I am working on a longer article right now about the successful characteristics of an ecommerce micro-business. I am talking about businesses with 1-3 employees that are deriving their entire income from their website.
In the past year – which will go down as an ugly one – we have seen some of these micro-businesses in our customer base flourish and some stagnate or fail. What separates the success stories from the horror stories?
Without giving away the whole article, one of the big factors is a simple one. Take a look at your site – from the perspective of a new user – and ask this question: Do I see anything useful?
If all you have on your website is your products, your odds of being successful start to plummet. At the point, you have articles, seasonal tips, instructions, product reviews, suggestions, and easily accessible help, your site has a chance of standing out.
It takes work to create good content. But as the level of sophistication and expectation of the average Internet shopper rises, your site also needs to rise to the occasion.
Even if you are not ready to take the full social media plunge, it is crucial that you use your site to build a relationship with your customers. By providing useful and interesting information, related to your product line, you stand a good chance of beginning that relationship in a positive way.
