Tips for small e-retailers competing with e-commerce giants

In today’s age of digital marketing, more and more retail stores are building e-commerce websites. An ecommerce website allows retailers of any size, anywhere in the world, to have a global market reach. When promoted effectively, an e-commerce website can also offer tremendous cost efficiencies for customer acquisition and product sales.

Along with the tremendous growth of e-commerce, most industries and product areas are dominated by a few large e-commerce giants. These powerful players often have stellar branding, accompanied by targeted search engine advertising and rich online marketing budgets. This has made competing with such e-commerce sites a difficult proposition, especially for small e-retailers with limited ad spend.

In sectors where stealing market share from e-commerce giants seems impossible, there’s usually always a way to grab a good chunk of customers. The trick is to get creative and figure out which channels are the most relevant, least competitive, and cost-effective. Below we highlight three tips that can help small ecommerce sites compete with big budget brands.

Carve out a delicate niche

One of the most important approaches to building a successful eCommerce store is establishing a very specific niche in the market. This is especially important for boutiques and small retailers with a very exquisite inventory. Unlike some large e-commerce stores that offer a wide range of goods, identifying a very focused niche helps establish a retailer as a specialist in a particular product category. This can help inspire more trust and credibility with potential customers.

Established e-commerce sites typically sell all types of products within a specific category, e.g. B. “Motorcycle clothing”. Take the time to research the inventory your ecommerce competitors offer in relation to your own product lines. Your goal is to identify the areas that could be the most profitable for your ecommerce endeavors. This can mean narrowing your focus to very select product categories as the overall theme for your online store, such as: B. “Leather motorcycle jackets”.

Starting out slowly in a niche that you’re confident will drive sales is an excellent small business ecommerce tactic. As you begin to dominate a product category, you can begin exploring new categories to expand your sales potential.

Mix up your marketing efforts

Marketing your ecommerce website can seem like a daunting task. However, there are some primary channels that are paramount for ecommerce. This includes pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, organic search engine optimization (SEO), and social media marketing. In short, ecommerce marketing relies on being found in search engine results and being recognized on social media platforms. But before you choose which channels to prioritize, remember to take a more holistic approach to a marketing plan.

Between SEO, PPC and social media, none is more powerful than the other. Although each channel is very different, they all have the same potential to attract more customers. Most of the time, a mix of search engine marketing tactics using both SEO and PPC is the best approach. Since SEO is a long-term effort, using PPC to test which keywords are most profitable is one of the best strategies. This can save a lot of work later on by optimizing for keywords that only provide adequate profit margins.

Social media platforms like Facebook, Google+, and Twitter help increase brand awareness. These platforms can help maintain loyalty and drive traffic to your website. Social media is a great way to share content, generate interest, and build a following. This can help maintain ecommerce success by encouraging repeat purchases and viral sharing of great content connected to your brand.

Promote with wealth

Online shoppers in particular benefit from insightful information presented in a rich media format. The use of images, audio, and video can be significant in ecommerce marketing. The ways you can use such media offer endless ideas.

Reviews are a big thing in ecommerce. Customers see great value in quality reviews that detail the features, benefits, and pitfalls of specific products. That’s why recording your own reviews or product highlights in the form of a video can be an ecommerce game changer, especially if those videos are optimized and found in search engine results.

Visual stimulation is huge on the internet. In addition to videos, including a plethora of images on your product pages can greatly help sales. In fact, mini galleries on product pages are becoming increasingly popular for many ecommerce stores, so adopting this strategy is becoming increasingly important. Using more meaningful images or infographics is also a creative way to attract customers. Social media can be used to share this content, which can lead to more exposure and viral potential.

Successful e-commerce is based on empathy. That is, how well you as a marketer can put yourself in the perspective of your target audience. Understanding how you present your brand and your communications is key. Good ecommerce marketers have a strong awareness. They know what their target customers are looking for and how best to educate them on how their ecommerce store can meet their needs.

Thanks to Tyler Tafelsky | #Tips #small #eretailers #competing #ecommerce #giants