No one stands against the Mountain but Oberyn Martell did, this is something that happened in Game Of Thrones though completely hypothetical. No one remembers how brave he was there in the battlefield but he sure did made us realize that all it takes is that one impulsive decision and a lot of hard work and potential to make it through in the world of giants.
In an E-commerce website, business is not so easy, especially without a piece of proper knowledge and planning. For sharing your products and services, the internet is a great platform for small scale businesses by which one can share with the world.
If you want to compete with the other e-commerce business owners or big boys with their so popular and hyped websites, then not only comprehensive planning but research is necessary. As per the 180 companies tracked by eMarketer, the total annual retail e-commerce sales make is around $201 billion. out of which the top 25 retailers itself account for about 80%, which is exactly $159 billion which surely helps put things into perspective and provide us with a more clear image.
As we can all know how Amazon, Wal-Mart, and Apple have taken the top 3 spots and their revenue is partly related to their advertising budget.
1. Research is just the Homework
This first and the most important amongst all, as you will be competing with those you might have never even heard of and to keep their identity still anonymous in the market you have to do the homework i.e. the Research.
Firstly you have to do all the research related to your competitors and the industry in which you want to work. The more you know the better you tend to plan for your business.
2. Masters in Niche
After doing a good amount of research it’s time for you to think about in which category or genre or field you want to step your foot in. If you are a newbie then go for products which have a high commission and low-risk factor.
“Hard work always pays-off”, but here hard work will not be good enough as some of them out there are also doing the same as you and selling that product as you with a lower price. So for good profit focus either on a good quality product or with a low price along with great customer service.
3. Paid Advertisement
Some of you may be using your e-commerce site as a platform to sell advertisement space to other brands. Don’t do it. If you have a small business then focus on free options. This begins with your active accounts on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. Explore more opportunities with some more niche communities/organization, try to be more active on sites, try interacting with more people, and practically about every product.
4. Attractive Website
Just create a beautiful attractive and well-maintained website. To improve your ranking only post relevant feeds to be posted. This will surely improve your search engine ranking after a certain period of time.
After some time, let’s say every week you just go through all site’s pages just to make sure that you don’t miss a chance of making some big changes. Even major search engine changes can also affect your site’s visibility. Too many menu categories will confuse the consumer, preventing them from finding what they’re looking for. After all the less is more concept just applies everywhere I guess.
5. Customer Service
Try connecting Personally with as many customers as possible. Smaller businesses have low availability of opportunities where they can prove themselves worth a good relation with a customer relating to products.
Whereas it is just the reverse in case of large and big businesses. In small businesses, even a small order plays a vital role in doing business and also in promoting it, and if it’s a large order then a quick email should be written to those who had placed the order. thus, building a genuine connection with the buyer.
When customer complaints eventually come up, they should never be swept under the rug. Answering their questions effectively can persuade buyers to choose your store even more when evaluating purchasing options. Don’t keep customers on hold.
Amazon can’t offer a one-on-one customer service experience as you can. This will build a relationship with your customers and the loyalty will surely pay off. More than half of online shoppers believe premium packaging means a brand is more upscale.
Just with a little planning, you can easily compete with some of the biggest companies easily with making your proportion of desired profits. Just make sure that you are leading with proper and good research and planning with good customer support service. If you can’t beat them, join them; use them as your platform to get additional exposure for your brand.
Nothing is impossible, if you have the ability to compete with the giants of E-commerce then that’s appreciable. It might be some sort of intimidating but not impossible. They all are like big box stores, they have money and resources both which are not available at small businesses like yours but that doesn’t mean you can’t win. You can still stand in front of the biggest e-commerce giant.
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