Guitar Retailer Offers Inventory on Facebook

An increasing percentage of Internet consumers use Facebook. By some accounts, it's the 2nd biggest website and ecommerce merchants are now finding ways to tap into that traffic. One of these is Guitar Syndicate, a recently established retailer of musical instruments and accessories which uploads stock into its Facebook page under a unique store tab. Its co-owner, Scott Burnett, joined us recently to discuss the provider's Facebook strategy.

Practical eCommerce: Tell us a bit about Guitar Syndicate.

Scott Burnett:"We're a music equipment retailer and we sell guitars, audio accessories, effects pedals, strings and guitar accessories. Our doors opened in March, so it is for a brick-and-mortar place, but the internet is huge for us. We have been building an internet following before launch in 2010."

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PeC: How long have you had the internet presence?

Burnett:"We have had it before the previous quarter in 2009, and we did some new and interesting things to rapidly build web traffic to create a Facebook following."

PeC: How many SKUs would you have on your website and on your physical store?

Burnett:"Right now, we've got about 360 SKUs."

Screenshot of Guitar Syndicate's home page.

PeC: Describe what you are trying to do on Facebook, as an ecommerce merchant.

Burnett:"This was really a feature that we hadn't planned on having. We made a switch to CoreCommerce [ecommerce applications ] and then found the Facebook'shop' option. Facebook is something which we have used to run a weekly giveaway. That's how we originally built our visitors, then there were lots of giveaway sites and music tools giveaway sites to pick us up and begin plugging us. So we have been building and developing a database because the latter half of 2009.

"What the CoreCommerce shop tab provides is really great because, if we wish to plug-in or market a particular item or a particular that we have, we could direct users to this product's house within Facebook. There is no need to leave Facebook, you don't have to click and get to an outside connection. It is just built right in there. We took particular interest in since it ties manufacturers and products names into Facebook search engine logic also.

"Initially, we've found it on our profile page, on the webpage. The CoreCommerce team helped us install it on our real product or new page for Guitar Syndicate, so it is simply not a feature. Our visitors are not used to seeing us on other people's webpages, but we track a click trail of people who click exactly like any other online shop should, and we do provide leads and we provide reference to this search."

Screenshot of Guitar Syndicate's Facebook store page.

PeC: Can all the merchandise in your store automatically appear on your FB store tab?

Burnett:"No, it does not. We're given the option if we want to publish particular product or not, and we could choose to print the entire store material, but we do not. We have been pushing our higher priced, higher ticket items in our weekly specials."

PeC: When you determine a product that you wish to feature on your FB store tab, do you must enter descriptions, prices, or photographs?

Burnett: "No. It automatically transfers and arranges everything. You need to link the accounts , but it is not like Google Base where you provide a new feed every time you have an upgrade. It is easy so that it was only a natural thing to try to monitor. We have about 80 to 100 SKUs on our FB store tab at the moment."

PeC: What sort of conversion speed are you getting?

Burnett:"About 10 to 15 percent of the clicks we are getting to get a product are coming from Facebook. And then, I would estimate likely an eighth of our sales have resulted from people who visited us through Facebook, and then they return to make a purchase or bookmark the website."

PeC: Can you cover CoreCommerce extra fees to get the Facebook store?

Burnett: "No. There are no additional fees."

PeC: Can you anticipate CoreCommerce to finally permit an individual to complete a purchase without departing Facebook?

Burnett:"I'd love to get a user to be able to do the checkout on Facebook. I don't know how it could happen. It might have to be some sort of widget or something, and install it inside the app, since there are a lot of details with all the processing and secure transactions, and the real time tracking of orders, as well as the UPS shipping information... I'm assuming that is down the line, but I do not know how fast we should expect to see it."

PeC: Any final thoughts about merchandising on Facebook?

Burnett:"The traffic in Facebook is just enormous; it is the number two site on earth. The item search is enormous with this. Rather than building many tabs and building our stock and our photo libraries or video libraries, this is a very easy way to get your stock in front of that enormous audience that appears from a search. When we originally set up , we ran a couple of tests, which was one of the big deciding factors for us to go ahead and get the shop on Facebook in the first location.

"I am a part owner, so I have a particular interest in this. The manner CoreCommerce's customer support has reacted and the way they helped us move forward with specific requests is terrific. So, based on the experience we have had over the past two to three months, we certainly expect great things from this app."

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