Understanding the Ecommerce Landscape
So many people seem to think that being the next big thing in the online world means you need to behave, build and brand yourself like a unicorn. Unicorns stand out. They attract attention. Perhaps not the best way in a crowded and busy digital world.
With an industry expected to surpass $6 trillion dollars by 2024, it's easy to forget that there are millions of other people doing exactly what you're doing, trying to make their business stand out. The minute you do something as unique as call yourself a unicorn, is the moment everyone else does that too, because that's just how e-commerce works today. It's global, it's competitive and your customer can shop anywhere.
So then what does it take to win. To be successful in e-commerce.
Here's where it gets complicated. The truth is, nobody really knows and what worked for someone yesterday may not work again tomorrow. There are a host of factors that come together for winning brands - timing, an understanding of their customers, great products, even better delivery and payment methods (some buy now pay later options are more popular than others). And then there's reviews and testimonials - but are those trustworthy anymore given the number of paid reviews online.
The reality is that the e-commerce landscape is tricky terrain to navigate - not just for new businesses but even seasoned players. In fact, established DTC brands have had more than one thing go wrong over the last couple of years due to rising competition and changing rules with ad platforms like Meta and Google. Are these platforms still relevant.
Maybe not as much as they used to be because the e-commerce landscape is changing so quickly that nobody can say definitively what actually works today - except maybe Taylor Swift's publicist who got her cat featured on Google's Year In Search list in 2022 (search engines are clearly still relevant. I think).
Key Components of a Successful Ecommerce Strategy
It’s tempting to think that there’s one perfect ecommerce blueprint for fast growth. Like it’s just a matter of mixing the right ingredients and following the recipe to the letter. But most “ultimate” frameworks tend to skip over the part where all these moving pieces are human - messy, impulsive, occasionally flaky.
But let’s not kid ourselves, it isn’t just about driving sales. It’s about building trust with an audience who probably have a hundred different tabs open at this very moment.
A good ecommerce strategy sits at the intersection of customer empathy, big dreams, and making quick pivots (because what worked yesterday may not land tomorrow). It can feel daunting if you’ve always been a “by-the-book” business person, but trial and error is key here. One way to take some of the edge off is by putting all your puzzle pieces together in a cohesive strategy. The internet has an opinion on everything.
And I do mean everything. So there is no shortage of unsolicited advice out there when you’re trying to sell something online. You might find yourself wondering if you need to be on Instagram or TikTok or both.
Or if influencer marketing is worth it when they seem to be promoting six other brands that day anyway. And then there are logistical questions like figuring out how much inventory is enough inventory when you’re bootstrapping (it’s never as much as you think, trust me). What makes things easier - sort of - is putting together a checklist of things you need before diving headfirst into ecommerce - like a basic brand identity, reliable website hosting, efficient fulfilment partners, and an understanding of who your customers are (and what they care about).
The last bit may seem like fluff but it can help make your marketing more effective so that every penny spent online actually comes back tenfold - or more.
Optimizing User Experience for Increased Conversions
So, let's be honest. User experience is a bit of a buzzword these days, and lots of ecommerce businesses are getting it a bit wrong. The biggest mistake is assuming that throwing in fancy design elements, pretty pictures and lots of discount offers will make users flock to their website.
There are millions of websites today doing just that. And none of them are particularly successful. While a visually attractive website certainly helps with conversions, it's not the key component driving user experience.
Something that I've seen in the last decade is that websites with an effortless checkout process, detailed product descriptions and reviews, clear calls-to-action and clutter-free navigation succeed more often than those that simply look good. That's because most users who land on your site are apparently looking to buy something. Sure, they're looking for good deals. But what makes users come back again and again - even if they aren't buying anything - is arguably a smooth experience.
The thing about user experience is that it's more than just the aesthetic feel of your online store. It's about building trust by being real and transparent about who you are as a business and what you stand for.
Having your contact details readily available or sharing your mission statement can generally help your visitors feel reassured about interacting with you on your platform, making them want to connect with you more often. You could have the cleanest, most unique-looking online store in the world but if it's not functional, you're not going to get any return customers on there. And if we're being honest, it can sometimes get complicated.
There are so many things that tie into creating a seamless user experience that ends in conversion - quality content, optimised images, engaging stories and such. But at the end of the day, every business is different and only you can decide what feels authentic to you and what aligns best with your customers' values and expectations.
