If you’re looking for a lucrative way to finance your business without hefty upfront fees, crowdfunding may be the best option for you. Once funded, companies that have established there is a market for their product/service beyond the fundraising campaign usually transition over to eCommerce to continue the success.
Here are the steps to transition from Crowdfunding to eCommerce:
- Choose A Platform That Is Tried & Tested
- Immediately Continue Taking Preorders
- Make Customer Service The Heart Of Your Business
- Never Go Dark on Advertising Spend
- Consider Raising Additional Capital & Form Strategic Partnerships
We’ll go in depth on each one below:
Choose A Platform That Is Tried & Tested
Shopify is currently the most flexible for eCommerce platforms. Many of your favorite online stores are probably utilizing this platform due to ease of use and reliability. Shopify even has a dedicated customer support team that is available 24/7.
Immediately Continue Taking Preorders
Your eCommerce website should be ready two weeks before the end of your campaign. If not, check if your crowdfunding platform allows extensions such as Indiegogo’s InDemand option. Use the time between campaign end and order fulfillment as a safety net to collect more preorders until your store is ready. Remember to prioritize the fulfillment of your early backers prior to those who place an order in your eCommerce shop. Show your appreciation to your backers by taking care of them first as without this community, you wouldn’t have the funding.
Make Customer Service The Heart Of Your Business
Consumers are 2 times more likely to share their bad customer service experiences than their good ones. It is crucial for any business to have an extensive customer service plan. Think of all the possible worst case scenarios and have a range of solutions to solve these. Have standard operating procedures in place that prioritize customer satisfaction. Closely monitor all inquiries on your campaign page, social media channels, emails, and all customer service lines.
Never Go Dark on Advertising Spend
Keep pushing to make sales. Deep dive into your finances and optimize your expenses to make certain that the business is indeed profitable. This step may be very overwhelming, but having a team of experts analyze this for you is recommended. Start by looking into your advertising expenses and have our team audit your account!
Consider Raising Additional Capital & Form Strategic Partnerships
90% of eCommerce companies fail within 120 days of starting up and only 78% of eCommerce companies survive the first year of doing business. The path to scaling into an eCommerce powerhouse is not the same for everyone and expect to make many shifts in order to find the winning formula. Many of Rainfactory’s clients will seek equity financing on WeFunder, StartEngine, or Republic, and many will raise from private equity, angel investors, and venture capital. Still more companies will look to revenue-based lending from companies like Clearco and Wayflyer.
What’s our secret sauce? Rainfactory has helped the following companies execute a successful crowdfunding campaign and transition over to an eCommerce powerhouse:
CLIQ Products (Previously known as GoChair)
- $1,572,101 raised through Indiegogo
- 3x ROAS on Facebook
- 7x ROAS on Google
- 30+ Social Media Influencers Sourced
- $2,643,202 raised through Indiegogo
- 192 countries reached
- Available in 6+ online retail outlets
- 5 new online product launches
- $1,264,853 raised through Indiegogo in the first 45 days
- Investment from celebrities such as Novak Djokovic, Jay Z
- Featured in Uncrate, Men’s Health, Engadget
- Secured in-store demo partnership with Best Buy
Want to be the next eCommerce powerhouse? Get in touch with us today!