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.
