These days, the competition on the market is way more severe than it used to be, regardless of the type and size of the business you are running. But, when it comes to ecommerce – the competition is not strong – it is cutthroat, and that is why it is practically impossible to maintain relevant unless you have implemented some clever tactics.

In fact, according to a research conducted by Forrester, we can expect that online sales in the US will reach more than 500 billion USD in the next few years. What this means in practice is that you need to do everything in your power to stay competitive on the market.

Naturally, the goal of every business owner is to increase their profits and their customer base, and the best way to achieve that is by always being one step ahead of your competitors. However, that is not an easy task and you cannot expect success to come overnight.

You need to stay patient, make smart moves, be creative and innovative, and in this article, we will provide you with some insightful tips to help you crush your competition!

Use your competitors as an example

It is said that the best way to learn is from others’ mistakes. Therefore, it is advisable to do a detailed research of your major competitors and find out what didn’t work out for them in order not to make similar mistakes yourself.

On the other hand, you can always learn something good from your competitors nevertheless – visit their websites to get some ideas on what your e-store might be lacking. This doesn’t by any means imply that you should steal their ideas, but rather use them as an example of what you can improve.

Focus on one niche

Many ecommerce business owners make a huge mistake when they are just starting – they want to offer just about anything they can to their customers. Not only that this doesn’t pay off at all in the long run, but your customers won’t be sure what your expertise is.

It is way better to focus on just one niche which will be established based on your target audience’s wants and needs, and to offer unique and carefully designed products or services which will meet their requirements.

Improve your supply chain

The better your supply chain, the greater the odds that you will beat your competition. That is why you need to be extra careful when choosing your wholesale distributor, and once you find the one that suits your business best, go an extra mile to establish a strong and trustworthy relationship with them.

Offer top quality customer support

It is already a widely known fact that you cannot have happy and loyal customers unless you provide them with exceptional customer support. Many e-stores that have great products quickly fail because they don’t put enough emphasis on this aspect.

With so many technological solutions available nowadays, such as CRM software systems, chatbots, and live chat, there are no good excuses not to make the best use of them. You can get custom ecommerce software that fits your needs or a ready-made solution – these tools are easy to implement and use, and are a proven method for top quality customer service.

Provide your customers with different kinds of “rewards”

Every customer feels more valued when they are rewarded for their loyalty. Offering special promotions, discounts, giveaways, or any other kind of incentive that you can think of to your most loyal customers is guaranteed to motivate them to remain loyal to your organization.

Make your products even better

No matter how good your products are, there is always room for improvements. Make sure that your products are something that will differentiate your e-store from the vast number of ecommerce businesses.

Try to always offer something authentic, rather than designing products which are already available on the market. In addition, your goal should be to constantly be in touch with what your leads and customers want, and you can easily find that out through engaging surveys.  

Keep up with the latest trends

It goes without saying that you can’t make it in today’s digital world unless you are keeping up with the latest technological trends. While some people are hesitant when it comes to investing in new technological solutions, these tools absolutely pay off in the long run.

According to a research conducted by Innoppl, 65 percent of sales representatives who have been using software systems such as CRM have managed to reach their quotas. Moreover, such software can help you get better analytics, speed up data collection processes, and get an insight into customer trends.

Make the use of social media platforms

Being active on social networks such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter not only gives you a chance to promote your products, interact more with your audience and show them that you care, but it can serve as a great way to gather more information about what people want, so that you can advance your products and services accordingly.

Be careful about your prices

When you are putting prices on your products, make sure to be realistic and not to overcharge your customers. However, this doesn’t mean that you should offer lowest prices on the market nevertheless – just ensure that they match the quality of products. In many cases, people are willing to pay more for something that is guaranteed to be top quality.

Improve your ecommerce website’s SEO

The best way to attract more visitors to your e-store is by improving your website’s SEO. The process of SEO refers to enhancing the visibility of your website in organic search engine results and is an irreplaceable way to gain more visitors and potential customers.

In order to do that, you need to come up with relevant keywords, make use  of internal links, optimize your website’s loading speed, and avoid creating duplicate content by any means. Creative and engaging product descriptions and articles like how to guides on your blog also fall under good SEO practices.

These 10 techniques are guaranteed to help you become a top player in the ecommerce industry and efficiently beat your competitors!