How to compete with all the big ecom stores? (frustrated) (11)
I've been following the eCom cookbook, and I have some eCom spy tools, and I have flex targeting done very carefully
But yet I still am unable to make any sales!
When I look at facebook, at the spytools, and see all the bigger stores having so many engagements and so many sales, I wonder how I am supposed to win them when my store is still so new?
Design wise, I have got a custom theme and made it super easy and clean for the user to navigate
Budget wise, I have set only $5/day for about 2-3 days to test the products and see if they make a sale (or an ATC)
Any advice you guys can give me?
I feel like I'm still lacking the right product? But now I'm just spying at the bigger stores and seeing what they run. But probably with their high budgets, they would've already reached out and sold to all the potential buyers?
I'm ready to invest all my budget (about 1.5-2k) into this, determined to make this work... but how and where do I start on a better note?
Take the postID, run a PPE ad to it targeting worldwide: English speaking and build up engagement (spend about $20 in 24 hours - u should get like 1000-2000 likes and tons of comments)
After that, run the WC ads, and you might get sales since you got social proof now. Remember in ecom, product is everything. If the product sucks you can blow $5000 trying to make it work using every trick in the book.
Find a niche that your competitors are not focused on. This can be a product, a demographic, a psychographic or geo or some combination.
Some more info would definitely help in determining what might not be working.
I am not a fan of copying what big ecommerce sites on Facebook are doing.
Like @cmdeal says focus on something else.
I would recommend an audience, rather than a product. Why?
You can sell a product once (or a few times if it's a consumable). If you know which need the product is fulfilling, you can sell anything, from services to products. And you'll have an edge over anyone else who's just focusing on the latest fad.
Goo luck and let us know how things develop from here..
Would you want to try to capture fish in an ocean infested with sharks?
That is a red ocean approach. The ocean is filled blood.
You can't compete directly against sharks like Amazon, Walmart.com, Jet.com. You will get eaten alive.
Instead find blue oceans where you don't have the competitors
http://www.freshminds.net/2016/08/3-...cean-strategy/
3 examples of companies that have used the blue ocean strategy framework to drive growth and innovation include the Nintendo Wii, Yellow Tail and Cirque de Soleil.
1. Nintendo Wii
The first example of blue ocean strategy comes from computer games giant, Nintendo, in the form of the Nintendo Wii.
The Nintendo Wii launched in 2006 and at its heart is the concept of value innovation. This is a key principle of blue ocean strategy which sees low cost and differentiation being pursued simultaneously.
To reduce costs, Nintendo did away with the hard disk and DVD functionality found in most game consoles and reduced the processing quality and graphics. At the same time, Nintendo introduced a wireless motion control stick to differentiate itself against the market offering. This allowed the company to offer a range of new features and benefits that hadn’t been seen in the world of gaming previously such as the ability to use a games console to get fit or to play in a larger social group.
By pursuing value innovation, Nintendo could go beyond competing against the likes of PlayStation and X-Box in a crowded and fiercely competitive red ocean. Instead, it was able to open up a new market entirely. The Nintendo Wii, with its innovative, new features and affordable price point, appealed to an entirely new and expansive market – a blue ocean – spanning non-gamers, the elderly and parents with young children.
2. Yellow Tail
The development of Yellow Tail, a new wine brand from Casella Wines, is another great example of blue ocean strategy in action. And it’s a case study which clearly demonstrates the rewards blue ocean strategy can bring: within three years of entering the market, Yellow Tail had become the fastest growing wine brand in US history.
How did the brand achieve this level of success so rapidly? Yellow Tail recognised that most wine brands operate in a red ocean where competition for market share is fierce. They realised that by reducing or eliminating the elements that the industry competed on and differentiating themselves, they could create a blue ocean and tap into a new set of customers.
Yellow Tail abandoned the traditional focus on prestigious vineyards and aging. And they ditched the complex terminology normally found on wine bottles which can be prove intimidating for potential customers. Instead Yellow Tail created a drink which was sweet enough to appeal to the masses and therefore capture demand from beer and spirit drinkers rather than just wine buffs. And they made it easy to buy by only introducing two varieties: one red and one white. The rest, as they say, is history.
3. Cirque de Soleil
This list would not be complete without mentioning Cirque de Soleil, arguably one of the most famous examples of blue ocean strategy in action. Formed in Canada in the early 1980s, the company has since gone on to entertain 155 million people in over 300 cities. How? Cirque du Soleil reinvented the circus industry by pursuing both low cost and differentiation.
Doing away with live animal acts enabled the company to reduce its cost base, whilst the introduction of live music and a storyline, inspired by the world of theatre, and an emphasis on human physical skill helped Cirque du Soleil to create new elements that had never before been seen in the world of the circus.
The result? Cirque du Soleil created a new market space. Their new audience of adults and corporate clients (rather than the traditional audience of families) is also willing to pay higher prices to watch this extraordinary spectacle.
Did you follow Part 1 of the Cookbook? It's specifically designed to avoid you hitting this sort of problem.
If you did, what niches did you write down as potential good options? You may have ended up with niches that are too large or general - let us know what's on the list and we can probably advise you further.
Originally Posted by pekadis
@pavel_apostolov87 That depends on where your audience can be found, but even more on what your skills are (or which skills you want to develop).
I would split the options in 2:
1. Paid advertising
2.Non paid
In group 1, you have things like Facebook ads, adwords, ads in printed media
In group 2, you have things like Youtube videos, articles, email marketing (to your own list), SEO
Both can give you results, with some things scaling better than others.
But with differences in budget as well.
I would recommend choosing one, which you are either good at or want to become good at and master it.
As soon as you start making money, you can tackle the others by hiring people, outsourcing the work or partnering up with someone in that field.
Just don't spread yourself thin jumping from one to the other. You will not learn enough, waste money and time.
As you're on here, there's a lot you can learn about paid traffic, so if you have not built up skills in another field, something like Facebook ads might be a good start.
You can check out part 3 of the ecommerce cookbook here: https://stmforum.com/forum/showthrea...841#post325841
Hope this helps
@cmdeal, awesome example/post.
You can sell a product once (or a few times if it's a consumable). If you know which need the product is fulfilling, you can sell anything, from services to products. And you'll have an edge over anyone else who's just focusing on the latest fad.
Another suggestion: Capture people's emails to build a list. Then hit them with similar products or other products suited to that target audience. This will serve to dramatically increase the LTV from each visitor.
Also: Big ecom stores aren't going to bother targeting smaller audiences - so that's where you can swoop in to get a slice of the pie. Target smaller audiences with creatives that will appeal specifically to each audience. Divide and conquer.
Amy
Such Awesome Advice,
Can't wait to get involved.
Please keep these threads, follow along and questions coming.
dancnx
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