Open a Simple Online Store

Posted on March 29, 2017 in Associations, Feature Updates, Membership, Nonprofit

Does your organization want to create an extra revenue stream and marketing channel at a minimal cost with minimal setup time!? Open a Simple Online Store today with Membee, It’s easier than you think! Read more on this week’s Latest Buzz blog post.

Has your organization ever wanted a simple online store directly on your site where member can order essential items and you handle the fulfillment yourself? With Membee, it’s as simple as setting up an event! With the event’s widget you can create a permanent place for an online store accessible right from your sites homepage!

By simply making an online store with Membee you are creating an extra revenue stream and additional marketing channel at a minimal cost with minimal setup time.

Perks of Online Stores

Open for Business 24/7:

Online shops give you the ability to make sales any day at any time. According to Shopfiy the most popular time for online shopping is between the hours of 12pm to 2pm on weekdays, and Sunday evenings.

Flexibility:

Update your online stores as little or as often as you need. For example you could set up “Daily Deals”, and set them to expire at the end of the day.

Improved customer profiling:

You have the opportunity to target products at specific members. For example, set a “Members only” discount price on a textbooks for your student members before the Fall Semester.

Increased Visibility:

Increase your SEO rating by adding an online store. This adds more links for potential members to be directed to your organizations site.

Additional Marketing Channel:

Members have the opportunity to leave positive testimonials and customer reviews, further improving your organizations SEO rating. Your online store leads to additional marketing at a very low cost.

Use Promo Codes to Pump Up Sales!

Get more traffic to your online store by sending out promotional codes to your members! For example; every time a member renews their membership send them a "$5 off" promo code towards your online store. You can also set up seasonal or time limited specials. Read more about Membee's promo codes in this previous blog posts: Promotions Feature Pumps Up New Member Sales

For more about the perks of online stores, check out this article by Yell Business: How An Online Store Benefits Your Business

Member and Non-Member Pricing

Continually adding value to your memberships is an ongoing process. Increasing perks in the membership packages you offer not only increases your member retention rates, but will increase your new membership revenues!

A great way to broadcast the perks of being a full-blown member is by putting up member AND non-member prices in your online store. TO be able to purchase the member priced items you would have to be signed in, meaning you have a membership. This simple move will entice those non-members to take the plunge and sign-up for a membership!

The screenshot to the left (click image to enlarge) shows how the member and non-member prices would show up in your store. Clicking the information “i” icon opens a larger description of your items.

[Click image to enlarge]

Easy to Get Going

There is an awesome how-to video, “Small Store”, on Membee’s Help from the Hive page that goes into detail about how to get your store all set up. The Help from the Hive documentation also has the list of steps you need to follow to get all setup.

Although your Online Store is technically an “Event” it can be a permanent member of your site!

It’s super easy to add new merchandise and edit their description and prices. Below is a screenshot of how your store will look once you follow the steps from the Help from the Hive page.

[Click image to enlarge]

Need Help or More Info?

This is just one of the many ways Membee’s settings and functions helps you to keep your data in good shape. Learn How to Setup Online Store here (remember to have your username and password ready).

If you need any additional help don’t hesitate to contact our support team, that’s what they’re there for!

Email: support@membee.com

Chat feature on Membee’s Learning Resource page’s and on the Help from the Hive main page (Membee login required)