In our last Episode, we started a discussion about the practicalities of starting an e-commerce brand whilst covering Documentation, Warehousing, Product Cataloguing, Photography & Pricing.
Today, we will be looking at factors like Store Design & Enhanced Brand Content on Amazon, Practicing Demo Orders and Repeating the process in the right way. :
Store Design & EBC/A+:
In order to call yourself a “Brand” legally, you need to have something called a registered trademark. Now, we will be covering this topic in detail in the future, but till then, all you need to know is, you need to be able to use this mark on your logo ®. Having the ® on your logo means that you and only you have the right to use it, and its use by anybody else without your permission is illegal. This is essentially done as a brand protection exercise. In Amazon, you have the option to apply for something called A+ listing or EBC (Enhanced Brand Content) and Store Design. The EBC is basically an extension of the product information page where you get a certain freedom to design it in order to accentuate your brand as well as your product. You also get to design your own Brand Store on Amazon with pretty decent freedom to place banners and product links as per your brand’s style guide. As you can see the point of this feature is to make sure that brands stand out from the crowd. As for brands, price is the last concern. They want their customers to trust them after understanding them and the VALUE of their product. (more links in the description)
Demo Practice Order:
Next up is Practicing a Demonstration. To be honest, we have never needed to do this with the client since the handholding we do is quite enough for them to simply launch away. But for all the DIY enthusiasts out there, I highly recommend that you fulfil a couple of shipments for your friends and family in order for you to iron out the kinks. This also gives them an opportunity to review your product. These reviews and ratings go a long way on platforms like Amazon and even more so on your own website since trust is the biggest obstacle for online brand stores that aren’t marketplaces.
Advertising:
I have not once seen a client not say that they need advertising to grow online. I honestly never understood that outlook. Maybe it’s the internet’s mistake that it gives the illusion that almost everything there is free. It’s not. If you’re not paying, you’re the product. But that’s a conversation for another video. The simple premise of the need for advertising is this:
When you buy a set up a store, you pay more for the store facing the street, and less for the one nestled inside a building away from the eyes of passers-by. It may even be a bit larger in size. But why do you pay such a hefty price for essentially the same deliverables? The answer is Advertising. When you face the streets and show off your existence to the crowds, the chances of you making a sale go up dramatically. It is impractical to expect people to buy from a store they don’t know exists, let alone the one they cannot see. Similarly, just because you set up shop online does not make you remotely special in the ever crowding global market. Unless you let people know of your existence by the means of advertising, you are not going anywhere.
Manage Sale, Customer Response:
Let’s say your hybrid mix of some offline and some online advertising worked, and you got your first sale. And second, and third and so on. That’s good. Hold on to it. Now you need to focus on one thing and one thing only: Customer Delight. Try to get good reviews and ratings, send your products to a couple of influencers and hope they chime in on social media. Try and create a conversation around the needs your products satisfies.
Repeat!:
Yup. That’s pretty much it. Well, at least most of it. Yes, of course there are so many other nitty-gritty that need to be addressed. But it’s like one of those things that you CAN learn as you move along.
