So
you want to become an e-commerce giant like Amazon and Ebay? Let's be
honest, who doesn’t! Take a look at this blog post to find out 6
things we can learn from the top dogs....
1. Personalized
Products
One of
the stand out features on Amazon is how dedicated they are to
providing each visitor with a personalized experience. If you have an
account, you can log in and Amazon will recommend items for you,
depending on your previous searches and purchases. This really helps
to promote more products, sell more stuff, and it's great for
customer service!
In
addition to showing you what you have previously searched for, Ebay
gives you the ability to 'follow' certain categories. Although you
have to put a little bit of the work in yourself, the outcome is
pretty much the same as Amazon. Some may even suggest that it's all
the more personalized because you have opted in to view those
products.
- Personalize
the customer journey
- Offer
recommended items
- Let
the customer choose what they want to see
2.
Feedback is King
Amazon
and Ebay have both mastered this feature and it's a great way to show
how reputable you are as a business. When it comes to feedback on
Amazon, the site invites customers to give the product a review.
There's an option to rate the product from 1 to 5 stars, and leave
your feedback. This really helps future customers decide wether the
product is right for them.
Leaving
feedback on Ebay is a pretty big deal, as both sellers and buyers are
judged on the feedback they receive. Customers are given the chance
to give positive, neutral or negative feedback on the products they
have bought. Just some of the criteria that you are rated on includes
'item as described', 'despatch time' and 'communication'. Ebay even
features the percentage of positive feedback each seller has next to
their username, so others can see how reputable they are.
- Provide
a way that your customers can give feedback
- Divide
it into categories and learn from your findings
- Feature
reviews under products to increase conversions
3. Clear Communication
To
become successful with your online store, you need to have a clear
grasp of communication. You'll notice that if you shop with either of
these e-commerce giants, they will keep you up to date with
confirmation emails, but what else do they offer? Well for a start,
Amazon offers the chance for you to track your package. They will
give you real-time updates including the time that your parcel will
be shipped and if the delivery was successful.
In your
Ebay account you'll find your own email system, so that you can
directly message sellers and buyers if you need to. They also provide
you with a dedicated customer support team who are on hand to contact
if you ever need help with buying, selling, and your account.
- Offer
a dedicated customer support team
- Let
your customers track their package
- Send
out confirmation emails straight away
4. Geo Targeting is a Must
This is
a really useful tool that Ebay have adopted. Geo
Targeting
is basically a method that helps you determine the location of your
visitors by reading their IP address. This is a great idea if you
send your stuff to a variety of different countries as it will let
the customer know whether the item is available to ship to their
location. It can also help with conversions as you can customise your
site by language, currency and local offers, depending on the
location of your visitors.
There
are plenty of tools available on the web to help you integrate geo
targeting on your website so make sure you shop around for the best
one!
- Convert
more customers with Geo Targeting
- Change
the currency and shipping info depending on location
- Target
customers with local offers
5. Be Socially Savvy
Marketing
your business on social media is so important to the success of your
brand, and even e-commerce giants like Ebay and Amazon still have to
make sure they are being savvy on social. Go and take a look at their
social platforms and you'll find a stream of interesting content,
posted daily. Ebay and Amazon are quite similar with their social
sites, using it to promote a good mix of offers and deals. They adopt
a personalized tone, posting seasonal products, and always add an
attractive image with each post – to really grab the readers
attention!
- Make
the most of social media
- Post
daily offers and deals
- Keep
it friendly and add attractive images
6. Persistence is Key
Ebay and
Amazon did not start at the top, and as corny as it may sound, you
should never give up on your goal to become an e-commerce giant. Ebay
started in the living room of founder, Pierre Omidyar, when he sold a
broken laser pointer as a way to test his site. Since its launch in
1995, Ebay has come a long way and today Pierre is worth $8.3
billion. Founded in 1994, Amazon began as a way to sell books and it
wasn’t until 2001 that Amazon finally became profitable. Today, the
founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos is worth $31.5 billion – so it just
goes to show that you shouldn’t give up at the first hurdle!
- Don't
give up on your goal
- Test
different ways and find out what works for you
- Let
us help
with your online store!
If you
need help with becoming an e-commerce giant then go and take a look
at what we can do to help you. We've got some incredible features
to take advantage of, and packages
to suit every budget, so give us a call sometime – we'd love to
hear from you!