It’s an exciting time for eCommerce sellers, full of big ambitions along with big questions…
And probably the most common question I get from folks selling physical products (or soon to be sellers) is:
“What’s the #1 thing I can do to grow my business today?”
And the answer is probably what you’ve already guessed…
It depends.
It really depends on what stage you’re at in your business.
In the world of selling physical products online, you’re likely in 1 of 3 stages:
- You are just getting started and you want to create a successful physical products brand online
- You are already selling successfully on a marketplace, like Amazon, but you want to build your own platform and store
- You are successfully selling on Amazon and your own store, but you’ve hit a wall and don’t know how to grow from here
So, let me break each one down and what I recommend you do at each stage.
Before I start, there are 2 things to note:
– there are lots of things you COULD do, but there’s only a handful of things you MUST do
– even if you’re already crushing it, the fundamentals are what separate the good from the great.
First, Stage 1… you’re just getting started and you want to create a successful physical products brand online.
Step 1: Pick a Niche.
People no longer have to settle for something close to ideal, then can get exactly what they want.
Forget general stores. The major marketplaces already have that locked down.
The way to beat BIG is to go small.
It’s business jiu jitsu.
Become an insider. You have to become obsessed with that market:
Their pains, aspirations, hopes, fears, objections, frustrations, language patterns, thinking biases, all of it.
Then… COMMIT.
There are no shortcuts and I’m sorry people out there are promising you the world and trying to convince you it’s gonna be fast, fun and easy.
This is a real business and it takes work.
Yes, there are steps you can follow to help you start closer to the finish line, but you still gotta run.
If capital is crazy limited (aka non-existent) — start flipping whatever you can to build up funds to get started and consider starting with Print On Demand (POD).
You’ll be able to sell high-quality products, with fast shipping and no initial inventory costs.
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Next, there are the sellers that are near and dear to my heart… the Amazon sellers that are doing well, but not yet creating your own presence outside of Amazon.
Wait, WHAT!
It’s time to start today.
I won’t dive into the reasons why, but if you sell exclusively on Amazon then you know the reasons why.
Start building your Shopify store and realize it’s not Field of Dreams.
Buyers will not come just because you’ve built a nice store.
You need a plan… a system to help you do 4 things:
1. Build an audience and nurture that audience
2. Convert your audience into customers
3. Maximize Average order value
4. Maximize Frequency of purchase
Sorry, No silver bullets here.
Just good business principles and time.
Want help with this? Well, this is kind of what I do.
So, go to ecomunderground.com/case-study and let’s talk.
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Then, there’s the ballers, shot callers!
You are successfully selling on Amazon and your own store, but you’ve hit a wall and don’t know how to grow from here.
First, make sure you have all the stuff I talked about in #2 dialed in.
There’s no point filling a cracked pool with water.
You must have those things in place first, otherwise, you’re just wasting your time.
(And if you feel your brand’s marketing system could use a tune up, then head to ecomunderground.com/case-study and book a time to talk).
But if you’re confident your pool is leak proof, then your next step is:
Become obsessed with finding audiences full of your ideal buyers… like obsessed.
Online, offline… doesn’t matter.
Ads, live events, influencers, even jumping on the phones…
I have a partner in a business and we’re not shy about jumping on the phone and cold calling.
Obsessed.
Again, there are a lot of things you COULD be doing… and some are really important and maybe even helpful.
Yet, there’s only a handful of things you MUST do.
These are the vital few that will actually move the needle in your business, no matter what stage you’re at.
Now it’s your turn… get after it.