Ecommerce is king in today’s economy. There has never been a better time to sell your products online. Millions of consumers have learned to shop via smartphone, and putting your products up for sale on the internet has never been easier; online shopping platforms, marketplaces, and auction sites have eliminated the technology barrier that prevented many from selling online in the past.
That is the good news. But of course, there is a catch.
The bad news is that ecommerce is highly competitive. As the stakes have gone up and the barriers to entry have gone down, the online marketplace has been flooded with merchants selling products. So, how can you gain a competitive edge?
This article will discuss three tips for succeeding in the competitive world of e-commerce:
1. Branding. Branding makes your business and products more appealing to consumers.
2. Omni-channel selling. Selling on multiple platforms provides more accessibility and exposure of your business to customers.
3. Go international. Selling to foreign countries expands your target market substantially.
What is your brand? When shoppers encounter your trademark and trade dress, what thoughts, words, feelings, and ideas come to their minds?
By building a strong brand, you can make your product more desirable to customers. The best brand-building strategy is to simply make great products that consumers love and want to buy over and over.
But don’t overlook the importance of marketing. Develop a strong social media and internet presence so consumers become familiar with your business and can easily find you. A unique trademark, an eye-catching logo, a distinct stylization, or a clever slogan can go a long way toward making your brand stick out in a positive way.
Another way to boost your online sales is to use more than one shopping platform. Don’t be a single-channel seller; be an omnichannel seller. Buyers will shop where it’s most convenient – and sometimes, that isn’t your website.
Selling on channels such as Google Shopping, Etsy, eBay, Instagram, etc. puts your products in front of more potential customers than restricting your sales to your website or only one of those platforms. Branch out. Diversify. Meet shoppers where they already are.
A huge opportunity awaits you internationally. By expanding your customer base around the world, you dramatically increase your chances of success.
In the past, cross-border ecommerce was intimidating to many. No one wants to deal with the hassle and confusion of importing a product into a foreign country—HS codes, customs duties, and import taxes are enough to make any merchant stay in the “domestic only“ sales lane. But today, there are tools that can do the work for you. You don’t need to spend your time classifying products and calculating duties, taxes, and fees. Using auto-classify and landed cost calculation tools will allow you to easily expand internationally and create a smooth cross-border customer experience.
Going international on your own can be a tedious, difficult process whether you sell low or high volumes to one or more foreign countries. Zonos helps with that; in fact, Zonos handles it all for you.
Zonos® is a SaaS company driven by the mission to build trust in global trade by creating simple software solutions for international commerce that everyone can use. Zonos is a technology company, not a shipping company, whose innovative technology is designed to help businesses build trust with their international consumers by providing cost transparency for duties & taxes, global compliance management, and language/currency localization.
Our software also gives online retailers the freedom to use any shipping carrier, custom rates, or platform. Although we primarily work with ecommerce businesses, we also partner with logistics companies, development shops, and trade organizations. Get in touch with us to find the right solution for your international business.
In addition to duties, taxes, and fees, international shipping costs tend to be high; with Whiplash, you can choose the best rates for your cross-border shipments. Their SmartRate Selection tool enables merchants to compare shipping rates between carriers in real-time to create a shipping strategy that optimizes cost and speed.
With Zonos and Whiplash, you can be transparent and strategic about the landed costs for your international customers.
Ecommerce is booming right now and not seizing this opportunity is likely keeping your business from reaching its full potential. Likewise, if you have an ecommerce business, but are not taking the steps to ensure you are reaching as many customers as possible, you are doing your business a disservice. So, to recap, here is what you need to do to help your business flourish in the ecommerce space:
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