or cutting into profits?
- How will you funnel sales to your e-commerce storefront and acquire customers?
- What business and production costs will you need to consider when determining pricing for your product? How do shipping and fulfillment costs on different e-commerce platforms affect your pricing and profits?
- How will your e-commerce storefront attract and retain customers?
Ideate Tip
Need some more ideas for customization options you can offer? Search Glowforge’s extensive video list to find examples of how different products can be customized.
Not sure how to reduce production cost and maximize revenue? Check out tip number 4 from Bailey on Glowforge Livestream as she talks about how to price your product based on the cost of materials, finishing, and production time.
Reflect and Review
Take a moment to reflect on the ideas you brainstormed for your e-commerce storefront.
- How do your ideas impact customer acquisition and retention?
- How did market research impact your ideas for your e-commerce storefront?
- How might production, shipping, and fulfillment costs affect your pricing compared to your competitors?
Are there any gaps in your brainstorming that you want to consider before moving on to the Design stage? There you will choose one or two e-commerce storefronts to fully develop.
Design
Review your ideas and select one or two to develop by creating an e-commerce business plan and digital storefront mockups. To develop mockups, start by sketching rough wireframes on paper, then use a program approved by your teacher to generate digital wireframes and mockups. You will also consider one or two ways to refine your Glowforge product to increase sales and improve profit margins. Consider the following:
- How will you meet the needs of the target audience to enhance customer acquisition and retention?
- What e-commerce platform will you use? Will you develop a website for your business or use an existing e-commerce platform?
- How will your customers interact with your e-commerce storefront? What does the user experience need to look like in order to drive sales?
- How will you ensure that your e-commerce storefront is accessible for all customers?
- How will you fulfill shipments?
- How will you price your product to compete with your competitors and maintain profitability?
- How will you funnel sales to your e-commerce storefront?
- How will you refine your Glowforge product design to increase profit margins?
Design Tip
Curious about how to improve your user experience for customers? Check out this resource from Shopify for best practices and examples. Part of improving your user experience involves making your storefront accessible to all customers. Find out how to increase accessibility using the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
Reflect and Review
Take a moment to reflect on the progress of your business plan.
- How do your business plan and storefront mockups encourage new sales while retaining current customers?
- How do your business costs, including production and fulfillment, impact revenue and profitability?
- How did you refine your Glowforge product design to increase revenue?
Is there anything you want to change before moving on to the Prototype stage? There you will create and test your e-commerce storefront.
Prototype
Select one fully developed business plan for your e-commerce storefront. Using your chosen e-commerce platform, develop a prototype of your storefront that fits your business plan and brand identity. Then refine and print your product using appropriate materials, testing the customer customization elements and printing any props to enhance marketing photography. Consider the following:
- What materials and tools do you need to refine your existing Glowforge product?
- What does the product look like when printed with customizations and refinements or when photography using your Glowforge props? How is the quality of the product? Do customized elements and details appear seamless?
- How might color, font, and imagery impact your customers when they engage with your e-commerce storefront? Are all elements accessible?
- How do buttons, calls to action, and other interactive elements impact your user’s experiences and increase sales?
Prototype Tip
Want to be able to see the print, design details, customized elements, and photography props before you start printing the final product? Use cardboard, cardstock, or even paper to get a better sense of what your final product will look like. Learn more about printing on paper.
Reflect and Review
Take a moment to reflect on the prototype you created as well and the Glowforge product refinements you made and tested.
- What do you notice about the refinements you made to your Glowforge product design? How will these improvements entice customers to buy?
- What do you notice about your e-commerce storefront? Does it align to your business plan?
Is there anything you want to revisit moving on to the Evaluation stage?
Evaluate
After creating and testing your e-commerce storefront, determine how you can get feedback from others and then how you can use that feedback to adjust your design. You may want to pilot your storefront for a select group of your target market. Consider the following as ideas to help others offer actionable feedback:
- What are your conversion rates?
- How will you measure the success of your e-commerce storefront and business plan?
- How did customers respond to your refined product design?
- How easily were customers able to navigate to their desired location and make a purchase?
- What were customers' general feedback on pricing, brand identity, fulfillment timelines, product quality, and customization?
Evaluate Tip
Many e-commerce platforms and website plug-ins provide business owners with a variety of analytics that can help track leads, sales, and conversion rates. Depending on the tool you are using, use the reports or analytics sections to access your data.
Reflect and Review
Take a moment to reflect on the feedback you received.
- How will you optimize conversion rates?
- What aspects of your Glowforge product design, business plan, or e-commerce storefront do you need to revisit in response to customer feedback?
- What stages in the process might you return to in order to make these adjustments?
Once you have completed and finalized your e-commerce storefront, it’s time to share it publicly and engage your target market to generate sales!
