A quick look into BigCommece, and you'll quickly see one of the main advantages about

As eCommerce-Aholic says in their YouTube video: 5 reasons to choose BigCommerce over Shopify, when deciding whether a SaaS ecommerce platform is right for you, you have to consider APIs.

What does this mean for you?

Because more often than not, you don’t have access to the underlying code fuelling your ecommerce website. 

This is where APIs come into their own.

In short, API stands for 'Application Programming Interface.' This enables two apps to communicate with each other. As such, this is what allows you to extend the overall functionality of your chosen ecommerce platform.

With that in mind, let’s delve into this subject a little deeper. 

BigCommerce APIs

BigCommerce's API coverage is incredibly impressive. As is the number of API calls that BigCommerce can process per second. In fact, it can handle 100 times more API calls per second than Shopify Plus! 

Shopify limits you to just two API requests a second, or four API per second if you’re a Shopify Plus user. Whereas BigCommerce can handle a whopping 400 API calls per second!

How Often Will You Need to Hit an API Call?

Let’s take synchronizing your entire stock list with BigCommerce’s Catalog API as an example. This API enables you to integrate your BigCommerce store with your POS and multiple online sales channels...so that you can handle everything from a single platform. Needless to say, this makes selling on popular third-party platforms like Amazon, Walmart (Jet), Wayfair, Best Buy, Houz, etc. a breeze!

So, suppose you’re running a large enterprise and have thousands of items to synchronize (or have tons of different product options). In that case, 25,000 products could take over four hours to sync on Shopify! Whereas, with BigCommerce, that same volume of merchants would take around a minute. 

Following this same logic, if you're syncing multiple systems with your ecommerce store, you’ll be thankful that BigCommerce handles so many API calls per second. After all, there are only so many hours in the day!

The biggest perk?

But, that isn't the best thing about BigCommerce's APIs. In fact, it's the real-time information your shipping and logistics partners feedback to your store that's of the most value. 

Of course, this also has a knock-on effect on the quality of your customer support. Slow and unreliable API calls adversely impact your store's inventory levels and shipping updates for customers.

‍Customer Support

While we're on the topic of customer service, just think of the kind of high-quality customer support you could provide, using one of your many APIs to connect your BigCommerce store with Gorgias. 

You'll be able to offer all the following at lightning speed:

• Real-time live chat (you can even trigger automatic live chat campaigns depending on your visitor's web page).
• Centralize customer communications - social media, email, phone, etc. You can answer all pending support tickets from the convenience of one dashboard.
• You can create template answers to respond faster to FAQs - just write your response once and save it as a macro. Then you'll be able to reuse it automatically.
• Utilize machine learning to detect what customers will ask - shipping updates, refunds, exchanges, etc. Then, you can send laser-targeted automated responses to proactively answer their questions. 
  

How to Utilize API Calls

On top of the obvious benefits listed above, you can also use BigCommerce's API points to create mobile apps using data retrieved from your online store. Not only does this make app development much easier, but ultimately, it'll also provide a seamless experience for the end-user. Win-win!

For the sake of ease, we've listed some of the different kinds of BigCommerce APIs you can use and how they could benefit your online store. Hopefully, this provides some much-needed inspiration for making the most out of your abundance of APIs.

Storefront APIs: This enables you to manage customer carts and checkouts (from the client's side and your back end). For instance, you can add products to a shopper’s cart, gather and display customer order info, update billing addresses, and erase current e-shopping trolleys. 

GraphQL Storefront API: Similar to above, you can also use this API to access your customer's product info and modify customer details and orders. But more unique to this API, you can build frontend apps. This permits you full control over the look and feel of your brand. 

Scripts API: You can insert any scripts for analytics, single-click apps, live chat, support plugins, and theme extensions for any apps or integrations you’ve downloaded, so you'll no longer have to manually paste code into your control panel.

Widgets API: Here, you can create modular blocks of content to reuse wherever you want. Similarly, you can also develop tools to empower non-techy users to manage your content. Trust us, your team will thank you for not making them go to the trouble of modifying the theme files.

Payments API: As its name so aptly suggests, this API facilitates the acceptance of customer payments. You can create custom checkouts either using a Server-to-Server Checkout API Orders endpoint or via the V2 Orders endpoint.

Getting Started with BigCommerce APIs 

First off, you need to obtain the API credentials.

From there, you can experiment with your APIs using BigCommerce's in-built 'Request Runner.' Here, you just copy and paste your store_hash, client_id ID, and access_token. 

Then once you've done that, hit 'Send.'

Alternatively, you can use the REST Client extension to make API requests, using the Visual Studio Code. Once you've installed this extension, you'll need to create a new file called BigCommerce.http. 

Then you'll need to paste the following:

@ACCESS_TOKEN = your_access_token

@CLIENT_ID = your_client_id

@STORE_HASH = your_store_hash

###

GET https://api.bigcommerce.com/stores/{{STORE_HASH}}/v3/catalog/products

X-Auth-Token: {{ACCESS_TOKEN}}

X-Auth-Client: {{CLIENT_ID}}

Content-Type: application/json

Accept: application/json

Now, hit 'Save.' 

This should trigger a 'send request' link to display above GET. Click 'send request,' and the API response will appear in a split window.

There are other ways to start using BigCommerce APIs, but we don't have time to go through them all in this article. Hopefully, this has been enough to help steer you in the right direction. For more information, take a look at BigCommerce’s API documentation. 

Are You Ready to Start Using BigCommerce?

We hope having read this article, you have a better idea of what you could achieve with BigCommerce's generous API allowance. The BigCommerce API lets you sync inventory across channels, and locations, connect to apps, and offer exceptional customer support. How have you used the BigCommerce API?

For most retailers, Black Friday is the busiest and most profitable day of the year. However, not everyone is into shopping on Black Friday. Every year, more and more activists are protesting the consumer culture by celebrating ‘Buy Nothing Day.’

Never heard about it? Although the anti-consumerism celebration has been gaining traction in the last couple of years, it’s still not well-known among the general public.

How did we come to this point? That’s what we’ll learn today.

