The eCommerce market size has seen a steady increase over the years, with more growth anticipated in the years to come. Between 2019 and 2022, the number of online shoppers increased by nearly one billion, and the figures are set to continue rising.
However, thousands of eCommerce sites are currently on the web, and they all vie for the same shoppers.
Besides, the ever-changing consumer behavior requires you to be creative, innovate a winning business strategy and learn the best ways to outsmart your competition to drive more digital shoppers to your site and increase sales.
This article will equip you with the top ten ways to outsmart the competition in the eCommerce industry.
Conduct Competitor Analysis
Competitor analysis will help you identify new trends, market shifts, and potential barriers within your niche, enabling you to make informed decisions. It is also a perfect way to track your competitors and their strategies to outsmart them.
Start by highlighting top competitors in your industry through Google or Amazon. You can simplify the process using tools like Ahrefs and Keyword Spy to search your competition.
After that, group your competitors into primary, secondary, and tertiary competition while keeping track of their:
- Social media presence
- Website Traffic
- Online reviews
- Marketing messaging
- Pricing strategy
- Customer experience
- Shipping procedures
Leverage eCommerce Marketplaces
If you have just set up an eCommerce startup, it can be challenging to navigate through this crowded space and make your business heard and visible to potential customers.
The best and safe way to get the ball rolling is to find a reputable online marketplace like eBay and start promoting and selling your products there.
Finding success on eBay will be a perfect way to generate additional income for your eCommerce startup while creating a solid foundation for its success.
Identify Your Unique Selling Point
Your unique selling point (USP) will set your brand apart from the others. It serves as your competitive advantage and may include trait-like product quality, exceptional customer service, and competitive pricing.
To determine your unique selling point:
- Establish what can attract a customer to buy from your eCommerce site rather than from competitors
- Think of that one thing you undertake differently
- Know what your target audience cares about
After identifying your unique selling point, showcase it on your social media profiles, ad copies, website, and other platforms where you can capture customers’ attention.
Be Aggressive in Your Marketing
You need a holistic and versatile marketing approach to stand out, upsell to existing customers and reach a newer audience. It would be best to leverage all marketing channels using SEO, PPC, email marketing, content marketing, social media, and affiliate marketing.
Consider trying most of them as you start, then narrow down to those that give you the most ROI. If you feel overwhelmed, seek help from marketing agencies and consultants.
Build Authentic Relationships
It is crucial to develop engagement with potential and existing customers. There is no better way to interact with your customers in real-time than to use social media platforms.
However, you should assess your options to identify those platforms that will work well with your target audience instead of using any platform to market yourself.
Consider creating a blog with valuable content or product updates to show the value of your offerings to your target audience. As you do that, strive to create a community section or forum on your site to bring together users and allow them to share their views about your products.
You can also organize an event where you will get to interact with your target audience and build meaningful relationships while sharing information about your products and services.
Offer Exceptional Customer Experiences
When you exceed customer expectations in their shopping experience, they will most likely become your number-one promoters and refer your business to others. Customer satisfaction is undoubtedly a perfect tool to enhance your word-of-mouth marketing efforts. You can improve customer experience by:
- Making your eCommerce site easy to navigate
- Optimizing your web store for mobile
- Improving the web page load speed
- Offering hassle-free billing
- Providing flexible return policies
- Offering quick delivery
- Responding to customer queries and concerns quickly
Pay More Attention to Product Quality
If you want your eCommerce business to get the most traction, then you must constantly provide exciting quality products. Producing products that are not up to standard may cause you to lose customer loyalty and, eventually, sales.
You can start by producing only a limited number of products to enable you to pay more attention to overall product quality and reputation.
There is also a need to stay informed about the latest technology and industry trends. In addition, you should differentiate your business and products by marketing them as the best compared to your competition.
This will require you to leverage the latest industry trends and the newest technology applications to beat the curve. Keep in mind that you should gear all product improvements towards solving customer needs better than competitors.
Obtain Customer Feedback
No one can give you honest opinions about your business performance more than your customers. Besides, obtaining customer feedback makes them feel valued and part of your business. It is also a proven strategy to win customer loyalty.
You can ask them to leave a comment on what they think about your services and products. Also, establish what they want and which areas of your business to improve to serve them better. Through feedback, you find ways to convince customers to do more business with you instead of losing them to competitors.
Improve Your Brand Image and Communication
Brand image is at the core of your business identity and dictates the customers’ perception of your eCommerce store. On the other hand, communication is key to building customer loyalty and enhancing collaborations.
Good business branding will enable you to appeal to customers’ emotions and connect with them. You can improve your brand image by creating a unique selling point and adhering to SEO best practices.
Besides, embrace transparency and give clear information about your charges, shipping solutions, and refund policy. Also, make your contact information easily accessible on your website.
Discover Partnerships
Partnerships enable entrepreneurs to join hands and share complementary skills, costs, and risks. It is also a perfect way to create new markets and unlock new territories to steer ahead of the competition.
Collaborating with a company or person with whom you share the same goals, vision, and overall future business plans is essential.
As more entrepreneurs venture into the eCommerce business, it would be best to grace yourself well for the stiffer competition ahead. Take time to study your competitors, develop a unique marketing strategy, and adequately stage your products and services to outperform them.
On top of that, stay up to date with industry trends and use the latest technology.
