How do Small Ecommerce Players Compete Against Giants?

Building ecommerce websites has now become a necessity, so much so that, even micro businesses are now looking at ecommerce to shore up their prospects. This is partly because ecommerce gives them greater visibility. But it is also because ecommerce allows you to reach customers at a minimum cost. This is of vital important at a time when costs of land, labour and entrepreneurship have increased manifold.

So, in this field of established giants, how do small and medium businesses compete for space in the customer’s mind? Here are 3 tips to help you do just that:

1. Create a Unique Identity

This is very important. You need to carve a niche for yourself among the successful ecommerce stores in order to gain distinctiveness. Otherwise you’ll end up remaining more of the same and be forgotten among the plenty of look-alikes that cloud the customer’s mindspace.

Think about your own product lines, take time and do some research on the inventories that your ecommerce competitors offer and find which areas could be most profitable for your business. Narrow your focus, and be selective about the product categories that you choose. Starting off slowly is alright in a niche that you’re confident about.

2. Mixing up your Marketing Efforts

Marketing, that too in ecommerce, can be a daunting task. But, you should make full use of primary channels such as organic SEO and Pay-per-Click (PPC) advertising. Work hard here, for this is what gives your business its much-needed oxygen of visibility.

All the channels have the same degree of potential though each channel is different in its own way. Use PPC to test which keywords are most profitable and invest in SEO as it is a long-term effort. A marketing strategy that is a blend of both would be the best for your organization.

3. Promote with Richness

Engaging, feature-rich is always appreciated by the web. Usage of icons and colourful imagery along with audio and video is a must for ecommerce marketing. Quality reviews are a necessity. Customers look for them, read them carefully, and click the ‘buy’ button only when they are convinced.

  So, record reviews and highlight products with the right description. Your product pages must have a wealth of images that provide the user what he or she needs. Use social media to promote your products and generate positive talk about your store. Building a brand is a long and tedious process, and you need to be patient and work to get better and better each day.