In my view...marketing of your webstore begins in the same way, doing most of the same things that you would do in marketing for a new bricks 'n' mortar store or that you would do to publicize a significant increase in the number of hours your real-world store is open.  Operating a webstore includes both these paradigms.  You have opened a new store, and you are offering your customers opportunity to shop round-the-clock, seven days a week.

Here is my Internet-integration retail details checklist:

1. Merchandise your webstore every day.  Assign team members to take regular webstore walks-through and record their experiences for you.

2. Check your webstore’s product information daily for its completeness and accuracy.  Remove or revise useless or inaccurate content.  

3. Ensure the initial pages of your webstore are as rich with calls to action as your real-world store’s end caps and entrance displays.  

4. Include your webstore domain address in every promotional and informational activity (ads, flyers, window displays, letterhead, carry bags, product price tags, business cards, sponsorships, etc.) that you undertake.

5. Ensure your webstore domain address is on panoramic display in your physical store.

6. Tell every in-store customer about your webstore.

7. Tell every webstore customer about your real-world store.

8. Give every in-store customer a flyer that includes your webstore domain address and a brief description of your webstore’s excellent customer service features.

9. In your webstore, prominently place notices about your excellent online customer service features – current inventory information, same-day delivery, problem resolution, etc.

10. In your webstore, prominently place notices encouraging your customers to e-mail you with questions, comments or concerns.

11. Provide your webstore customers with telephone and fax numbers and hours of telephone support availability.

12. Train all your sales team members on your Internet-integration strategy.  They must be fully capable of providing high quality support for e-mail, phone call and in-store queries about your webstore.

13. In your webstore, provide the mailing address and simple driving directions to your real-world store.

14. For your webstore customers, describe the significant product expertise that your sales team delivers to all your customers.

15. For your webstore customers, describe the customer service excellence that your sales team delivers to all your customers.

16. In your webstore, include relevant information on your sales team – mini-bios, thumbnail photos, e-mail addresses, etc.

17. Have your webstore participate in every promotional programme that you run for your real-world store.

18. Give your webstore a grand opening promotion.  Have your real-world store participate.

19. Schedule a frequent-customers e-mailing program.

20. Invite your webstore customers to join a frequent customers e-mailing list.

21. Invite your in-store customers to join a frequent customers e-mailing list.

22. Compare webstore traffic results with your real-world store results.  Measure and track your aggregated traffic and performance results.

23. Develop specific objectives for your webstore – incremental sales, integrated sales, number of visitors, number of new customers both online and offline, sales increase in your real-world store.  Remember, you are a Internet-integrated retailer; it is your overall results that will define your success.

24. Test at least one new webstore or web-integrated marketing idea, whether online, offline or collaboratively, every day.

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