You’ll find out:                      

• A short history of Black Friday
• What’s Buy Nothing Day All About
• Black Friday vs. Buy Nothing Day

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The History of Black Friday

As high-speed Internet spread across the planet so did Black Friday. What initially started as a mall craze has evolved in an online phenomenon. But do you know how Black Friday started? When and where did it happen and how did it spread?

How Black Friday Started

The holiday got started in the early-50s, in Philadelphia. The term was used to describe the heavy traffic on the day after Thanksgiving when hordes of tourists and suburbanites would storm the city in advance of the annual Army-Navy football game. 

While we don’t know for certain, the term “Black Friday” was possibly coined by the members of the Philadelphia police department to describe the shoplifting, traffic jams, and general mayhem. Yes, Black Friday incidents are nothing new.

Even though retailers tried to change its name to “Big Friday” during the late 60s in an effort to avoid the negative connotations, the original name persevered. In the mid-80s, marketers started using the term in connection to “being in the black” after a financially bad year. 

Cyber Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Black November

Black Friday sales became commonplace across the United States, in the early 90s. By the mid-2000s, online shopping started gaining traction. In 2008, online shoppers spent $534 million on Black Friday. 

During the same period, Cyber Monday got its start. The holiday took off when the staff at Shop.org noticed a 77% increase in online sales on Monday after the Black Friday weekend. Since Cyber Monday was so successful, some of the largest store chains in the US, like Walmart and Amazon merged the two into a single shopping weekend. 

Soon after, retailers started creating different spin-offs of the Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend. For example, the day after Black Friday is called Small Business Saturday. That’s why some retailers now celebrate Black November all month long. 

Pros and Cons of Black Friday

Last year, retailers from all over the world saw more than 93 million people shopping online, during the Black Friday weekend. While a huge number of people are looking forward to the holiday, there are some that aren’t as nearly excited. 

The holiday has its positive and negative sides. Some of the Black Friday pros include:

• Most consumers are able to save a lot of money on great deals
• Retailers are able to make a good percentage of their yearly revenue during BFCM
• It’s great for the economy; 30% of retail sales happen between BFCM and Christmas 
  

Of course, we need to take into consideration Black Friday cons as well:

• People tend to overspend during BFCM and buy things they wouldn’t otherwise
• Some retailers that artificially heighten their prices in the weeks leading up to BFCM
• Some small businesses can’t compete with large discounts offered by large chains  

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The History of Nothing Day

Not all people see Black Friday as a great opportunity to buy that 40-inch smart TV for a fraction of its price. Some see it as nothing more than a decadent celebration of commercialism. That’s why some people opt to celebrate Buy Nothing Day.

Never heard of Buy Nothing Day before? You’re not alone. A lot of people haven’t. But don’t worry, we’re here to explain everything… 

How Nothing Day Started

Now, Buy Nothing Day is actually nothing new. The anti-holiday was originally thought out by a Canadian artist by the name of Ted Dave way back in 1992. His anti-shopping campaign started gaining steam once it got picked up by the non-profit magazine, Adbusters.

According to the official Adbusters website, the day is meant for ordinary consumers to re-examine their spending habits and take a look at the “issue of overconsumption.” 

During the 90s and 00s, this anti-holiday was mainly “celebrated” in the US and Canada, but in the last couple of years, thanks to the Internet, it reached a worldwide audience. While it’s certainly not popular as Black Friday, it’s slowly catching on.

How is Buy Nothing Day Celebrated

Seeing how Buy Nothing Day is still new, it’s no wonder that different people celebrate it in different ways. However, over the last decade, certain traditions have developed. Here a few universal ways in which people celebrate Buy Nothing Day:

• Cutting Up Credit Cards: This is perhaps the most extreme way in which people celebrate Buy Nothing Day. Some consumers gather in front of shopping malls on Black Friday to cut up their credit cards in protest of consumerism. 
• Starting Whirly Marts: Another “on-location” way to celebrate Buy Nothing Day is to take a shopping cart and create a long -conga-like line around the mall. As you might’ve guessed, the shopping carts are traditionally empty. 
• Taking Buy Nothing Hikes: A less confrontational way to celebrate it is to ignore the stores and shoppers completely and go for a group hike. This allows people to leave the stress-filled spending day behind them and enjoy nature. 
  

Pros and Cons of Buy Nothing Day

People who are preoccupied with the negative aspects of commercialism are obviously more likely to participate in the Buy Nothing Day celebration. But just like its consumerism-celebrating counterpart, Buy Nothing Day has its negative and positive sides.

Let’s go over the positive aspects first:

• It encourages people to think about how much money they’re needlessly spending
• Also, it helps consumers control the urge to buy things compulsively and spend wisely  
• Finally, it shows that your personal happiness doesn’t revolve around material objects
  

Nothing is perfect and Buy Nothing Day isn’t the exception. Here are some negative aspects:

• Not overspending for a single day doesn’t mean you won’t do it for the rest of the year
• Consumerism drives a country’s economy, so it’s not always the most sustainable protest. 
• Not shopping for a single day won’t prevent consumerism on a large scale 

Black Friday vs. Buy Nothing Day

As a retailer, are you wondering if you should be worried? Can Buy Nothing Day turn some of your customers against you, destroy your relationship, and hurt your sales? Let’s see how the BFCM weekend will stack up against Buy Nothing Day in 2020. 

The Emergence of the Conscious Shopper

Consumers have become more conscious in recent years. They’re more worried about global problems than ever before, and they would like the companies they’re dealing with to share their concerns. 

But if overspending in rampant consumerism is such a problem, why isn’t Buy Nothing Day bigger? You have to remember that the day is competing with well-established holidays. Also, Black Friday backlash has been much more noticeable outside the US.

For example, just last year in France, protesters gathered in an attempt to block an Amazon warehouse in the suburbs of Paris. In other European countries, lawmakers are considering banning Black Friday altogether, due to the negative environmental impact.

Make Black Friday Green Again

Speaking of France, a collective known as MFGA (Make Friday Green Again) recently formed in the country, in order to help the citizens become more conscious about their consumption. More than 450 brands signed up to support the MFGA initiative in 2019. 

Faguo, the organization behind the movement is inviting consumers to drop unwanted clothing items into their stores and encouraging consumers to take part in their tree-planting campaign. 

