One question which I get asked frequently is “how to build a successful business when companies such as Amazon, eBay and other e-commerce marketplaces offer prices that are very cheap and therefore exert pressure on retailers for the foreseeable future?”
The advice I give to both retail and e-commerce companies to be successful in the face to these challenges is to build a strong brand.
That means think of your business as a human and identify the following;
- What are you truly passionate about?
- What are your brand values and beliefs?
- Is what I make, sell or do adding any value to people’s lives
Once you find the answers to the above questions you will understand why you exist. Then you need to make it crystal clear to your consumers. Thereby, building a like-minded community who also believes in what you do and TRUSTS you.
Building a strong brand is the only strategy to inoculate you from “direct-to-consumer” business who will under cut you on price.
The greatest hurdle to overcome for majority of retailers is to clearly communicate their brand values to consumers. This is where I believe it is important to use both online and instore platforms.
In our case, I wanted to link “sustainability” to our business “B2C Furniture”. We are passionate about the environment and detest “fast furniture” which relates to cheap furniture manufactured from cheap materials which last only a few years only to end up in landfill.
We positioned our business as follows; B2C Furniture is an Australian furniture retailer with an environmentally conscious product. I started the company to produce sustainable hardwood furniture at affordable prices. This is our brand.
This branding has hit a chord with Australian consumers that don’t just care about buying the best, but also care about the environment. Our revenue increased by 132% for FY21. And this was during a year marked with Covid-19 lockdowns. This is the power of branding….
