Small Business Success: How to Gain and Keep Traction Against Bigger E-Commerce Brands

As e-commerce juggernauts gobble up more and more retail space and consumer attention, small business owners worry about the longevity of their pride and joy. Much blood, sweat, and tears go into the creation and maintenance of a successful small business, and often these businesses feel the heat from their much larger competitors.

It can be daunting to try to compete with big e-commerce. After all, consumers are becoming increasingly more likely to shop from the comfort of their homes, from their mobile devices, and even from smart speakers such as Amazon Echo or Google Home.

What is there to be done? Believe it or not, it is possible for even smaller businesses to find success when pitted up against big retailers. Why is this? Because no matter how convenient a bigger company may be, there is still a human element missing — and often this makes all the difference.

Cultivate Connections

As a small business, it’s important to establish a strong and loyal customer base while also concentrating on bringing in new customers. Focus on maintaining a more “human” element in marketing and interaction with customers. What do we mean by this?

Dedicate time each week for genuine social media engagement. Users like to feel a connection with brands, and getting a personal reply or a message from a business page can go a long way to building loyalty and trust.

When it comes to marketing, try to add more emotion. Make the viewer of the ad feel something. This emotion will connect them to the product or brand.

Make Customer Service a Priority

Another common complaint from consumers regarding bigger companies is a lack of empathy or compassion in customer service dealings. Whether it’s slow response time, outsourcing to call centers or a simple lack of follow-through from bigger brands, the complaints all remain the same. Customer service is often not a priority or, if it is, it’s not of the quality that a smaller business can provide.

So fill this space! Make it a point to provide top quality customer service, no matter what. Build a reputation for being the best brand that really values its customers’ satisfaction and goes above and beyond to make them happy.

Sure, this may take some extra effort, but it’s well worth it — and very important for a smaller business to be able to stand up to its competition.

Smaller businesses may face an uphill battle when it comes to taking attention away from bigger, more well-known brands. But this is by no means an impossible task. In fact, many consumers prefer to support small businesses.

So take advantage of the opportunity to offer more than what bigger businesses can. A more human and personal touch goes a long way when it comes to customer service, and this is a big opportunity for a smaller business to really shine. Smaller businesses simply have the time and resources to treat each and every customer as their own individual, and that is invaluable in a world that’s growing increasingly more remote.

Discover more from Ronn Torossian

Ronn Torossian’s Professional Profile on Muck Rack
GuideStar Profile for Ronn Torossian Foundation
Ronn Torossian’s Articles on Entrepreneur
Ronn Torossian’s Blog Posts on Times of Israel
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