Alright, let’s get it out in the open, not everyone can be a big fish, as vast as the world is there just isn’t enough space in customers minds for everyone to be a huge household name. I’m here today to tell you why that isn’t such a bad thing, and why in fact, not being big can play to your advantage. Sure, big brands have large loyal customer bases, a good chunk of repeat customers and more, but the bigger they are… you know the rest.
So, you’re a small ecommerce business, you don’t have the presence of giants like Amazon, but you don’t need it. Small means agile, adaptable, with room to grow and do more, innovate and advance. Here’s some insights from yours truly on what small businesses can do that the big guys can’t handle anymore:
👀 Personalisation — paying attention to customers as an individual
The big guys in ecommerce fall back on data-points and customer profiles for this, compiling product titles in an email with “Hi Rowan”, much like an email I received from Amazon recently with a 250 character subject line, we can do better than that. Email your best customers with something really pertinent to them, show you care by limiting your individual email campaigns to a select few interested in the same products, try and address any concerns that might be stopping them from hitting “buy now”, someone is much more likely to read something that gives them a human feel over an email that is clearly automated.
The human factor is key here, your personalisation shouldn’t be overbearing to the point that it’s noticeably automated, which is why the groups you send emails to should be small, refined and looking for the same things, that way it’s much more likely that they’ll engage.
👫 Being human — don’t build barriers between you and your customers
Staying human is incredibly important for a brand, the more your customers feel that they have a personal connection with your business, the more likely they are to buy from you & remain a loyal customer beyond the first purchase. Having a person operating your live chat rather than an automated menu is a big step here, if your live chat has personality, can speak as a human and be relatable, you’re already leaps and bounds ahead of Big eCommerce, their size means they can’t handle the massive volume of live chat use they would receive, so it’s good to use this human touch while size allows for it.
Additionally, having a human social media presence over a blunt and corporate tone is a great way to attract attention to your company, use your company page to comment on relevant posts with useful info, have a bit of banter with your customers, post the latest and greatest additions to your online store (perhaps even give them a discount code) and overall get in touch with your customers.
🛒🇬🇧 Home grown — home is where your cart is
Be unapologetically proud of being a british business, make sure your customers know where you come from. This seems especially true of the British public, but all around the world people love buying home-grown, home-made products, even more-so after 2020, everyone wants to support local & british business, so let them know! Are your products designed here in the UK? Manufactured here? Both? Appeal to the patriotic side of your customers, even if your products themselves aren’t bearing the flag, customers feel better knowing they’re supporting their local area rather than a huge corporate entity.
🙄 Be creative — everyone else is so boring
Yes, I’ve really hammered this one home haven’t I? You aren’t a household name! Use it to your advantage! Play around! Have fun with your advertising, give it a playful flair, test out the creative you weren’t sure about, see how it’s received and you might just be surprised. Brands these days, at least in my opinion, are far too stuck in their ways, unwilling to try new things for fear of them not going perfectly, but who got anywhere without taking a few creative risks? At the end of the day, win or lose you’ll discover more about your customers based on how it’s received.
All said and done, there is plenty that small businesses can do to thrive in the vast online environment that plays to strengths only they can utilize. It’s through realising these strengths that we can also work towards new and innovative approaches to marketing that can captivate our customers like never before. I for one would love to hear about what your business is doing in the digital world, feel free to let me know at jason@befoundbechosen.co.uk.
