This is my journey as an E-commerce Consultant
Consultancy
Did Loki need an army? Or just the power of social media?
08 days
Following Tom Hiddleston on twitter he has smashed the 100K follower record with the help of the hashtag #LokisArmy which begs the question, did he need to bother with bringing Aliens to earth at all?
Sometimes the e-commerce underdog (not quite so full of death and hate I hope) is royally smashed into the floor by those big ‘retailers’ whom your buyers seem to instantly revere as the ‘good guys’
Even though you have been around for a while, carefully understanding your customer base and what they need (not quite subjugation I hope)……along come the ‘Avengers’, or as some know them ‘the outletters’ who completely wade in and become the law in your category.
But don’t forget even the underdog has fans and social media is one way you can get this loyal following. Even if your not the one in the shiny red iron suit.
Twitter is a great way to get quick messages across and start trends. If you are unsure about twitter and how to play it take a look at one of my favourites:
http://twitter.com/#!/mclaren_eshop
Being in F1 they know about fans, what they want and how to get purchases made.
Facebook is great for brand development. Sometimes you have to play the same game as these big branded retailers and carve yourself in the the conciousness of the people. Don’t be afraid to become a brand.
One of my favourite clients is becoming just that: http://www.facebook.com/Passion4italianfashion
Great giveaways, showing who they are as a company because they are a group of dynamic women who source and provide great fashion and discounts unmatched by outlet retailers.
So use the power of social media to create your army and take over your category! You were MADE to RULE!
On the flip side if you are one of the Avengers or eBay outlets if you don’t ‘bring it’ you will be trounced by the younger brothers in your category who could ‘outfox’ you as your swinging around the hammer of power.
It doesn’t always work, being the biggest and strongest…especially if you are late to this party.
Some of the big retailers had the foresight to integrate themselves into online marketplaces from the beginning (thinking of Littlewoods and Schuh) and like Iron Man and the Hulk have had plenty of story lines and incarnations to work with. Already loved by the public before the outlet programme was assembled.
Take a good look at how THEY use social media to engage. Schuh retweet their followers comments on purchases. I’ve had two re-tweets myself so with over 8000 followers (remember e-commerce business don’t have scream-y fan bases like actors so don’t expect 100K from a retailer too often) they still manage to read and retweet.
Social media DOES take time and time is money but with patience and management can be a great way to communicate who you are to customers, as this is what they like.
Try not to become a megalomaniac though and take over the world. Because even though we love twiddleston as an actor of evil guys…in reality balls of hate trying to take over the world by force are not generally a good thing!
Opinion cleansing and fake reviews…..Is there an ‘e-commerce club’ in the UK?
017 days
This seems to be a real problem in my industry. You can only review a company if it is positive and you can’t be critical or negative in anyway to protect those in your community be it eBay, multichannel solutions or websites.
The companies I trust and value are never 100% glowing, as all companies have their problems and not all solutions work for all business models.
A few people have mentioned the ‘e-commerce boys club’ (even though no sexism was meant in this reference) of companies partnering with each other, covering each others faults and basically not giving real information to clients. Practises include cleansing out bad or even just critical reviews, convincing clients wrongly that they NEED said solution just so they can get their chunk of referral.
I hate paid referrals. It makes finding the best solution for your client about your own pocket. I avoid them where I can and only team up with partners who I like and always think of my customer first.
Happy customers who are successful make me happy. Unhappy customers constantly trying to fit a square business into a round hole makes me sad. I had enough of this torture in my previous life with another company. I hated it but then I was also being forced into an odd shape that didn’t fit.
I hope that this ‘notion’ that small businesses have about the ‘e-commerce club’ doesn’t hurt great companies and great designers who are in this industry because they love it.
I mean, e-commerce is a child only a parent can love at the best of times! It’s my addiction, my passion and my clients are continually the best in the business.
As a small (or large) business, does the effect of ‘paid referrals’ or even worse ‘paid reviews/blog posts’ worry you? Are you being hoodwinked into spending your money? Are you concerned you will face legal action if you complain about a company publicly?
Sorry the design is a bit off…
021 days
by Liz
in Consultancy
We had malware issues so all templates were killed and a new one installed. I like mystique but it will look a bit funky until I sort my widgets/design etc.
The site needed a facelift so bear with me!
Spring is here and WIDSHOP eBay Design is growing!
39 days
Ahh April, Cherry blossoms everywhere and my mother starts asking me to ‘water the garden’ while they of off travelling!
I have written a post on the WIDSHOP new section today about a new cleint that is looking exceptionally Spring like.
Makes me feel those random hail storms we keep having are a fallacy!
http://widshop.com/en/2012/04/widshop-ebay-design-is-taking-over/
On another note spring time is great to think about investing in your business. You know how much profit you made last year and how much you need to pay the taxman!
You can’t stagnate in the e-world, your competitors will leave you behind in a flash.
And while you are at it… Go Global or Go Home!
I stole this graphic from the Channeladvisor blog because I love infographics! Very US centric but it works both ways as the world wants UK stuff too!
WIDSHOP eBay design at Channeladvisor Catalyst 2012
070 days
Well…it’s that time of year again. Sandra (from the Berlin office) and I have been discussing hotels for Catalyst
This year though, we are introducing our Widshop eBay design service so we have a four strong team, 3 from Berlin and yours truly.
The reason we sponsor Catalyst and have done for 5 years is the very reason people GO to catalyst.
Relevancy.
The content reflects on the past success but mainly focuses on the future of e-commerce and what areas need investment for business expansion.
This year Catalyst will focus again on cross border trade as this is SUPER important and not just looking at Europe.
The east is where there is a massive amount of money and a love of UK goods. Check out http://import.buy.com – a site pushing American goods to the Japanese market.
And who owns Play.com – A Japanese company! Should you be selling to the East? Have you been watching the telly recently? Loads of programmes on the expansion of China and the east. Heck, we are asking China to bail out Europe!
I digress, where was I..oh CATALYST 
This year are some great speakers talking about social commerce, search, female representation in business (you can tell I have started to go to Girl Geek stuff and networking with my fellow business women) and all kinds of things relating to being a successful e-business.
One of the great things about Catalyst is meeting like minded people with the same goals, needs and problems as you. There are a lot of opportunities to network, party and you are ALWAYS well fed at this event.
This event is about information, relevant to your on-line business and where the sector is heading.
The other great thing about Catalyst is you can speak to various third party service providers (which I am one) and discuss potential future partnerships. Having everything in house is expensive and hard to run, third party companies are essential in e-businesses.
Well, I hope to see you at Catalyst and I (Createyourtemplate) will be there with chocolates and sweets as always.