The #OptOutside Campaign 

In the United States, REI, an outdoor-gear manufacturing company is doing its part to slow-down overconsumption during the BFCM weekend. On Black Friday, the REI officials close all of their stores, give their employees a paid day off, and encourage people to go outside for a walk, hike, or a campaign trip. 

Their Opt Outside campaign not only helps their consumers become more physically active and financially responsible, but also spreads awareness about their values. The fact that the healthy activities they promote are what their products are made for is not a coincidence.  

Buy Nothing Day vs Ecommerce

Will Black Friday sales suffer from Buy Nothing Day? Not really. While some will choose to ignore the BFCM weekend, most people are either not aware of Buy Nothing Day or don’t feel like they have any trouble controlling their spending. 

Large stores probably won’t feel any consequences. However, their small-to-midsize counterparts might feel the hit. 

Around 60% of all online spending during BFCM goes to a dozen or so large retailers. None of them will feel the impact of Buy Nothing Day. The rest of the money goes to thousands of small stores. They’re the ones that could potentially feel the hit. 

How to Do Your Part

Should you be concerned about Buy Nothing Day? Yes and no. On one hand, you have to be aware that as a small business owner, you can’t afford to lose any customers. On the other, it’s not likely that many of your customers will choose Black Friday to ignore you. 

There’s a simple solution if you feel like Buy Nothing Day may be a problem. To get the younger, socially-aware crowd on your side, you just have to show them that you care. 

You can use your website to encourage people to spend more time outdoors or promote a good cause. Take DoneGood for example. In 2018, the Boston-based ecommerce website donated Black Friday revenue to the RAINN foundation.   

Looking Beyond Black Friday 2020

It took nearly 50 years for Black Friday to become a worldwide phenomenon. Although information travels fast nowadays, it’s not realistic to expect for Buy Nothing Day to become a large-scale protest against consumerism any time soon. 

When done right, Black Friday can be a great day for both retailers and shoppers. If you’re a store owner and you want to make it great for your customers, here’s what you need to do:

• Creating catered, personalized experiences
• Taking a mobile-first approach to ecommerce
• Becoming more environmentally-conscious
• Focusing on creating a great customer support experience for Black Friday shoppers
  

One thing is certain: your customers should always come first. You need to show them that you share their values, respect their concerns, and that you’re ready to take that extra step to keep them satisfied. And you can’t do that without a good helpdesk. 

With Gorgias helpdesk, you can attend to your customers, establish, and nurture relationships with ease. 

Go ahead, sign up for Gorgias, get your 15-day free trial, and see your customer satisfaction rates skyrocket.

As many of you already know, Gorgias has spilled their blood, sweat, and tears into creating the best customer support platform on the market. 

BUT...

We want to provide our customers with more.

More value. More possibilities. And, most importantly, more opportunities to grow and scale your online business. 

...Enter our new show Vested Interest. 

Like Shark Tank and Dragons Den, Gorgias is partnering with venture capital companies, including Greycroft, Swiftarc, and Rosecliff. You guessed it...successful applicants have the chance to pitch investors and receive valued feedback and advice. Pitching helps brands boost their profile, and may even lead to a second conversation with an investor.

So, in honor of our exciting new initiative, in this blog post, we're delving into ecommerce fundraising in more detail. More specifically, what it is, why you should consider it, and how to raise those all-important funds to transform your business dream into reality.

Does that sound good to you? Fab! Continue reading to find out more...

What's Business Fundraising?

First things first, we want to clarify what ecommerce fundraising actually is. In short, it's the process online merchants take to secure the funds they need to launch and/or grow their ecommerce businesses.

Traditionally, business fundraising was associated with start-ups, brick and mortar stores, and scaling companies to reach new heights.

But, fast forward to today, more and more DTC brand owners and online merchants are also leveraging capital to launch and/or expand their business. 

And there's no reason you can't do the same. 

Of course, there are several ways to raise business capital, but some of the more popular routes include:

• Venture capital
• Crowdfunding
• Angel investors
• Taking out a bank loan
• Equity investors
• Revenue-based financing

As we've just said, there are plenty of other fundraising avenues, but for the purposes of this article, we're focusing on these. 

What are the Different Business Fundraising Options?

Let's explore the options above in a little more detail...

Angel Investors 

Seeking funds from an angel investor(s) might be the ideal option if you're running a small ecommerce brand that's generating steady profits. I.e., without external funding, you're doing okay. Still, to take your business to the next level, you need a cash injection. 

This is where an “angel” investor might come in handy.  

Typically speaking, angel investors are wealthy people, or groups, who pool their know-how, research, and resources to provide promising start-ups capital. 

Generally, angel investors give companies some sort of financial assistance in exchange for either convertible debt (i.e., the promise of converting part (or all) of the loan into common shares, at some point in the future) or ownership equity.

Usually, you'll approach an angel investor with a pitch outlining who your business is, how much money you want to secure, and what you hope to achieve with their finances. 

As the size of angel investments substantially varies (usually anywhere under $50,000 to over $500,000), you'll have to prove how you'll provide reliable results. You need to show investors why your business is worth their time, and more importantly, money. After all, it stands to reason, if you can prove your brand will go the distance, the safer bet you are for them to invest in. 

Then, after your initial meeting(s) with the angel investor(s), they'll typically go away and conduct their own research, ask you questions, etc. to help determine whether your proposition is a good fit with their investment portfolio. 

Crowdfunding 

In short, crowdfunding is where a wider pool of small-time investors assist a company during its earlier stages. As crowdfunding is typically used to accumulate funds to launch, these businesses often have a minimal (if any) track record of their profits. As such, this fundraising method is ideal for those with a killer business idea, without the financial forecasts to wow angel investors, banks, or venture capital firms.   

There are tons of crowdfunding sites online. For instance:

• AngelList
• Fundable
• CircleUp
• CrowdFunder
  

These are just a few of the many online crowdfunding platforms on the web. But, the ones above are a great starting point - here, you can get your brand and business plan in front of loads of people actively looking to invest in fledgling businesses. 

How to Run a Successful Crowdfunding Campaign

Crowdfunding relies on your ability to inspire trust and enthusiasm in your audience. Show them you've done your research and are prepared to put their money to good use. This means breaking up your estimated costs and demonstrating where the money will go. For instance, how much is allocated to production, how much on design? Showing you understand your costs improves your credibility. 

