5 Tips to Help Your Ecommerce Site Compete with the Big Boys

amazon is the largartest internet based company in the U.S. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon.com

5 Tips to Help Your Ecommerce Site Compete with the Big Boys

Being an entrepreneur in today's overwhelmed business world can be difficult, regardless of the industry, and

unless you have experience like the corporate officers of big companies, the journey can be sort of hit-and- miss.

One way to approach business is ecommerce, internet based sales. Some businesses are using ecommerce to

expand on the services they already provide while other businesses are completely online. To compete with big

businesses, use these 5 ways to improve ecommerce guidelines, and develop them into a unique personal style.


1. Allow Contact

Customers have questions about products, prices, comparisons, and sometimes they just want help making a

decision. Simply putting contact information inside a footer at the bottom of a website helps if not wanting to

dedicate an entire section. Common methods of contact include postal mail, phone, email, live chat. Postal mail

tends to be the slowest form of communication among today's technology, but it is necessary when shipping

products, handling returns, issuing checks, relaying confidential documents, and if customers really prefer a hands-

on method of communication, they can write letters. Even today, postal mail is relevant. Phone contact maintains

the personal aspect of being voice-to- voice, knowing a person is, or is not, speaking to you, the pace of the

conversation tends to be speedy, so less time is occupied, and this is the most common type of customer service.

Email is handy in the sense it provides visual copy, and it can be handled by a small team, sometimes one person,

but it can be tedious to maintain when inboxes become full, so sometimes email is reserved for important system

messages like invoices, confirmations, shipping status, rather than general customer service conversations. Live

chat is an emerging method with the major upside being the visual that prevents miscommunications because both

parties can read exactly what is being said, and the conversation can change speeds as necessary. Choosing a

method of customer service depends on the business, and often times the available human resources determine

your customer service handling methods.

2. Show Pictures

Using pictures to quickly display products sets each item apart from the others, and customers can easily see a

major description of the product without spending time reading. Make sure your pictures are appropriate to the

item. Use good angles that show the entire item. Avoid using distracting backgrounds by cropping the item out

with a photo editor. If customers cannot see what they are buying, they are likely to go to a local store where they

can walk in to see the product in person, or they will go to a website that offers the description they need.


3. Describe Products

A good title over each product can set a proper first impression while making browsing easier to customers. Also,

include an extended product description that can be technical, or persuasive. When there is no product information

at all, the customer is in the dark about the product. A simple description at least describes the products physical

features to address any discrepancies about what the product is. Some extra things to include are its capabilities,

parts, installation process, warranty. Providing thorough information about products can provide customers with

reassurance, allow them to compare items, and even direct them straight to what they are looking for, not to

mention save the business time in managing returns, complaints, exchanges because customers order the right

products the first time.


4. Organize Layouts

A neatly setup website will increase page views, and more page views typically means more sells. By improving

visibility, customers can scan through pages quickly with less stress, and they will want to visit more of your

pages, simply because of the attractive appearance. Some general rules to keep in mind are: straight aisles with

equal spacing, good display sizes for easy viewing, use of logos/symbols, categorized navigation links within a main

header/sidebar, and colors/themes that are nice to look at. If customers enjoy viewing your site, and they have

fun, chances are those customers will return. Appearance is not everything, but it can change a person's opinion

about your store's products.


5. Price Appropriately

Supply and demand is important. If overpriced products can easily be found somewhere else, the store with the

high prices better have a good reason to be marked-up. Often times higher prices can relate to the store owner's

expertise, elaborate packaging, good customer service, extended return/exchange policies.

Keeping up with major retailers that might be seen on television can be difficult, but it doesn't have to be. Use

those retailer's websites to learn their business practices. Read their mission statements to see how they focus

their business plans. Check out their customer service, pictures, product descriptions, website appearance, and

prices. Offer a personal experience that the big stores are not capable of providing.



Jessica Kane is a professional blogger who has worked in eCommerce for the last five years. She currently writes

for Rakuten Super Logistics and recommends them for all your product fulfillment needs to further your success.

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