After a strong partnership and fun-filled collaboration with my friend at the drum shop, I am pleased to say that our hard work has paid off and my partner in crime has been snapped up by another company (well done Tom)! As I’m still busy learning about digital strategy, I have identified another business to analyse and discuss: a scented candle company that supplies a boutique shop in Brighton.

 

When I first discovered the candle and oils range, I was out with my friend who was visiting me from Nottingham. We both fell in love with the candles and got in to a deep discussion about them with the member of staff that was there that day. ‘We have people come from as far away as London to buy these candles,’ she said proudly.

I thought it was odd that the customers would make the trip from London to Brighton to buy them instead of ordering online, but I thought it may be down to something like unfavourable postage and packaging costs for larger candles. It wasn’t a journey my friend would be able to make, despite the fact she was keen to purchase more of their products when she next got paid.

When I went on to the candle company’s website to investigate, I discovered that the reason people weren’t buying online was that there wasn’t an online store at all! Surely they’re missing a trick?

 

Why Retail Candles Online?

 

The Rise of E-Commerce

Although some may say that the tangible limitations, particularly being able to smell candles prior to purchase, is an important factor in assessing the suitability of an item (Al-Debei et Al., 2014), the success story of Black Light & Co. , an artisanal candle company, highlights the potential that there is to be made selling candle goods exclusively online. This is also echoed by Black Diamond, a start-up company that made $1 million in its first 12 months by selling candles with luxury rings inside, although their target audience is arguably more niche than the typical candle retailer.

 

Be Open to Everyone, All the Time

Online retailing means that your store is open 24/7 and accessible anywhere with an internet connection, so customers can browse goods at any time and any place that suits them. In addition to this, your potential customer base is no longer restricted by location, meaning your goodies are available to everyone- assuming you can ship it!

 

Give Them a Bit Extra

You can also include pictures of the candles lit, which most customers wouldn’t be able to see in a physical shop, but could give them a better idea of how the candle burns. Online listings also give you the chance to provide additional information, like a more detailed description of the product (e.g. vibrant fruity scent with floral undertones, created using local strawberries etc.), which could influence consumers in their purchase.

 

What Factors Might Influence Success?

 

Aesthetics

The presentation of your product will play a significant part in the demand for it. Creating on-brand and eye-catching representations of the products on offer is important in order to effectively target desired customer segments, e.g. Bubblegum & Geek’s candle The Oncoming Storm, whose product name references Doctor Who, reinforced their appeal by including the Tardis and Sonic Screwdriver in their promotional imagery.

 

Search Engine Optimisation

Logan  Suttman, CEO of Blacklight & Co., states that one of the lessons he learned through starting an e-commerce candle business is the importance of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). By creating clear and cohesive marketing messages, virtual ‘bots’ that analyse the content of webpages will try to rank the website higher in search engines, meaning customers can find them more easily. Not only is this beneficial for customers who know which company they are looking for, but this may also be an effective marketing tool for attracting new customers by including key words in text that match the criteria desired.

 

Security

Suttman goes on to explain the importance of having a secure network when dealing with financial transactions online- failing to include a reputable payment processing merchant can be a dealbreaker for some internet shoppers. Horrigan (2008, cited in Zorn & Hayati, 2015) predicted that resolving current security issues associated with digital transactions would result in a 7% increase in online sales. Using secure and trusted third-party payment merchants like Paypal to process transactions reassures customers that all of their financial and personal information will be kept safe and secure as all private details are encrypted between both the seller and buyer- a process which is referred to as asymmetric encryption (Chaffey & Ellis-Chadwick, 2012). This also means that if a hacker were to gain access to either accounts, they would be unable to extract any information of value that would put either parties at risk.

 

P&P

As mentioned above, if you sell online you need to make sure you can ship it to the customer! If you decide to offer free postage over a certain amount, it may dip in to your overall profits for that transaction, but it may also stimulate sales by encouraging consumers to spend a certain amount.

 

Having a Good Product

There’s no good selling candles online that nobody wants to buy. Creating goods that consumers like not only maximises the chances of converting them in to a repeat customer, but also recommending you to their friends! Chaffey & Smith (2013) identified that word of mouth is the most influential marketing tool available online, especially with the increasing social media culture. People like to share links to product pages they like amongst friends- some people even create mood boards on Pinterest featuring favourably peer-reviewed goods.

The most important factor for success is having a good product- which the Brighton candle company has! Until they set up an e-store, I’m sure my friend will be more than happy with some surprise parcels from me in the post.

 

References

Al-Debei, M. M., Akroush, M. N. & Ashouri, M. I. (2014) ‘Consumer Attitudes Towards Online Shopping: The Effects of Trust, Perceieved Benefits, and Perceived Web Quality’, Internet Research, Vol. 25, Iss. 5, pp 707-733

Chaffey, D. & Ellis-Chadwick, F. (2012) Digital Marketing: Strategy, Implementation and Practise. 5th Ed., pp 141 Harlow: Pearson

Chaffey, D. & Smith, P. (2013) ‘E-Marketing Excellence: Planning and Optimising Your Digital Marketing’. 4th Ed., Oxon: Routledge

Zorn, S. & Hayati, P. (2015) The Captcha Conflict – A Consumer’s Choice Between Security And Convenience. Marketing Dynamism and Sustainability: Things Change, Things Stay the Same… pp 62-65