It’s no secret that the global marketplace is mostly dominated by the retail giants — with Amazon holding 50% of the US market share and leaving competitors far behind.
As of today, despite the efforts of other well-established brands like eBay, Apple, BestBuy, Walmart, etc, Amazon has captured almost half of the $252.7 billion market. With giants like Macy’s and Home Depot fighting a losing battle with Amazon, does it mean an SMB retailer can only count on gathering breadcrumbs?
In an overcrowded marketplace dominated by e-commerce tycoons, small and medium companies still stand a huge chance to survive as long as they follow these practical guidelines:
Know your niche
There are thousands of products on sale on large e-commerce websites. Yet, there’s also a plethora of niche products that retail giants don’t sell, but which, nevertheless, are appreciated and favored by customers. Make sure the products you sell fall under this category, and offer something truly unique. Do your homework: by leveraging advanced business intelligence tools, you can actually learn how customers feel about the products you are about to offer and indicate future advocates for your brand.
Advertise through alternative channels
Big established stores with huge advertising and marketing budgets usually advertise through paid ads and have an impressive number of affiliates who refer traffic to their websites. Their weak spot is social marketing, which means you can use social media to your advantage. Creating a discussion platform where customers can share their impressions and product info can help you gain a competitive edge and set up a community around your brand.
Moreover, social media channels generate immense amounts of user-related data, which helps you know your customers and their preferences. Harness its full potential by using advanced data analytic tools, and develop precisely targeted marketing campaigns.
Be better at content
Providing better content is an actionable tip that sets you apart from competitors, retail giants included. There’s a great number of ways in which you can be better: tips and tricks, user manuals and maintenance guides, high-resolution images, videos, testimonials, etc. Even writing more detailed product reviews could help you gain the upper hand.
Have a distinct brand personality
People do judge by appearances, so never underestimate the power of a great design. Sleek look and convenient user interface work wonders for your brand. Modern AI tools can allow you to develop your own brand voice: chatbots leveraging natural voice processing can now actually talk to customers and recognize human speech.
Enhance usability
Great usability spells better conversion rates. Have a great looking and fast loading website with a top-notch mobile version. Use website analytic tools to track customer journey, pinpoint possible bottlenecks and eliminate them. Simply breaking down your product list into comprehensible categories and providing easy search can be a deal maker. Make sure your customers are able to complete the purchase in just a few clicks — the fewer the better. Also, make sure your website supports a wide range of payment methods and ensures smooth and seamless transactions.
Provide better customer service
This is a broad concept, which includes full optimization of back-office processes, but, generally speaking, customers expect smaller e-commerce websites (as well as brick-and-mortar boutique stores) to have a ‘soul’ — that is, to offer personalized experiences. Make sure your website knows when a first-time visitor lands on a page and offers gifts and discounts. Also, make sure it recognizes regular visitors, addresses them by name and remembers their previous choices. Modern data analytic software is capable of analyzing customer choices and deriving insights as to their future behavior. Assemble special offers and individual discount packages based on this data and let your customers know they are remembered and valued.
Use emerging tech and its advanced capabilities
Apart from significant practical benefits, emerging tech has one more huge advantage: customers, especially the tech-savvy ones, are actually enjoying the novelty factor. For example, an LCST Lacoste AR app lets customers choose shoe models from a brand’s recent collection and see how they fit without physically visiting the store. The app also has social features, enabling customers to share their look on social networks, and is already immensely popular among the brand’s young audience. Chatbots are also becoming increasingly popular: they save time by offering quick answers to frequently asked questions and eliminate the stress of human-to-human interactions.
From a business perspective, using business intelligence apps and middleware solutions facilitating backend operations helps optimize business processes and eliminate fallacies and, ultimately, results in enhanced user experience and better customer service.
As of today, Amazon account of 19% of global e-commerce transactions. While this is a lot, there are still lots of opportunities small businesses can tap into as long as they strife to unleash their full potential.