11 Ways to Set a New Ecommerce Site Apart From the Competition
As a copywriter who works in a team with other SEO and Web design professionals, I am often the starting point for a client project.
When a new client is looking to open an online retail store, one of the first things I do is start to learn everything I can about the company from the client. Usually they’ll point me towards a few websites they like. But when I ask, “Tell me what’s different about your company?” too often the answer is, “Well, nothing really”.
“So why would anyone want to buy anything from you?” would be my next question. In other words, if there are already plenty of other companies operating online in your industry, what is it that makes your company an attractive alternative?
Before you start pondering different features and colors for your website, find what you do (or can do) differently from the websites you’ll be competing with. This will be your unique selling proposition (USP). It is the basis for your differentiation, and it can be translated into your competitive advantage online.
To help you get started thinking about your company’s competitive advantage, see if any of these aspects are particularly important for your industry and if your company does any of these things really well already.
Products
If you carry a wide selection of related products, you can make a customer’s complete purchase easier. For example, a mattress reseller that also offers sheets and comforters may find an advantage in promoting the complete package. This advantage meets the demands of consumers who are looking to save time and make shopping easy.
Perhaps you offer more brands than most of the other online stores. Hard-to-find brands, imported brands…all available at your store. Perhaps you offer fewer brands – if you cater to a specific audience, your advantage may be that of a specialist. Is your store THE place to buy mountain bikes? Why?
If you sell a product that offers a quality advantage, be sure to specify exactly how the quality is higher. This is where it’s important to meet the need of the online shopper for information. The claim of quality has to be backed up with hard facts when you’re talking about items that will be purchased without even seeing or touching them.
Customer Niche
Maybe you cater to an exclusive set of customers, such as senior citizens who are first-time computer buyers. In this case, you’ll have an easier job figuring out the needs of your main audience, in contrast to those who serve a wide variety of people, who need to consider the needs of each segment.
Rarely is serving everyone a competitive advantage in your marketing message. The reason? It’s usually an individual who is making the purchase, and that individual has specific needs and desires. If a new graduate is looking for a dining room table, they have different concerns from a third-time home buyer looking to furnish a 3,000-square-foot house. Now, that’s not to say that there aren’t business advantages in appealing to multiple segments. It’s just that it will not likely provide you with a strong USP here.
Inventory
Have you ever found a product online that you really, really wanted to buy, but it was temporarily out of stock? If your inventory systems can ensure that never happens, you can achieve an advantage over other online stores that run out of stock.
And even if you don’t have that control, you can think of ways to make that out of stock frustration a little less painful for your customers, potentially creating a competitive advantage. For example, offer to notify them when you have more of the product – and give a discount if they sign up to be notified or throw in a free item. You’ll make your customer happy that you’ve acknowledged the inconvenience and lessened the effort required to make the purchase later.
Price
Of course, offering the lowest price can provide incentive for customers to buy from you. Shopping online gives the consumer the opportunity to check out prices without visiting multiple retail locations. And if they’re shopping on price, then they’re not going to pay much attention to everything else, like your fantastic web design and fancy logo. Make your prices easy to find.
Including pricing information is important for most consumer industries, even if the decision is not price-driven. This is due to the great amount of research consumers conduct online before making a purchase they expect full information, and not including prices with your product descriptions is letting them down.
Shipping
Shipping is required if you sell products. But how can you make it easier or faster for your customers to receive their purchases? You could offer faster shipping, free shipping, auto-ship, or local in-store purchase options. You can also allow customers to save their shipping information to make it easier to order from you next time.
Keep in mind that shipping is one of those things that has to be executed properly or it can lose you future sales. At a minimum, ensure that products are shipped to withstand breakage. In fact, if damage en route is a concern that plagues your industry, non-first-time buyers will see value in any extra care you take during shipping.
Location
Online, as in your retail outlet, location can impact sales. That’s where SEO comes in, helping you achieve that prime high-traffic spot on the Web. Since consumers rarely look beyond the second page, ranking in the top few spots can help improve your sales and conversions just because you’re there at the moment when someone is looking for what you offer.
Service
Every retail store owner likes to think they offer great service. But it’s not enough to say it – you have to show it.
Great service starts with your customers’ needs. What are the most important considerations of your audiences? This may depend on their age, occupation, how they use your product, and much more.
There are a few things you can do to provide great service to all of your customers through your website. Make your site so easy to use that you won’t lose potential customers to frustration. While this sounds like a basic tenet of any website, you’d be surprised how many site owners unintentionally forego ease of use in favor of fancy design. Take a look at your competing sites – is this an area where you can achieve an advantage now? Or are operators in your industry already following best practices for usability?
A couple ways you can provide great service online include:
A super-easy-to-use site search function.
Logical grouping of products according to how customers search for them.
Plenty of information on your products (how to use them, how they fit into the lives of your customers, care and cleaning, maintenance, comparison information, and customer reviews, etc.)
Make your order system easy, with fewer steps.
Offer options for storing payment and shipping information so customers don’t have to type it in again for subsequent purchases.
Offer multiple payment and order options.
Provide regular, personalized newsletters with useful information.
Include multiple ways for a customer to contact your store.
Many of the other items in this list also contribute to your service, such as your guarantee and product selection. In fact, everything you say and offer on your site should be a testament to your service, for a true customer focus.
Guarantee
What types of guarantees are your competitors offering? Are you able to offer terms that can give a customer more peace of mind? You can attain an advantage online through customer-oriented return policies, low-price guarantees, on-time shipping guarantees, guaranteed service results, etc.
Staff
Though your online customers don’t interact with your staff they way they do at your local retail locations, you can still carve an advantage for yourself through staff that is knowledgeable, friendly, and prompt.
But keep in mind that saying you employ experts or that everyone on your staff has at least 15 years experience, for example, will get you nowhere. You have to let the customer see it for themselves. Think of all the ways you can convey this online:
Prompt, friendly email responses that are well thought out.
A toll-free number that gives customers direct access to your staff’s expertise.
An interactive device that lets customers ask questions and receive responses immediately.
Question and answer sections, product guides and expert articles that demonstrate your staff’s expertise and help make it easily accessible to customers.
History and Reputation
Is there anything unique about the progression of your store’s development? Being the first to introduce an idea or serve a market can boost credibility and reputation. Maybe your background in a related industry gives you an advantage. Sometimes a little-known fact or contribution your company has made to the industry can give you an advantage when it’s brought to light.
Brand Image
Let’s face it – we don’t all have the brand equity of Nike or Lego. But does your store have a distinct image that its existing customers are passionate about? Sometimes a company has a very strong personality driven by the vision and opinions of the top management. You’ll want to foster that passion online with interactive tools that let your customers talk about you, such as forums, reviews, and links to blogs. Harness the power of word-of-mouth and viral marketing to let your customers make your brand even more well known.
By now, you’re probably thinking of a few things your local store already does well. The aspects you choose to focus on conveying through your website will depend on your industry and what’s important to your customers. Maybe there are several factors that together will make you the attractive choice for the consumers searching for the products you offer online. Talk to your copywriter today about how to incorporate your USP into your new website for a competitive advantage.
Super secret special tricks will get my site to the top faster. These are the things no one will tell you about because they want to keep the information to themselves.
