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In the early days of eCommerce it was great. One might be one of the few companies providing a certain product. It might have been possible to have a great market share and few rivals online. Then suddenly everything changed. One day some marketing research was made, and the market was saturated. What happened?
Well, for one thing, let us not forget that the internet is more and more accessible, as globalization has taken its toll. The business of eCmmerce is being supported by digital marketers whose sole purpose is to navigate and improve your business online. So, how can you take advantage of that? Read more below.
CONSTANT CHANGE
Let’s start with one of the eCommerce giants — Amazon. The Amazon FBA (Fulfilled By Amazon) community has experienced several disruptions recently. It can be really helpful to look online for help with overcoming these restrictions as the experts are able to provide more technical details about how the eMarket has changed. It is beneficial when websites also give you the big picture, enabling you to learn about others who are encountering problems too, such as Amazon SFP sellers. This article will identify some more of the challenges that have arisen. They are real and they have to be resolved.
Technology has mushroomed, and change is definitely here to stay. Companies may be pushing their presence on Instagram or Twitter. Barely a day passes without learning that one platform is dwindling and another is rising up in its place. Someone may share posts to Facebook groups one day, only to discover the algorithm has changed the next. People may be doing the same thing as yesterday, but are now reaching fewer people. One day companies are engaging on social media with lots of people using posts containing text and photos. The next, it is discovered everyone engages more with video content. The game plan has to be changed, and quickly.
TikTok was originally a lip-syncing music app, but it grew into a platform for sharing short video content. People are now saying this is the one to watch, as its increasing popularity may mean that businesses get on board and advertise here. Some opportunities cannot be ignored without incurring a risk to the business. If an organization doesn’t go with these changes, it can be left behind. What is cutting edge today can easily become a dinosaur tomorrow.
GAINING SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWERS
Every company is expected to have a presence here. Sometimes companies gain followers on Instagram at an encouraging rate, yet the number of views and likes don’t increase with it. The problem is more and more people follow more and more pages, so their timelines are swamped with tons of material. Only the posts they regularly engage with show at the top. Similar is happening with blogging. It’s great to have a presence on blogging sites like Medium and to gain new followers. This can be illusory, however. Some people follow you first in the hopes that you will follow them back. Then you are both connected — but neither party is reading each others’ posts!
PEOPLE EXPECT MORE AND MORE
Potential customers expect businesses to have a presence on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. That means creating regular branded material – with details of online catalogues and new product releases. This all takes time and, needless to say, not everyone who views these posts will buy the products.
What does the public expect from a website: just the products and the prices, surely? No. They want to see product reviews. They want a Questions and Answers section. They want videos displaying how to use your products. They want a helpful after service. They want to have access to their account too: has their money been taken and when will their item be delivered?
A more recent trend has been for people to check the delivery and refund policies. They want the product quickly and need to know they can return it if they are not satisfied, otherwise, they will go elsewhere. The dilemma is that if a company doesn’t don’t cater to their ever-increasing demands, people will simply walk.
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MARKETING
It’s hard to believe there was once a time where a company might be the only entity providing a product. People had to come to you, and take or leave what you had to offer. Nowadays organizations have to spend time and money making their product stand out from the rest. The business’s voice has to be heard above a clamoring crowd.
Companies may have created a fantastic website, but work is done on SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) it may stay at the bottom of the pile. Someone needs to discover the words people are searching for online – and they may not be what people think. What are these keywords, and are they plastered all over the website pages?
A lot of advice can come your way about marketing, and a lot of voices will be heard:. ‘You need to read into affiliate marketing and display ads. Set up email marketing and don’t forget guerilla marketing either!’ It’s hard to be on top of so many different traffic routes.
YOUR RIVALS
If a company is wise it will be studying its rivals and learning from their successes and mistakes. Unfortunately, they will be studying your company too. They might even name and brand their product to look similar to yours – and they might be cheaper! A business might find an amazing niche in the online market, only to have ten other companies leap into the gap within days.
There are solutions to everything, but as one can see it will involve lots of time and work. The positive side is that if a company succeeds with several channels, it can multiply its sales. Each challenge that is resolved involves finding a way to reach more people. That’s a good thing. Businesses can stay up with the pack, or even be ahead of them. Technology can be a hindrance, but it can also be a help – the very tool that can be harnessed to a business’s success.