Whatever crowdfunding platform you choose to use, post regular updates, and answer questions. Show the community that's building around your idea that you care for their involvement. Investing in a crowdfunding project can be daunting, some investors might fear that you won’t come through. So, demonstrate from the start that you're reliable and fully invested in putting their worries at bay. 

Last but not least, make sure your crowdfunding campaign is well presented. Where possible, use high-quality graphics and video content. Proofread your proposal, ensuring all the info is shown in a way that's logical and easy-to-read. Get friends and family to check over your campaign description for you. Professionalism goes a long way in inspiring the confidence of potential investors!

Venture Capital Investors

Securing investment from venture capital firms like Greycroft, Swiftarc, and Rosecliff, is (usually) better suited to larger online enterprises. For the uninitiated, 'venture capital' is a form of private equity and financing that investors provide businesses with long-term growth potential. 

Entrepreneurs typically secure this kind of financing from affluent investors or investment banks. But, it's worth noting that venture capital doesn't always take a monetary form. Venture capital can also be provided as technical or managerial expertise. 

As investments go, plowing money into an ecommerce business is one of the riskier options. But, the potential for above-average returns is enticing, so we're seeing more and more investors adding online brands to their investment portfolio. 

However, the main drawback for brand owners is that investors usually get equity in the company. As such, you'll give up the luxury of having full control over your business's operation. You don't need us to tell you that this a big deal. So, take your time weighing up the pros and cons of any investment agreement before signing the dotted line!

Equity Investors

Equity investors do precisely what they say on the tin. They're people who provide companies with financial investment in exchange for a share of the business's ownership.

Generally, equity investors don't get a guaranteed return on their investment. But, should the company be liquidated, the equity investor will get a share of the assets (as stipulated in your contract). 

Unsurprisingly, as equity investment is a riskier option for investors, they often expect to receive certain benefits to offset these risks. For instance, your investment agreement might stipulate that their initial investment is paid back within a specific time frame. Then, afterward, it's common for investors to be paid a pre-agreed share of the profits once you've paid back their initial investment.

Alternatively, (or as well as) equity investors can receive stock shares. Of course, stocks rise and fall depending on the market. So, again their return on investment isn't set in stone. But, the investor has the luxury of selling their stocks on the stock market or via other trading platforms, whenever they feel like it. So, be sure to bear that in mind while you're drafting up your agreement. 

Securing a Business Loan From a Bank

Of course, the more traditional route for securing funding is to apply for a small business loan with a bank or other reputable lending institution. 

If this is an avenue you're considering, you'll want to know why business loans get rejected to increase the likelihood of securing your requested funds. 

Interestingly, the most common reason cited for why business loans are rejected is 'risk.' This is why thoroughly preparing before meeting to discuss (or applying) for a potential loan is imperative. You want to do your utmost to show you’re ‘low risk.’

Part of this planning phase will be gathering the below details and documents:

• Your personal credit history
• Your business plan
• The workability of the business you're launching/expanding
• Your experience
• Your education
  

As you go about creating your business plan, focus on explaining why the small business loan you're asking for is a low-risk proposition. Be sure to carefully assess how much money you need and why. Outline how you'll spend these funds, and how the loan will specifically help you launch and/or grow your business.

Be prepared to explain how you'll designate every dollar you've asked for, with specific reference to your business's following aspects:

• Business operations (employees, software, marketing, utilities, etc.)
• Physical assets (equipment, office space, warehousing, etc.)
• Consolidating loans to pay off business debts.
  

You'll also need to explain how you'll repay the loan through your financial statements and cash flow projections. This should highlight to the potential lender that you're able to repay them over a set amount of time.

Revenue-Based Financing

Revenue-based financing is sometimes referred to as royalty-based financing, so don't let the interchangeable terminology confuse you. Both terms mean exactly the same thing!

In short, revenue-based financing is a method businesses use to raise capital from investors. In turn, the investors receive a percentage of the company's regular gross revenue until a pre-set amount is paid (in exchange for their original investment). Typically, this sum is three to five times the initial investment. Companies like Clearbanc charge a flat fee for their capital. Uncapped is also another fantastic example of a revenue-based financing company. 

Essentially, organizations offering revenue-based financing use data-driven methods to provide ecommerce companies with funding. Capital is typically spent on online marketing and inventory.  The best thing about this kind of arrangement for the entrepreneur is that there aren’t any credit checks, personal guarantees, warrants, or covenants involved.

Why Should You Leverage Investors to Build my Ecommerce Business?

Whether you're leveraging angel investors, an equity investor, or the help of a venture capital firm, there's one significant advantage. 

These kinds of investments are (usually) nowhere near as risky as taking out a bank loan. Unlike a loan, (depending on the contract you have with your investor(s)), invested capital doesn't typically have to be paid back if your business flops. 

Plus, most experienced investors understand that they're playing the long game. So, there isn't quite as much pressure to make quick decisions and turn high profits immediately. 

Why Shouldn't You Leverage Investors to Build an Ecommerce Business?

If you don't like the idea of losing some (or even complete) control of your business, then seeking the support of investors might not be the best option for you. Often investors become part-owners of your company, so depending on their share, there's a good chance they'll have a say about how you run your business. On top of that, should you ever sell your business, they'll also receive a portion of the profits.

How to Best Raise Capital to Fund an Ecommerce Brand 

For this section of the blog post, we're mainly focusing on angel, venture capital, and equity investors. 

When it comes to raising capital to fund an ecommerce brand, there are specific times in the business cycle when you're more likely to secure funding. 

Yes, your best bet is to seek investment when you're actually ready to grow your business. But, securing financing, especially from an angel investor, can take roughly six months to a year. 

So, it's advisable to start contacting and pitching investors roughly 12 months before you actually need the funds to boost your business to its next phase. 

Not only will this increase the likelihood of securing funding for when you actually need it, but for every failed pitch (yes, sadly, there will be failures), you'll benefit from those all-important pointers. 

The more investors you talk with, the more apparent it becomes what investors want to see from your company and your business plan before they're happy to invest. 

