How can I improve my sports store's marketing strategy?

[Xavier1234]

Hey all, my name is Xavier and I'm a personal trainer. I've been running my store (sportstylez.com) for about 2 years and have only had a handful of sales. I've watched hours of video, read many forums and I still believe I'm missing some other integral piece of the puzzle. My goal is to get some things moving and to hopefully be able to generate at last 2k a month in the next 3-6 months. I believe my main struggle is marketing as its the most confusing aspect for me in terms of setting stuff up (facebook/tik tok managers), and understanding all the metrics and how they play into collecting data. 

Anyone thats been in a similar position please sound off below.

[supersell]

Hi Xavier,

The thing that doesn't "feel right" to me as a 1st time visitor is that I'm not sure exactly what this business is selling. Is it an sports brand? Is it a coaching services? Is it a supplements brand? I think you need to pick a lane and dominate it. 

Your product offering is also disjointed. You have women's apparel, Boxing gloves, yoga mat and so on. On top of that, your photography is not cohesive (you're probably dropshipping) which adds to the confusion and doubt as to what your brand is about.

TLDR: Pick a niche. Sell only a few products core to that niche. Support those products by creating a cohesive presentation and creating content around them.

I wish you best of luck!

[Xavier1234]

Thank you for your response. When you say "cohesive" photography are you refering to the quality of the photos of the individual products themselves?

[supersell]

Yes. So that it doesn’t scream “dropshipping”

[JoesIdeas]

The concept makes sense to me, but my first impression is this store has private label supplements and dropshipped apparel, something people could get anywhere. The batman shirt felt pretty random, and you may be in dangerous territory there with copyright unless you have permission from DC.

I think it's a good idea to build a brand off your experience being a personal trainer, and your network.

Here are some ideas:

- Try referral marketing and work with influencers on Youtube and Instagram. Experiment with people on different levels (1k - 10k is a good starter range, pitch some larger ones too though). I used to own a nature inspired clothing brand, we would reach out to hiking / camping / yoga type people on Instagram, offer them a free product, and they would post and promote (especially if they joined our affiliate program). Worked great, also helped us get action shots with the product.

- Work in some pics and videos. Since all the stuff you're selling could probably be bought on Amazon (or at least similar products), you need to work on differentiating your brand. Why is it different or better than what people could buy on Amazon? Focus on that.

- Work your job into it. Do some videos, show some exercise programs, maybe do a video doing 500 pound tire flips in the middle of the street, wearing your gear, fun stuff like that. Then you can promote your supplements if you're using them and they have benefit (maybe you can get some scientific data from the manufacturer).

- Hire a professional marketer. Unless you have a unique product or a trendy product without much competition, marketing is going to be a challenge. You could waste a lot of your time experimenting, or you can hire a professional that's already done that, plus sees the playing field every day. Ask for case studies, and when you're interviewing candidates ask them what they would do first to help your store and how much it would cost. Start on a monthly basis, no long term contracts, then test until you find a winner.

Here's a collection of some of my favorite Shopify automation tips I've personally used to get success on Shopify, some of it is marketing (like using an app that drives traffic and you only pay on conversions): 7 Shopify Automation Tips to Level Up Your Store

Good luck ✊

[supersell]

"my first impression is this store has private label supplements and dropshipped apparel"

That's a great way to describe it yes.

"build a brand off your experience being a personal trainer"

I would suggest that too. That would make his brand (and by extension his shop) unique.

Great tips overall. I hope the merchant will look into them.

[Gojiberry-Amee]

Hi Xavier1234, 

This is Amee from Gojiberry - Shopify Survey & Feedback App. 

I echo the sentiments of the other commenters. It's better to pick a niche and focus on that. It seems that dietary supplement is what you are aiming for. For private labeling, I wonder if supplements like this need to pass the FDA? Perhaps having certain certifications helps send trust signals to your potential customers. 

On top of that, you are a personal trainer. I think you should be driving the content that would eventually lead customers to your stores. When I check out your social media, it seems that you don't have too many followers or that's not a main part of your strategy. Building online trust and reputation is important, and I think with that would come sales for your products and training program. 

Hope this helps! 

Amee | Gojiberry Team 

[JosephineHarper]

Hello Xavier,

If you feel like the marketing aspect is a bit confusing, I suggest you go with affiliate marketing because the risk is low and ROI is high. As per your expectation, some of the affiliate marketing apps will manage all (including TikTok/Facebook) affiliates through different programs in the same account. One of which is Afflr.

Additionally, it makes the process easy by creating automatic coupons for affiliate audiences and tracking sales and commissions. They offer a very easy account setup too.

Hope this helps!