Learn How to Build an Ecommerce Brand
How To Build An Ecommerce Brand
The beginners playbook. If you have never sold anything online or you have sold some things this will help you sell a lot of things online while building a strong reputable brand in the process. When you build a brand you are building long term revenue. It does not happen overnight and I need to put that disclaimer up so we can set our expectations.
Extended Learning
You can break down some focus areas into four P’s and 4 E’s. See below :
- Product
- Price
- Promotion and
- Placement
and the four E’s are:
- Engagement
- Experience
- Exclusivity and
- Emotion
Everyone wants to Sell High Ticket Products. But It’s Not That Simple.
– Today You Learn How
The Product Riches Are In The Niches. Start Identifying Opportunity.
– Today You Learn Where To Look
Building a brand in the e-commerce world is a multifaceted journey. Whether you’re just starting out or have some experience, these key topics will guide you toward establishing a strong and memorable brand presence:
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Understanding E-commerce Branding:
- What is e-commerce branding?
- The importance of branding for your online business.
- How branding contributes to customer loyalty and trust.
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Defining Your Brand Identity:
- Crafting your brand’s mission, vision, and values.
- Creating a unique brand personality that resonates with your target audience.
- Designing a compelling brand logo, color scheme, and typography.
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Market Research and Audience Segmentation:
- Conducting thorough market research to understand your niche.
- Identifying your ideal target audience and customer personas.
- Tailoring your brand message to address specific customer needs.
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Product Selection and Development:
- Choosing products that align with your brand identity and audience.
- Ensuring high-quality and unique offerings.
- Incorporating your brand’s values into product development.
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Creating a Distinctive Online Store:
- Selecting an appropriate e-commerce platform.
- Designing a visually appealing and user-friendly website.
- Optimizing the shopping experience for seamless navigation and checkout.
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Content Marketing and Storytelling:
- Developing a content strategy that showcases your brand’s story.
- Sharing behind-the-scenes insights and narratives to connect with customers.
- Leveraging blogs, videos, and social media to engage your audience.
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Social Media and Influencer Partnerships:
- Leveraging social media platforms to amplify your brand’s reach.
- Building a strong social media presence with consistent branding.
- Collaborating with influencers to expand your brand’s visibility.
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Customer Experience and Relationship Building:
- Prioritizing exceptional customer service and support.
- Engaging with customers through personalized interactions.
- Soliciting and valuing customer feedback to improve your brand.
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Online Advertising and Marketing Campaigns:
- Designing effective ad campaigns that align with your brand’s message.
- Utilizing pay-per-click (PPC) advertising and social media ads.
- Measuring campaign performance and adjusting strategies accordingly.
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Brand Loyalty and Community Building:
- Building a loyal customer base through exceptional experiences.
- Creating a sense of community through forums, groups, or loyalty programs.
- Encouraging user-generated content and reviews to showcase brand advocacy.
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Analytics and Data-Driven Decisions:
- Monitoring website and social media analytics to track brand performance.
- Using data insights to make informed decisions and improvements.
- Measuring the impact of branding efforts on conversions and engagement.
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Continuous Evolution and Adaptation:
- Staying adaptable to market trends and consumer preferences.
- Evolving your brand strategy as your business grows.
- Continuously refining your brand message and identity.
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Legal Considerations and Intellectual Property:
- Trademarking your brand name and logo to protect your identity.
- Understanding copyright and intellectual property laws for your content.
- Ensuring compliance with e-commerce regulations and privacy policies.
Mastering these key topics in e-commerce branding will empower you to build a strong and lasting brand presence that resonates with your target audience, fosters brand loyalty, and contributes to the long-term success of your online business
Building Business Systems
Every e-commerce brand owner that I know will agree with me that starting and running an e-commerce brand is tough. For one person it can be a tedious task but you always want to build a brand that becomes big enough to build teams behind the brand.
If COVID didn’t give you an indication that the future of work is remote then I will reinforce that notion now. Teams need guidance and instruction, you can’t physically do this for everyone all the time so you need to use SOPs.
I’ve found that not working in the same room as my team that I need to be proactive and thinking ahead of their needs instead of reactive to what they need.
To run operations smoothly I’ve always created Standard Operating Procedures or SOPs for running my businesses. My thinking is how can I provide enough knowledge for my team to run things if I was on holiday or sadly I was hit by a bus. I’m always thinking of succession planning for my businesses.
Here are some examples of things you can create for your team:
- Create SOPs for various tasks
- Create internal Wiki guides
- Create project boards for new products
- Create policies for brand governance
- Create supporting video guides and explainers using something like Loom
This can range from your posting schedule on social media, to how to order stock. It has to cover the business operations for each team member so that they know what they need to be doing and can explain what they need to do if they encounter any problems in their work.
You can start doing this by recording everything you do in a day for a week or two. Start to organise it in priority of doing, write short descriptions for each thing, provide any links to tools, software or reference explainations.
This is the start of your SOPs.
The goal is for your team members to know how to onboard a new team member and that new team member to know what they need to be doing, where, when and how.
When you invest in these system processes you start to build really high functioning teams in turn increasing your business potential.
I would suggest using project manager software to track these wikis, guides or SOPs with any tasks that are required. You can also track hours inside most PM tools for your team’s time management. I suggest Monday and Notion as the PM tools I use
Using this software you start to build repeatable systems that are the economy of scale for your business. Teaching each team member that a mistake or error is not a bad things but that its an opportunity to improve your processes and solve something once.
The Maths to $1,000,000
You see making $1 million per year with an online business seems overwhelming to most store owners.
But it shouldn’t be. The maths behind a $1M per year business is quite straightforward:
- $83k per month
- Which is $2,767 per day
- Which is 28 customers at $99 each
- Which is 1,400 web visitors per day at a 2% sales conversion.
So the formula is simple.
Grow an audience -> Drive targeted traffic to your store pages -> Convert that traffic -> and repeat the process.
Brand Business Finance
Your brand’s P&L or profit and loss statement should guide your business operations on month-to-month and quarter-to-quarter timelines.
Using your P&L to guide and prioritise your forecasting month to month and quarter to quarter. Looking at what’s driving profit vs cost will give you some insights into what you need to do more of and what to do less of.
- Reduce cost
- Improve profit generators
One source of inspiration for finding new ways to turn a cost centre into a profit generator is how Amazon did this and built a huge moat around their business with the arrival of Amazon Web Services.
Being relentless in your pursuit of profit will give you the fuel to keep the fire burning and the products selling. You have to have a competitive streak to make it in business.
I’ve found it harder in the past to align on my values and the brand’s needs based on a sales mentality. But having built businesses I know it takes work and tenacity to get ahead. You can still make an impact and run a business that leaves the world in a better place while making a profit.
Every business sets targets of xx profit, and to be the most unique at what they do but at the end of the day the more people you can get to buy and experience your brand the more of an impact you will make.
Get to know your numbers and get to know your competitors.