Expertise

Retail and eCommerce marketing expertise for founder-led businesses

Your customers do not experience your marketing in neat little departments.

They see your shop, website, product range, Google listing, emails, content and customer service. When those things work together, the business feels easier to understand and easier to buy from.

When they do not, the gaps start to show.

I help independent retailers, eCommerce brands and small founder-led businesses improve how customers find them, experience them and buy from them.

My core areas of expertise are retail consultancy, Shopify and eCommerce, SEO, and copy and content. But I do not treat them as four disconnected services.

I look at the business, the customer and the commercial objective first. Then we work out what genuinely needs attention.

Work with Steph

Joined-up thinking, not disconnected tactics

Marketing problems are not always where they first appear.

A quiet shop does not automatically need more social media. An underperforming website may not need a complete redesign. A product that is not selling may need better merchandising, clearer information or a different place within the range, not another discount. What appears to be an SEO problem may actually be unclear positioning, poor site structure or content that does not answer the questions customers are asking.

I start by understanding:

what the business is trying to achieve;
who the customers are;
what is currently happening;
where people may be getting stuck;
what the available evidence tells us;
and what you realistically have the time, budget and capacity to change.

That stops us reaching immediately for the latest marketing tactic when the real problem is somewhere else entirely.

Retail consultancy

See your business through the customer’s eyes and take a wider commercial view.

Running a physical shop gives you something no dashboard can fully replicate: the opportunity to see how people behave in the space.

But when you work in that space every day, it becomes difficult to notice what a first-time customer sees. You know where everything is. You understand the product range. You know which door to use, where to pay and why certain products cost what they do.

Your customer does not.

I provide practical retail consultancy for independent shops and bricks-and-clicks businesses, with a particular focus on physical retail audits, customer experience and the relationship between the store and its online presence.

Physical retail audits

A retail audit can examine the customer journey from the pavement outside to the point of purchase and beyond.

Depending on the scope, I may review:

external appearance and first impressions;
window displays and signage;
store layout and customer flow;
navigation and product discovery;
visual merchandising;
pricing and product information;
trust and reassurance;
customer service touchpoints;
opportunities for cross-selling;
the till and checkout experience;
customer retention and follow-up;
accessibility and practical friction;
and the links between the physical shop and the online business.

The purpose is not to criticise how many cushions are facing the wrong way. It is to identify the changes most likely to improve the customer experience, strengthen sales and make the space work harder.

Bricks-and-clicks strategy

Customers do not necessarily think of your shop and website as separate businesses.

They may discover you on Google, browse online, ask a question on Instagram, visit the shop and then place an order through your website three weeks later.

A bricks-and-clicks review looks at how those touchpoints support one another.

That could include:

aligning the in-store and online customer experience;
improving how the website supports physical visits;
making store information easier to find;
connecting events, workshops and promotions;
strengthening click-and-collect or local fulfilment;
capturing customer details appropriately;
using email to encourage repeat visits;
improving Google Business Profile visibility;
and making the brand feel consistent wherever customers encounter it.

Range and sales review

The product range itself can also form part of the review. Depending on the project and the available information, this may include:

identifying bestsellers and reliable performers;
reviewing slower-moving lines;
looking at category balance;
considering where the range may be too broad or too narrow;
identifying opportunities for bundles or complementary purchases;
reviewing how key products are positioned and promoted;
and considering whether the range supports the wider commercial direction of the business.

Where a project would benefit from deeper numerical analysis, I can bring in a trusted data specialist to examine areas such as sales patterns, category performance, bestsellers and stock movement.

That means recommendations can be shaped by customer experience and the available evidence, rather than instinct alone.

Explore Retail Consultancy

Shopify and eCommerce

Turn your online shop into a clearer, easier and more effective sales tool.

A ecommerce website needs to do considerably more than display products. It needs to help the right people find what they are looking for, understand why it is right for them and feel confident completing the purchase.

I combine practical Shopify knowledge with marketing strategy, customer experience, content and SEO. That means I am not only looking at whether a button works. I am looking at whether customers can find the button, understand what happens next and have enough confidence to press it.

My Shopify and eCommerce expertise can include:

Shopify website planning and structure;
builds, rebuilds and migrations;
navigation and product discovery;
product and collection pages;
customer journey reviews;
trust and conversion improvements;
website copy and messaging;
SEO foundations;
email marketing integration;
promotions and seasonal campaigns;
content and landing pages;
and ongoing Shopify management.

I can work on a complete eCommerce project or help improve an existing store that has gradually become cluttered, confusing or difficult to manage.

The objective is not simply to make the site look nicer. It is to make it more useful to the customer and more effective for the business.

Explore Shopify and eCommerce

SEO

Help the right people find your business when they are actively looking.

Good SEO is not about repeating the same keyword until the page becomes unpleasant to read.

It is about understanding what your customers are searching for, creating a website that search engines can make sense of and providing useful content that answers genuine questions.

I take a practical, commercially grounded approach to SEO.

That can include:

SEO reviews and prioritisation;
keyword and search-intent research;
website structure;
on-page optimisation;
SEO copywriting;
product and collection page optimisation;
local SEO;
Google Business Profile support;
blog and content planning;
Google Search Console;
GA4 and available website data;
and improving existing content rather than producing more for the sake of it.

