Let’s face it; most business owners would probably love to be known for experimentation and innovation. However, they don’t want to gamble their livelihood by doing something that might seem like ‘a good idea at a time’, only to turn out to be a reputation-damaging disaster.
And so it is the case with those who operate ecommerce stores. However, being innovative isn’t always about the hugely influential, game-changing success (like, say, the iPhone) or a crushing failure that is ridiculed forevermore (such as, perhaps, the Sinclair C5).
Indeed, it’s often much smaller and more subtle innovations that can prove the most important for online businesses in the long run. Innovation is, by its very nature, a risk – but you don’t necessarily have to gamble it all.
You might simply try one or more of the following…
Introduce a new product category
Is there a category you could add to your store that would naturally complement what you have to offer already – accessories for electrical equipment, for instance?
Or, of course, you may be a little bolder than that, by adding a category that isn’t quite what people would think of when they first hear your brand mentioned. Regardless, this can be a great way to experiment with the broadening of your store’s offering, boosting its appeal to existing customers at the same time as attracting new ones.
Try out alternative price points
Sometimes, you just don’t know what difference a different price for a given product will make to sales, unless you go ahead and make said change.
If the item in question is a very common product, for example, lower pricing might make sense. But you may be surprised by the extent to which making a relatively unique product more expensive actually helps to heighten its desirability among buyers, especially if it is your own in-house brand.
Provide services after the initial purchase
In 2020, couldn’t your store benefit from going beyond the standard purchase confirmation email? This might mean relatively small and ‘safe’ touches such as providing a money-off voucher code for the customer’s next order from you, or entering every shopper who reviews one of your products into a prize draw.
However, some stores might also consider providing a more comprehensive post-purchase support service to their most active customers, and perhaps personalised marketing emails instead of the generic messaging everyone else on the mailing list receives.
Launch a branded app for your store
This is a great example of relatively low-risk innovation, in that customers who prefer to shop the ‘old-fashioned way’, via your desktop site, will be able to continue doing so, while those who like the intuitiveness and convenience of an app have it as an option.
You do need to be sure of what your brand’s app will actually be for, however. Is it intended to be a shopping app, to boost customer loyalty, or even to provide a fulcrum for the creation of a community that will elevate your brand above being a mere online store?
Put together subscription packages
Online subscriptions have seemingly become all the rage in recent years, and with good reason. It’s been a while now since subscriptions were more-or-less just for magazines or consumable goods.
That’s because it’s even possible these days to subscribe to receive the likes of clothing, music and even pieces of art, with this business model helping many an online store to ‘lock in’ future orders from especially loyal shoppers.
All of the above steps can be considered ‘innovations’, without representing out-and-out risks to an ecommerce business’s future.
And don’t forget, too, that with the help of the right website design and SEO marketing expertise from professionals like ours here at Piranha Designs, you could be in an even better position to make an impact as an online merchant throughout 2020 and beyond.