With this info to hand, you're then in a better position to adapt your business (and your pitch), to meet the needs of investors, when you actually need the funding. 

How do you strike up a Relationship with a Potential Investor?

Typically, you'll kickstart your relationship with an investor by presenting a business plan. Do your utmost to wow them from the get-go, so they'll only be telephone a call away when you need capital. 

As we've just said, if you're preemptively pitching investors before your business is fully investor-ready, the investor will probably point you in the right direction. 

You can then go away and mull over this information and make the necessary changes to increase the chance of them investing in your business in the future. 

What Can You do to Prepare your Business for Investment?

The best thing to do is to write a full business plan. The most important thing for lenders is what they'll get from the arrangement. As we've already hinted at, you'll want to highlight your expected financial projections. This serves as much-needed bait for enticing investors into funding your business.  

We talked about business plans a bit earlier. However, they're essential to securing funding, so we're delving a bit deeper into creating a killer business plan (of course, this advice also applies if you're considering a bank loan)...

Here are a few tips:

• Keep your business plan as concise and to the point as possible. Just focus on what the reader needs to know. 
• Thoroughly proofread your business plan - you can use Grammarly to help you weed out and fix any typos. 
• Use charts to help illustrate your points, visuals are often helpful aids. 
• Include any extra info in an appendix, for instance:
• Financial forecasts 
• Market research and data to back up your proposal
• The resumes and credentials for all your key team members.
• Any product/service literature that explains what you're bringing to the market. 
  

Don't be tempted to be overly optimistic about where your profit forecasts are concerned. Yes, this might up your chances of securing the desired finances. Still, in the long run, you're more likely to suffer from a cash flow crisis and damage your management credibility. Put simply, it's not worth it - stick to the truth. 

Also, ensure your business plan looks as professional as possible. Show the lenders you're taking their investment seriously! So, put a cover on it, include a contents page complete with page numbering, and kickstart your proposal with an executive summary. 

For those unsure what an executive summary is, it's just a condensed synopsis of the key points covered in your business. The reader's digest version if you will. 

On top of that, you'll also want to highlight the following details:

• How your business runs, including a breakdown of your organizational structure and all the stakeholders' roles and responsibilities.
• Your brand identity - who you are, your brand story, your goals, mission, aims, etc. 
• A detailed report of your target market (this should include any weaknesses in your competitors’ products/operations you'll capitalize on). 
  

Other Tips for Securing Investment

As you go about creating your pitch, familiarize yourself with your audience. You want to know your potential lenders inside out and back to front to tailor your pitch accordingly. 

Yes, specific metrics (like your current profits and profit forecasts) lay the framework for any pitch. Still, you'll need to tailor your core messaging to appeal to each investor's needs. 

The key takeaway: Do your homework and modify your presentation accordingly. 

Last but not least, remember business financing is a process. It's likely you'll have to divide your financing objectives into two to three rounds. Securing funds for your business when it's brand-new, (and all risk), and has very little revenue behind it, is more of a challenge. 

So, when you first start out, you're unlikely to obtain all the money you need to launch and scale your business. But, once you have a working prototype and a loyal customer base, you'll take away some of the risks, and as such, you'll probably secure more funds. Prepare for this in advance by dividing your business's growth into specific sections that you raise funds for accordingly. 

How Much Can Ecommerce Brands Raise? 

There are tons of examples of ecommerce brands furthering their business by raising capital. Take Womenswear retailer, Hush, as an example. Hush sells women’s clothing, shoes, and lifestyle items. Currently, it's retailing its products via its website, its partnership with John Lewis.

But, recently, they've secured investment from a private equity firm, True. Hush, now worth over 50 million dollars, plans to utilize these funds to expand into new sales channels and markets.

True acquired a controlling interest in Hush, (roughly a 50% stake). This is what the owners of Hush had to say about the investment:

“We never thought [Hush] would get to a fraction of the size it is,” “We could have carried on [without outside investment], but we felt...real value in bringing in a partner with a similar vision to us, but different skills, to help us grow.”

Interestingly, this is what True had to say about investing in Hush: 

“We think highly profitable, predominantly direct-to-consumer brands such as Hush...will emerge in [good] shape from this current crisis – and completing the transaction now demonstrates that we’re very much open for business and excited about the opportunity ahead of us.”

What About Crowdfunding?

If you're considering crowdfunding avenue, below are a few brands that smashed their targets. Hopefully, these examples will fuel you with inspiration:

Pebble – also known as “The Kickstarter Watch”

Pebble successfully raised $10.3m, when their target was just $100k!

This is what they had to say about the process:

“We had a pretty firm idea of what Pebble would look like. We just didn’t have a bunch of cash to start actually building the product. So, we thought of some other ways to get funding, and one of them was Kickstarter."

Bo & Yana 

These are interactive toy robots that help teach kids how to code. Product owners, Play-i, managed to raise a whopping $1.4 million when their initial aim was just $250k. 

Play-i successfully attracted investors from dozens of countries around the globe, securing 11,000 pre-orders! Interestingly, this company utilized crowdfunding to test the market and get a feel for consumer demand, having already secured $1m from Google Ventures. 

How did Play-i manage to entice so many crowdfunding investors? 

In short, they provided various benefits to their first buyers: 

“We needed to build social proof right off the bat, so we created special perks for the first few buyers. Our first 1,000 backers got limited edition, exclusive outfits for their robots as an incentive to back early. We emailed our existing audience and friends several hours before our campaign went live [to] be among the first to back the project. This gave us the momentum we needed to get off to a good start.” 

The team at Play-i also responded personally to all their audience interaction - every email, comment on Facebook, query on Twitter, etc. It stands to reason investors and customers feel more confident in your brand when they have a personal connection with you and your business. By taking the time to write customized responses to each and every person who wrote them, they ensured people got excited about their product!  

OpenaCase 

OpenaCase is described as the 'world’s most functional iPhone case is a bottle opener.'

The ecommerce brand managed to raise an impressive $283k, massively exceeding their $150k target. 

This is what the founders had to say about the crowdfunding process:

“We didn’t have the capital, so we turned to crowdfunding... When we put the idea on Kickstarter, we realized... lots of people loved the idea and were willing to put money towards it to make it happen. [There's] Nothing better than having your idea validated by people voting with their wallets.” 

