Secrets to Running a Successful E-commerce Business

While there exist several successful e-commerce brands like Amazon, Uber, and Alibaba proving the potential of online shops, there is also a vast collection of unsuccessful stories that remain untold. Therefore, before setting up that website or deciding on what product to sell, you first make peace with your mind on which side of success you would like your e-commerce store to fall into.

Importantly, make an effort to survey the different brands, and you will see the characteristics most successful brands have in common. These form the secrets to e-commerce business success that you can replicate in your online venture.

Here are top seven secrets to running a successful brand online.

1. Offer something that’s uniquely different

A huge proportion of the most successful e-commerce businesses in existence today introduced something new to the market. And the few that didn’t took the time to offer existing products and services uniquely. Therefore, while you might not have technological innovations to provide the global market, you can still devise unique and innovative ways of delivering existing product or service.

2. Create an audience before launching

Did you know that the success or flop of an e-commerce brand launch to a large extent influences its ultimate performance? This explains why numerous successful brands like Fab.com, Stripe, and Razors invested a lot of time and resources in getting the word out about their upcoming brands.

This, in turn, creates a level of enthusiasm among interested parties who then become your first customers upon launch. Plus if your product or service amazes them, then you not only convert them to regular clients but a formidable team of brand ambassadors.

3. Use the right software technology

Several highly successful e-commerce brands with a grand following and an own market niche have tanked due to either adoption of inferior technology or failure to upgrade to modern systems. Note that a good e-commerce software should have strong and assuring security and scalability features as well as a set of effective marketing and conversion tools. It is, therefore, imperative that you find time to research on the most appropriate business tools that match your e-commerce demands as well as their update features.

4. Know your customers and target them

Understand that even the most popular online stores like Amazon and Alibaba have their own way of targeting different individuals for various products. This forms the secrets to successful pre-launch audience creation as well as a key product promotion strategy. If you seek to promote a product or skill, first identify your potential customers and devise strategies on how to get them.

5. Make your site customer friendly

Most people online have the shortest concentration spans, and no matter how attractive your product seems, they won’t appreciate being taken in circles across the website. Therefore, work on eliminating the glitch in the sales process if you intend to make more sales.

For instance, limit the number of screens a customer goes through, use as few forms as possible, and eliminate the need for account creation during purchases. Most importantly, provide several payment options.

6. Offer free and discounted rates on some services

There is a reason Uber gives new customers a free ride with Amazon offering free shipping on certain products or purchases exceeding certain amounts. They all understand the importance of freebies. They also understand the need to compromise on the first purchase value of the client with the hope of capturing their lifetime value.

Additionally, freebies and discounts not only attract a new breed of customers but also create an opportunity for you to get as much customer information as possible. Research indicates that most consumers are willing to divulge more contact details when subscribing to a free service that when making a purchase.

7. Create a mobile friendly site

Did you know that the current Google ranking algorithms are biased against non-mobile friendly websites? Did you also know that more than 20 percent of all e-commerce sales today are made through smartphones? Armed with such facts, work on creating a mobile friendly site that not only gets your products moving but one that ranks competitively on the search engines.

Bottom line

Listed in such a manner, these might all seem like a lot of secrets to muster and implement. However, after carefully examining them, you will realize that they are all part of a successive line of action that starts with identifying a product, then market, then software and marketing strategies as well as technology until you land the customer. They have worked with other brands that have gone on to become household names, and they can work for you.