If you’ve recently opened your very own e-commerce store, congratulations. You’ve just entered an industry that’s expected to net 4.8 trillion US dollars in sales by 2021, as well as one that an estimated 1.92 billion people are spending their money on (based on research conducted by Statista).

It’s safe to say that the e-commerce industry, despite being a fairly new force in the global market, has nearly limitless potential. That said, the astronomical growth of e-commerce does present one major downside: competition.

This is great for consumers. It pushes businesses to constantly make improvements to their products and services. But as a business owner, the last thing you want to deal with is another business soaking up your target market.

That’s why we’ve put together a list of 4 tips that will help you outrank your competition and become a leader in your niche. Read on to learn more about what you can do to become your audience’s number one choice – and stay there.

Facilitate Growth

It can be extremely tempting to pocket your first profits, but reinvestment is essential to growth. More money to spend on ads results in more customers, rendering more profit and repeating the cycle while allowing you to scale up with every repetition.

Analyse and Innovate

No business came out on top from going by the book. Innovation drives success, so you need to find ways to stand out from your competitors, be it a change in your marketing strategy, a unique copy or a completely new product. But you’re a business owner – not an artist. So how do you come up with new ideas in such a tech-driven industry?

Analysis is your answer. Don’t make assumptions about your audience. Use analytics tools to determine how your customers are responding to your ads, how they’re using your website and why they’re abandoning their shopping carts. This data will help you find insights as to where you can make improvements and formulate new ideas.

Seek Help

Being a lone wolf in your industry is a dangerous approach. It confines you to your own ideas and opinions, keeping any potentially valuable solutions to the problems you face out of sight.

This is why it’s important to seek help when you need it. For example, take CoSource, who offers a comprehensive set of e-commerce solutions.

CoSource will analyse your audience and compile an appropriate business strategy, execute a user experience design plan, improve your website and add mobile support among a number of other services.

Build Relationships with Influencers

There’s a good reason why successful e-commerce store owners spend so much on getting influencers to show off their products. Aside from expanding your audience, customers will see your business as a leader in your niche. If the top influencers are all wearing Adidas, their followers probably won’t be buying a pair of Nikes any time soon.

Conclusion

This should give you a start, but there is obviously a lot more to e-commerce than any single post will be able to cover. Therefore, it is up to you to put the time and effort into finding out what will work for your business.