They attracted attention to their crowdfunding campaign by creating a Facebook page, and contacting online publications like Tech Crunch and Gizmodo, that's as well as their local paper. They spent lots of time cultivating as much possible PR to gain the traction they needed to raise those all-important funds. 

Are You Ready to Secure the Funds You Need to Launch or Scale Your Ecommerce Business?

We hope that having read this article, you now have a better idea about raising the funds you need to take your ecommerce brand to the next level. 

As we said from the get-go of this article, Gorgias wants to help ambitious e-commerce brands scale up, so we created the Vested Interest event. If you're interested in securing finances from high-quality investors, then what are you waiting for? Apply today to get the ball rolling! If you have any questions about the show, please feel free to reach out, and we'll furnish you with all the info you need. Speak soon!

2020 has seen two crisises so far. Because of the global pandemic, millions of people lost their jobs. We've responded with a plan to offer free credits to businesses that struggle.

George Floyd's death is showed us again how deep racism still is in the US and around the world. Gorgias is committed to supporting members of the Black community against racism, prejudice, and hate.

We're actively taking measures to make a difference now, and tomorrow:

1. We're donating $10K to local non-profits that support minorities in the Bay Area and in Charlotte. We were profitable for the first time in May and this is 100% of our profits.
2. We're proactively sourcing diverse candidates for our hiring needs and we remain committed to making sure everyone gets an unbiased chance through the interview process.

We realize this is only a small contribution to a big problem, but change has to start somewhere. We see lots of businesses take action so we hope the sum of all these initiatives will lead to long lasting change.

As brands have begun to evolve due to COVID-19, subscription offerings have been impacted tremendously. Many founders are baffled about what to do. But, you’re not alone. Learn about the trends we’re seeing with Shopify Subscription businesses and what successful brands are doing as they explore these new waters. 

Read on to learn what’s happening in the subscription service realm and how you can better navigate through the muck to a thriving company in a post-Coronavirus economy. 

eCommerce Subscription Trends From the Last 12 Weeks 

What happened in the eCommerce space due to COVID-19? In our helpdesk ticket platform, we’ve seen the following trends in subscription business customer service: 

1. In the beginning, there was a tremendous spike in subscription cancellations. 
2. Shortly thereafter, we saw an increase in requests for a partial refund. 
3. A few weeks passed before we noticed an influx of solicitations for full refunds. 
4. Most recently, order cancellations came pouring in. 

Now, partial refund requests are going down -- these requests were for shipping costs, specific discounts, and other related transactions. 

On the macro level, overall subscription order processing is up. However, on the micro level, a number of merchants aren’t weathering the storm as well as others. 

Subscription offerings in the higher-value, hobby space seem to be a bit slower than usual. Yet, merchants who offer subscriptions for essential consumer packaged goods have to hustle to keep up with demands.

And, this is not surprising at all. Many people had a knee-jerk reaction to the pandemic while others had a change in priorities. Right now, people are more reserved about making snap-decisions. We can likely expect purchasers and merchants to make more calculated decisions now and into the future. 

Now that we’re working from home, we need new essentials like office supplies and furniture. Plus, for some of the essentials like health and beauty products, we’re now turning online for where we might have gone to a brick and mortar shop before. 

Now, people can’t really hop into the store to pick up tp and other essentials on the way home anymore. So, consumers are looking to find the most convenient way to have them delivered. And, they want to know they have a reliable source of essential products. 

For example, at the beginning of this pandemic, everyone knows there was a tremendous run for toilet paper. And, merchants who offered this product saw 10-15X increases with toilet tissue sales. 

Who Gives a Crap is an Australia-based, charitable toilet paper subscription company. 

When this crisis started, Who Gives a Crap held back stock to accommodate subscribers rather than allowing new customers to order. They chose to prioritize loyalty over acquisition. 

This brand is now thriving because of a steady uptick in consumable goods online. And, while the 10-15X trend may not last, long-term retention and increased revenue are likely. People will want to subscribe to receive preferential treatment. 

Are Higher-Ticket, Hobby Subscription Services Suffering Higher Cancellations & Refunds? 

We don’t have the exact numbers, but just because you offer higher-ticket hobby products doesn’t mean you’re doomed. There are multiple causes for high order cancellations and refunds. 

For example, the supply chain is a key issue. If you don’t have inventory because you’re non-essential or shipping is too slow, you may have to cancel orders and offer full refunds. This happens because you don’t have the ability to fulfill an order, not because of an economic downturn. 

Consumers are also leveraging the freedom to skip shipments and utilize subscription flexibility in other ways. Some people have overstocked or stockpiled on certain products. Then, they realized they didn’t need the quantity, so they now want to pause while still maintaining a relationship with a subscription company.

The UK Independent noticed a trend with sex toys, which fall into the non-essential category -- sales have tripled across the board. While it may have been predictable in retrospect, this isn’t a typical trend for an economic crisis. But, with social distancing, people can’t really go in Tinder dates and they have a lot of time on their hands. So, consumers are spending more money on at-home entertainment. 

(Yet, if your supply chain runs out, no matter your niche, you may still see an increase in order cancellations.)

What are the Products With the Highest Interest for Online Shoppers Right Now? 

Supermarkets aren’t able to service people at their homes in many cases. So, consumers are turning online for many of their daily needs and wants. What we’ve seen is an increase in subscriptions for nearly anything that you use at home. Specifically, here are the products we’ve noticed are in high-demand. 

• Food
• Coffee & Tea
• Alcohol
• Pets (Cat Litter, Pet Food)
• Toilet Paper
• Cosmetic & Well-Being (Natural Deodorant)
• Vape

Underwaterpistol, a leading Shopify Plus service provider, is working with a new client who was planning to launch a natural cosmetic and well-being subscription box prior to the pandemic. While Coronavirus has added some red tape to the logistics of the operations, consumer demand has accelerated rollout for these products.  

Keep in mind that, over the next few weeks, we are sure to see more changes and it will be important to watch them. 

What Do Successful Subscription Brands Do Differently? 

Some of the tactics we see successful brands using are the same across the board. Know what they are so that you can thrive in the subscription business world. 

