Tips to Avoid E-Commerce Annihilation

Nowadays, it is often said that if you want to survive as a retailer, you simply need to get yourself involved in the ecommerce revolution. At the same time though, it can’t escape your attention how the ecommerce landscape seems to be already utterly and completely dominated by certain leading brands. Put simply, regardless of what you want to purchase, there is every likelihood you can pick it up from a household brand online. All of which seems to leave very little space for small online brands, considering the David and Goliath battle most underdogs will have to face. But as far as the professionals are concerned, not all hope is lost. Quite to the contrary, as there are a number of ways by which working with more focus and smarter could help any small online business avoid annihilation by the ecommerce giants.A few examples include:

1. Stop Relying on Low Prices AloneIt is worth remembering that the majority of consumers these days value other aspects of the whole service package over and above low prices alone. Reliable delivery times, excellent customer service or simply a brand with a story and ethos they are able to connect with. Surviving in the middle of such adversity means being able to focus on what it is exactly that makes your business both different and fantastic from the rest.

2. Be a Service Provider, Not a Vending MachineWhat this basically means is the way some brands exist like nothing but glorified online vending machines, while there are others which are extraordinarily rich in informative, helpful and engaging content. The difference is that the majority of consumers react significantly better to the latter – and so does Google and the rest of the search engines. Therefore, it is important to make all efforts to develop your business and brand around much more than selling products alone. You have to be an all-round service provider and an important authority your clients can turn to for more than just products alone.

3. Know Your CustomersLoyalty schemes have the potential to be both effective and important, with studies recently having revealed that nearly 55% of online consumers stated that their spending habits are influenced by such schemes. Nonetheless, it is once again crucial to go beyond the norm, in order to be as competitive as possible. Conduct surveys, provide email updates, encourage opinions, thoughts and reviews, discover what their priorities are and what can turn them off. Getting to know your customers is something you can and need to be doing as a small brand.

4. Stay SocialLast up, you need to use every scrap of information you come across regarding your clients in terms of the content you create and your efforts to build relationships. One of the most crucial pieces of the ecommerce puzzle is that of remaining social – as in making the most use of the social media accounts you have and building a cohesive online presence.