You can't be Amazonian - so don't try to be!

1st March 2019

You can’t be Amazonian - so don’t try to be!

Like the mighty river or the fearsome race of woman warriors, the name Amazon can strike fear into the soul of any smaller e-commerce business.

From their massive range of products to the development of the Kindle store, and the Prime membership with its array of benefits, there’s no doubt that it is a company that does things well.  Things that other organisations couldn’t hope to emulate.  

But remember that it took years for Amazon to become profitable.  With a massive focus on growth and huge investments, it suffered nearly two decades of losses.  Most organisations just don’t have the resources to weather that.  

You can't hope to compete, so don’t try to.  Instead, differentiate your e-commerce store by being great at what Amazon can’t do so well.

Look at ways to add value

Amazon may be big on scale, but they are not big on added value.  Link product manuals, specification sheets, ‘how to’ videos, blogs and so on to your site.  Really examine what would add value for your visitor and encourage them to browse your site rather than Amazon, and focus on building a library of assets that they can’t readily access elsewhere.
 
Show your expertise

If you stock tens of thousands of products you can’t hope to be an expert in them all.  If you are focused on a smaller number, you can be.  An objective ‘pros and cons’ section, expert reviews and some FAQs will position your site as one where visitors can tap into expert knowledge. This in turn builds trust with your buyers – and when trust is high, people are more likely to buy.

Can you be unique?

If you can design and create your own products, then no-one else can sell them!  It’s not an easy route but if you have an original idea you can create a very successful and profitable e-business with a small number of products. 

Or can you be niche?

If you can’t be unique, the next best thing is to be niche.  If you look up ‘curtain rails’ there are nearly 600 options on Amazon, however if you google ‘curtain rail specialist’ and found a company offering a small selection of beautifully designed poles, including options for ‘problem’ windows along with an advice and fitting service.  If you have a tricky bay window to dress, where would you rather shop?

Connect to customer values

Research your target audience and tap into what is important to them.  Can you make them feel good about supporting a cause that is important to them through buying from you?  A great example of this is Toms.  Order a pair of shoes online and they give a pair to a child in a third world country.  Buy a pair of sunglasses and someone in need gets an eye test.  Customers feel that they are supporting these amazing schemes every time they purchase.  

Reward loyalty

You can encourage shoppers to return to you again and again by creating a customer loyalty programme.  This could be, for example, a system where you get a point for every £x spent that can then be redeemed online, or money off a future purchase. It gives customers another reason to come back to your site.

Be fantastic at customer service

Poor customer service is by far the biggest reason that customers change suppliers.  Ensure you treat your customers as individual people and give them a service that goes above and beyond what they expect.  Make use of all the tools available to you – live chat for real time support for example. And then, of course, make sure you publicise the great reviews for your service that you collect.

So, to conclude, Amazon's scale and pricing power may make it impossible to compete directly with them.  But it’s still entirely possible to succeed as an e-commerce business.  Identify your customers, give them what they want, treat them as individuals and ensure they have an amazing customer experience.  Get all that right, and you’ll be able to build a loyal following.