Traffic on its own is not the goal. The aim is to attract people who are relevant to the business and then give them a clear reason to stay, trust you and take the next step.

SEO also does not sit in isolation. It depends on the structure of the website, the clarity of the offer, the quality of the content and the experience people have when they arrive.

That is why I look beyond rankings.

Explore SEO Support

Copy and content

Explain what you do in a way customers understand, trust and remember.

Your customers should not have to work hard to understand what you sell, who it is for or why they should choose you.

Clear copy helps people make decisions.

It can also improve search visibility, support sales conversations, strengthen your positioning and save you from repeatedly explaining the same thing in emails and messages.

I write commercially focused copy and content that sounds human and has a clear job to do.

That can include:

website copy;
Shopify product and collection content;
SEO landing pages;
blogs and articles;
email marketing;
campaign copy;
brand messaging;
tone-of-voice development;
LinkedIn and thought-leadership content;
sales proposals;
case studies;
and editing existing content that has become vague or overcomplicated.

Content should not exist simply because somebody said you ought to post more often.

It should help the right people find you, understand your expertise, trust what you are saying or make a buying decision. Ideally, more than one of those at once.

Explore Copy and Content

Strategy runs through everything I do

Marketing strategy is not a separate document that should be written, presented and then left untouched in a folder.

It is the thinking behind:

what we choose to prioritise;
who we are trying to reach;
what we want them to understand;
which channels make sense;
how the different activities work together;
what we decide not to do;
and how the work supports the wider business.

Whether I am reviewing a shop, improving a Shopify website, planning SEO or rewriting your copy, I start with the commercial objective and the customer.

I also consider the reality of the business. There is no value in recommending a complicated marketing machine that requires a large team, unlimited time and a budget you do not have.

The right strategy should help you make clearer choices and use your available resources more effectively.

Get found. Get understood. Get trusted.

These three principles sit underneath much of my work.

Get found

Help the right customers discover the business through SEO, Google visibility, useful content, a stronger digital presence and, for physical retailers, clearer reasons to visit.

Get understood

Make the offer, product range and customer journey easier to understand through clearer positioning, website structure, messaging and merchandising.

Get trusted

Build confidence through consistency, useful information, customer experience, reviews, proof and an online or physical presence that feels credible.

Make it easier to buy

Remove unnecessary friction. That might mean improving navigation, strengthening product information, making calls to action clearer, rethinking the shop layout or joining up the online and in-store experience.

Being visible is valuable. Being visible, understood and easy to buy from is considerably more useful.

Big-picture thinking, grounded in real retail experience

I have spent more than 20 years working across sales, marketing, communications, retail and eCommerce. I also spent 10 years building and running my own award-winning independent retail and online business, growing turnover by 400% over five years.

I have managed substantial marketing budgets and swept my own shop floor. Both experiences matter.

I understand strategy, positioning and commercial planning. I also understand stock, staffing, merchandising, customer service, difficult trading periods, website problems and the consequences of spending your own money on marketing that needs to work.

That combination means I can see the wider picture without losing sight of the practical details.

I am equally comfortable:

advising on commercial direction;
auditing a physical customer journey;
restructuring a website;
improving Shopify content;
creating an SEO plan;
writing the copy;
briefing another specialist;
or helping a founder decide what to do first.

You work directly with me, and I will tell you honestly when I believe a different approach would be more useful.

Specialist support where it adds value

I have broad experience, but I do not pretend that one person should personally perform every specialist task within a project.

Where appropriate, I can work alongside or bring in trusted specialists in areas such as:

data and sales analysis;
web development;
design;
photography;
and other technical delivery.

My role may be to lead the wider project, translate the findings into practical commercial decisions or ensure the different specialists are working towards the same objective.

You still get a joined-up view without being told that one person is magically an analyst, developer, photographer and graphic designer before lunchtime.

Clear advice. Practical delivery. No agency layers.

Clients tend to work with me because they want someone who can:

understand the wider business;
see how the different parts of the marketing connect;
bring an experienced sales and commercial perspective;
explain things without hiding behind jargon;
make recommendations that fit the available resources;
challenge an idea when necessary;
and get involved in the practical work.

My style is straightforward, collaborative and commercially focused. I will not create activity simply to make the monthly report look busy.

The work needs to support visibility, customer experience, sales or the long-term strength of the business. Otherwise, it is probably not the priority. This reflects the practical, reality-based approach at the centre of Steph Briggs Marketing.

See the work in practice

My work has included:

Shopify builds, migrations and ongoing improvements;
SEO-focused website projects;
website messaging and copy;
content and thought leadership;
customer journey improvements;
retail and eCommerce strategy;
campaign planning;
and ongoing marketing support for founder-led businesses.

View Client Results

How to work with me

You can access this expertise in several ways:

a Website Audit when you need an independent diagnosis;
a Marketing Power Hour for one focused question or decision;
Hire Me for a Day for concentrated strategic or practical progress;
or Ongoing Marketing Support when you need continuity and regular capacity.

Explore Ways to Work with Me

Contact Steph

Not sure where the problem sits?

You may know that the shop, website or marketing is not performing as well as it should without knowing what is causing it.

That is normal.

Tell me what is happening, what feels stuck and what you are trying to achieve. I will help you identify the most sensible place to start — even when the answer is not the largest or most expensive project.