There’s no denying that ecommerce is a lucrative industry. Last year alone, the industry grew by 23.3% over the previous years’ figures. That’s pretty impressive considering that the world is currently in the throes of an economic slowdown.
Ecommerce business models are becoming more popular as companies find their budgets shrinking. The costs of setting up and maintaining an online business are a lot more affordable than a brick and mortar store would be.
Technically, all you really need is a good website and something to sell. If you subscribe to a dropshipping model, you could very well start up with nothing more than the few dollars it takes to register and host a website.
Before you head out to get your site up and running, though, be warned – it is difficult to gain traction online. You’re competing with millions of websites out there, so you need to approach the matter carefully.
Unlike with a brick and mortar store, people cannot touch and feel your product. This means that you have to convince them that they must trust that the product matches the description. This, in turn, means that you need to build trust with them. Online, this can be somewhat difficult.
The Client Experience is the Most Important Thing
With an online business, it’s essential to maintain your competitive edge. You have to ensure that each client has the perfect customer experience. That, in turn, means ensuring that the clients get more than they expect.
By that we don’t mean a free gift with purchase. Free gifts are nice, but they won’t win you any favors if your overall customer experience falls flat. It’s better to focus on your customer’s expectations, and ensuring that the whole process goes as flawlessly as possible.
To that end, you’ll find Laurice Wardini’s infographic on the topic extremely helpful. Wardini set out to research what would make the most impact in ecommerce going forward.
Oddly enough, most of what she found had nothing to do with the products being sold, but everything to do with improving the customer experience. Looking over the infographic it becomes patently clear that clients want companies to focus more on the clients’ needs.
She goes on to list key areas where companies need to improve in line with changing client expectations. It’s a real eye-opener, especially for those who have been in business for a while. There’s a lot of good information in there, and much of it is easy enough to act.
Where Should You Start?
You know your business, so you’re in the best position to know which of these steps are easy for you to adapt to your needs. Maybe you don’t have the funds to set up own drone delivery service like Amazon, but you can always look into improving the number of delivery options.
Why not offer express shipping in addition to the normal options? It will cost more, but there are clients who will be willing to bear those costs. Work your way through the list and see how many items you can implement straight away.
Take Action Today
Find at least one thing on the list that you can implement right away and then act. There is nothing like inertia and a resistance to change to kill any business. Just ask Blockbuster in the United States. It went from having stores in most towns in the US to having just one because it wouldn’t move with the times.
Don’t let yourself get caught out in the same way. Take a step toward improving the customer experience by choosing an item on the list and working on it. When you’ve gotten the easier stuff over and done with, work your way through the rest.
Pick something and make a change right now. And don’t forget to let us know what you started with in the comments below.