Leveraging Data Analytics for Informed Decision Making
Far too many ecommerce businesses clutch at whatever numbers they can. They become obsessed by “the stats”. But it’s not the volume of information - or the fact you have any information at all - that makes a difference.
Anyone can have spreadsheets full of elaborate graphs. The key is in what you choose to track and how you interpret it. A spreadsheet full of meaningless information is nearly always not a good thing, no matter what your parents told you about getting straight A’s.
When I first started using analytics, I thought it was as simple as clicking on some report and seeing if my numbers were “up” or “down”. Every day I would look at these numbers on Shopify or Google Analytics and have no idea what they meant or what I was supposed to do about them.
You see, these platforms are set up so you can measure everything, but that doesn’t mean everything is useful or important. Often it’s a matter of choosing only one or two things to look at because it means something in your specific context. Let me give you an example: early on, we decided we wanted to measure the percentage of people who added something to their cart and then completed a purchase.
This was simply out of curiosity - at this point, we didn’t even know why we were measuring this number. But as we got more sophisticated in our approach, we started to realise that we could do something with this information. Once you are tracking this number, changes to your marketing campaigns or website will affect it - for better or worse. But don’t get overwhelmed by the options available when it comes to data analytics - most people are not professional analysts for a reason.
Start with understanding conversion rates (how many people buy compared to those who visit your website), repeat customer rates (how many people come back again) and average order value (how much people spend on average). These are useful numbers that will help you make better decisions around where your money goes, how your website works and whether your customers are happy coming back again.
Effective Marketing Tactics for Rapid Growth
Here’s the thing: most people still think marketing is a bit of a numbers game. Slap enough money on ads, and sales should spike. Right.
If you’re an ecommerce business wanting fast growth, that thinking couldn’t be more wrong. Yes, marketing can definitely help you get your name out there. But when you don’t have robust processes in place to support those ad dollars, well. That’s all it’ll really do.
What brands need to realise is that modern marketing is all about helping customers find your solution to their problem rather than pushy selling tactics. The focus has shifted from product-centric communication to customer-centric storytelling, and the best way to do this is to build marketing on the foundation of brand values and trust. When customers see that your messaging ties in with your product or service consistently across touchpoints, they’re more likely to see you as authentic and trustworthy.
It sounds simple but it’s actually quite complex because authenticity isn’t something you can fake. You’ve got to actually believe in what you’re saying and offer something valuable for consumers (not just another white labelled product). Take time to go back to basics - what problem are you solving for customers, who are these people, where are they spending time online, what are their interests. Answering these questions lets you find better ways to reach them through methods like content marketing (blog posts), email marketing (campaigns), social media, and paid advertising.
Whether you choose one or all of these methods depends on your objectives and audience behaviour but try not to get caught up with jargon or trends like “influencer” or “affiliate” marketing. Remember - your messaging has got be on point if it’s going out through someone else’s channel too. And everything must flow smoothly across different platforms so that when people go from reading an Instagram post about sustainable skincare ingredients to visiting your website.
The story remains consistent and authentic throughout.
Scaling Operations and Managing Logistics Efficiently
People seem to think scaling is about the grand gestures, that it's all about moving massive volumes of stock and doing so overnight. There seems to be a prevailing mindset that, if you can fairly do something at a small scale, you can just put more people on the job and you'll end up with a larger operation - same quality. That's only somewhat true - but it only works in some situations.
In my experience, it's more like finding what already works for you at your current scale and then tweaking it until it matches your business's new requirements. Perhaps tweaking isn't the right word. It's less like adjusting dials and more like overhauling entire systems from the bottom up.
And while some models can scale easily, most require some level of restructuring before they can truly work well for larger operations. There's also this whole business of logistics that's, well, sort of complicated in a way that's fairly universal but also entirely unique to your business. More or less. Let me explain - there's plenty of structure around how logistics should work from an industry perspective, but no two businesses will ever have identical logistical needs because every business is at least a little bit different.
It might feel overwhelming at first but I find it's all a matter of keeping an open mind about the process. If you find yourself getting stuck in terms of ideas or approach or execution (or all three), it might be time to reach out for help. There are experts in the field for a reason and they're always happy to lend their expertise so your journey is much smoother than it would otherwise be. Sort of.