1. Retain Subscribers with Preferential Treatment 

Preferential treatment is one of the most effective business tactics for subscription companies because it aligns with the core of why people subscribe in the first place: exclusivity. Who Gives a Crap “guaranteed” subscribers would get their products, which motivated people to subscribe.

Pre COVID-19, we did this at Gorgias and we can attest to the power behind the process. Our subscribers were grandfathered-into specific prices and features. And, we experienced high retention because of this. You will have similar results with consumer packaged goods subscriptions. 

2. Leverage a Wider Product Range

Most subscription box companies have core consumable items. They sell between one to three variations of a product. But, many of the successful brands we see leverage add-ons, either relevant to the core offering or not. 

A one-time product add-on is trending right now, especially on longer-time use items. So, if your core offering is toilet tissue, which people go through quicker, and you add another product to your offering that might take longer to use, like toothpaste, it can help you increase one-time sales. This is a smart move even if it feels negative that someone wants to cancel their subscription the next month. 

3. Adapt their Subscription Models to Change

If you can no longer offer your supplies because of a supply chain issue, you have choices: 

1. Sit and wait for this to end while you lose money and loyalty. 
2. Make a short-term investment to resolve the problem for long-term results. 

For example, some sellers can no longer use Amazon’s warehouses for fulfillment (which aren’t only for sales on amazon.com) because the company is only accepting essential items, at least temporarily. So, some of those sellers stop offering their products through FBA. Those merchants lose a ton of business. 

On the other hand, there have been sellers in similar positions who flew out to their suppliers and negotiated dropshipping solutions. And, guess what? These brands’ sales haven’t skipped a beat. 

4. Add Fringe Benefits 

Amazon Prime members get expedited shipment on purchases and discounts. Likewise, subscription companies can offer fringe benefits and free gifts to their subscribers. 

Freshly Picked is an infant moccasin company that implements this strategy well. 

Freshly Picked offers “The Fringe,” a membership that costs $10 month. Fringe members get expedited delivery, discounts, and the $10 is redeemable in the store. So, customers can apply their membership cost to purchases. Using this method, you create a perceived discount without giving up your margins. 

5. Use Shopper Objections to Fuel Membership Benefits

You have your customers who believe in you. Then, you have your non-believers who have objections about why they don’t order or why they don’t upgrade. When you know what causes people not to convert, you can make better business decisions. 

So, find out what makes people NOT order from you. Then, add value to your membership offer by providing those perks exclusively. Look to your customer service requests to discover what some of your audience’s greatest problems are, then solve them. 

6. Implement the Right Tools 

First of all, it’s super important to make sure the tools you use are compatible with one another. Next, you need to use reliable platforms. Third, make sure you leverage the features that are available to you. 

The following tools work well alone, together, and with Gorgias to power subscription businesses. 

Klaviyo 

A constant, consistent message is key. And, Klaviyo can help you deliver this by automating crucial analytics, email flows, and sequences.

Advanced Tip: It can work wonders to push for a new subscription after a customers’ second order. 

ReCharge

Recharge is a must for anyone who wants to process recurring payments at scale in today’s market. 

Little Data

You need to be tracking and monitoring visitor and user behavior. Leverage Little Data for advanced and relevant analytics. 

ChurnBuster 

Reduce customer churn with failed payment recovery options from ChurnBuster. 

LoyaltyLion 

Create data-driven loyalty programs to generate more engagement and subscriber retention. 

7. Communicate Beyond Email 

Email isn’t dead, but you now have an unprecedented opportunity to get in front of people where they are -- on social media and on their phones. Worldwide since the start of Coronavirus 45% of consumers are spending more time on messaging apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. And, brands are paying attention.  

As a subscription service offering, you should use social media and SMS for order updates, upsells, and other customer communications. Don’t limit yourself to email. And, choose tools that enable you to meet your customers where they are. 

8. Deliver a Consistent Brand Message

As always, your brand message is central to your success. Right now more than ever, people want to hear from you. And, if you stay consistent and connected, your customers will stick with you now and into the future. 

Be mindful that each detail is aligned across all communication platforms including your website, social media, email, and offline messaging. You have an unprecedented opportunity to be remembered if your messaging strategy is aligned across all channels. 

9. Incentivize Wisely

Brands that know how to incentivize see higher returns in business. To illustrate, many new subscription companies launch aggressively with 20% discounts for new users. And, while they believe they’re offering more incentive for customers or members to purchase, they’re actually only making a cut to their own profits. 10-15% discounts offer the same psychological incentive at less cost to the merchant. 

One incentive that does work well is to offer a small discount for the new subscriber and the same discount for a friend. This works well because it creates a sense of community and giving for the customer and generates a referral for the business. 

The bottom line is that successful companies seem to inform themselves about incentives that work and apply creative strategies that show proven results. 

Final Thoughts

The online shopping ecosystem is evolving, but that doesn’t mean it’s all doom and gloom. There are actionable steps you can take to stay in the game now and into the future. Stay informed and roll with the punches. Remember that a bit of extra effort now can have a lasting impact on the long-term outcomes of your business.

As Shopify Plus continues to power a growing number of the world’s leading ecommerce sites, brands, and merchants, their eco system is evolving. They’ve grown their program to include certified Plus partners, who can keep up with the demand of merchants - one of the many benefits of Shopify Plus. We’re excited to announce that Gorgias is the only certified customer service platform for Shopify Plus merchants.

Not on Shopify Plus yet? Check out our Shopify vs. Shopify Plus breakdown to understand when to switch.

What makes the program special?

The Shopify Plus Certified App Program supports the largest Shopify merchants by helping them find the apps and solutions they need to build and scale their business. This program is exclusive to Shopify Plus apps that have shown a level of product quality, performance, and privacy, and support that can be relied upon for the unique and often advanced requirements of a Shopify Plus Merchants

Enterprise grade merchants need enterprise grade solutions they can trust. When thousands of customers are wondering where their order is after Black Friday, or wondering if they should order half a size up, they need a customer support platform that can keep up.

Which is why Gorgias is the only customer support platform to make the grade. We help merchants like Steve Madden, MVMT, and Death Wish Coffee reduce costs and increase profits.

