It is always important to keep an eye on what other eCommerce businesses are up to. Success stories are not only inspiring, they are also great practical examples of how you can be doing more to get your business ahead, in terms of conversions and reach. Many eCommerce stores are successful because they have found a particular niche in the market that their products fill. Many have created a finely tuned content marketing campaign and some simply have a slick and robust website supported by rigorous SEO activities. Let’s take a look at some of the ones who do it best:
Beardbrand
Within the space of a year, this little start-up has gone from niche idea run on a shoestring budget, to an eCommerce powerhouse. What they sell in product form is beard oil, but what they offer is a lifestyle and a community. With clever content marketing, they have built a lifestyle brand, which has convinced a loyal group of consumers that beard oil is a cornerstone of every hip young man’s life.
Goulet Pens
Goulet are go-to for high-quality pens. It wasn’t always like this though, they have built a successful eCommerce business through hard graft and most significantly through the relationships that they have built with their customers. They have a dependable engaged audience, built around the generated user content they have encouraged since day one. Customers are encouraged to write testimonials, blogs detailing their experiences of the products and even user guides and case studies. This turns customers into brand ambassadors and gives them a sense of ownership over the brand, keeping them constantly engaged.
Surf Stitch
These guys make editorial eCommerce look like a walk in the park. Specialising in surf apparel, they regularly update their site with all things surf lifestyle, such as tips on how to improve at the sport and news about all the professionals from around the world. The site has become a resource for surfers and a go-to for fans of the sport looking to keep abreast of news and gossip. The result of this is a loyal and engaged customer set, who frequently make repeat purchases from the website and absorb the regular, quality surfing-lifestyle content. These guys are so much more than just purveyors of quality surf goods, they are providers of sought after industry news.
REI
Another content marketing success story. This online store specialises in outdoor apparel and also in clever content. The store features multiple buying guides which yield huge levels of engagement. Their ‘Expert Advice’ section is consumer heaven and customers regularly frequent these user guide pages to learn more about the products. Through learning, customers feel empowered and more confident about making purchases.
Blue Bottle Coffee
Coffee kings, with nothing like the budget to compete with Starbucks, yet they’ve still managed to cook up a successful brand. Success stems from their educational on-site content which is the perfect blend of product awareness and a conversational style. It teaches the consumers about the product but still makes a point of encouraging purchases.
The internet is littered with eCommerce start-up success stories, the above five are just a few examples. These examples show that you really don’t need a big budget to achieve success, what you really need is a clever content marketing plan, that will engage your audience and from that the sales will rack up.