Scale as you need

Whether it’s BFCM, a new drop, or being featured on Shark Tank, we can scale with you as your demand grows and slows. With unlimited users you can add more support agents or chat sales specialists as you need, without the commitment of multi year contacts. We’ve also partnered with some of the best contact centers specializing in supporting ecommerce merchants..

Automate more and save 30% of your time

Did you know that 70% of customer service tickets are related to to- helping customers with an update on their order, edit, change, or cancel their order? That’s a lot of tedious work that’s costly. Make the lives of your agents easier, by automating up to 15% of your tickets during your busiest days and saving 30% of your time.

Turn Customer Support from a Cost Centre to a Profit Generator

As more customers want questions before they buy, we help merchants monetize and track every interaction with their customers. Use the time that you’ve saved findiFrom questions to potential customers on your ads to targeted website chat, we help Shopify Plus merchants increase sales.

You spoke and we listened. We’re excited to tell you that, we are ready to launch out of beta. Now, you can connect your Magento 2 store with your Gorgias account. Access your Gorgias and Magento data from one dashboard. 

The simplistic interface will enable you to display customers, orders, shipments, and credit memo data from your Magento eCommerce store next to your Gorgias support tickets. Learn more about the features you can take advantage of. 

Magento 2 users can leverage the benefits of Gorgias

Magento users now have access to the fundamental and performance-boosting advantages of the Gorgias help desk platform. 

• Display Magento customer profiles next to your support tickets. 

• View orders, shipments, and credit memos for each customer. 

• Centralize all customer communications like email, live chat, and social messaging and comments in one place.  
• Connect to Magento store and other third-party extensions to empower your support agents to reply to tickets quickly and within context. 
• Leverage key automation features like phrase prediction or intent detection to create productive and revenue-generating conversations. 
• Save up to 50% of your time spent managing support requests across all support communication channels. 

• Insert Magento 2 variables like the last order’s tracking URL, into macros.

• Use Magento 2 data as a filter for rules. For example, to add conditions on the price of the last order of a customer.

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Soon, we will add actions like ‘refund’ or ‘cancel order’ to the dashboard as well.

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Note: The Gorgias Extension is Compatible with Magento 2.3

Our extension was created for compatibility with the updated Magento 2 platform. So, Magento 2.2 users may need to upgrade to version 2.3 to properly access all of Gorgias’ help desk features.

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How to Install the Extension to Your Magento 2 Store

By integrating with Magento 2, we are excited to serve a new rank of online sellers. We hope to recreate the satisfaction we’ve given our existing users. Here’s what you can do now. 

1. Check out the Gorgias extension in the Magento Marketplace. 
2. Learn how to connect your Magento 2 store to your Gorgias account. 
3. Tell us how you like the new integration and what we can do to improve. 

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Cheers!

For the past 4 years, we've been building Gorgias with Alex and our amazing team. Both of us are automation nerds and our initial idea was to automatically respond to simple support questions. Over the last 2 years, we've been focusing heavily on helping Shopify merchants manage all their customer service in one place. We've grown from 0 to 2000 customers, including fast-growing brands like Rothys, MVMT and Steve Madden.

Today, we're raising a $14M series A to transform customer service into a profit center using conversational commerce.

I'm not a fan of celebrating fundraising events too much, as it's more of a promise than an achievement in itself, but I want to take advantage of this milestone to reflect on what we've learned:

The direct-to-consumer revolution has only started

Over the last 10 years, Amazon has reached an impressive 50% market share in eCommerce. They were able to do it thanks to 3 key pillars: customer experience, logistics and pricing. As a result, they grew 10x in the last 10 years.

However, as we've been building Gorgias, we've witnessed a second trend that has been quieter until last year: brands are going direct to consumers. It happened because of two key factors. One, millennials want to buy from brands they can relate with. For instance, Rothy's makes shoes out of recycled plastic bottles. Two, brands want to build an experience that they control. That's why Nike decided to pull out from Amazon last week.

This direct-to-consumer shift actually started around 2013. Around that time, Shopify started empowering more and more entrepreneurs to launch their own brand online. Ad costs on Facebook, Instagram and Google were relatively low, which allowed for lots of eCommerce entrepreneurial success stories like MVMT Watches.

As more and more brands launched, competition on ad buying has become fierce. The new battleground is no longer Cost of Acquisition but Lifetime Value.

Lots of merchants using Gorgias are now focusing on building a brand. They create differentiated products, they want to interact directly with their customers over online communities like the 310 Nutrition Facebook group with 300,000 members.

Brands are bringing Main Street back, and want to offer a real alternative to Amazon. Apps like Shopify (storefront and soon fulfillment), Klaviyo (email marketing), Yotpo (reviews) and us too at Gorgias have been working on empowering merchants to build large scale and independent businesses.

The future of customer service: use customer service to sell

Here's how we want to help merchants with customer service. The pillar value proposition of Gorgias has been to allow to provide the best customer experience through a 360 degree view of the customer. Agents can respond to chats, emails, Instagram comments while seeing previous conversations, and order data. This way, customers get assistance faster. Everyone wins.

Though, we think there's a larger opportunity for merchants. As a visitor is going to browse a online store during Black Friday, some objections are going to pop up in their mind. Is this shoe the right size? Will it fit?

In 2020, we want to empower merchants to grow through conversational commerce. Support teams can now leverage all the context they have about the customer to guide them toward the buying journey.

One of the challenges here is that support teams are already under a lot of pressure during the holiday season. People wonder if their order will arrive on time for Christmas, or how they can return this gift that was not the right size. That's why we're also focusing on automating the first response to these questions. This way, agents have more time to assist visitors with their purchase.

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We're super grateful to the whole team that has joined the adventure, it's been a hell of a ride from the first customer to the 2000th. Jason has been incredibly helpful as our main investor so far. Today we're excited to welcome Auren, Tod and Jeff from Flex Capital, along with François from Alven, Andrew from Klaviyo as part of the team.

At each stage of the journey, there's a new product-market fit to find and new challenges ahead, this fundraising is the beginning of this new chapter to generate more sales through conversational commerce.

PS: if you run an eCommerce store, give Gorgias a try and let me know whats you think

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