David vs. Goliath — How Small Merchants Can Survive in Today’s E-Commerce
If you compare smaller merchants to Amazon and other big players on the market, it seems like a David-versus-Goliath scenario. But just as David didn’t shy away from the challenge, small merchants have every reason to be optimistic about the future. Being a merchant means to be clever, flexible and customer-focused — exactly the qualities needed to be successful DESPITE other big competitors.
1. Complaint management
Frankly, complaints are something no merchant loves to be confronted with. But they are a perfect chance to prove that you and your company really care for your customers. Solutions tailored to the individual from a real person who really cares about being helpful, not prefabricated text blocks communicated by a faceless robot — that is how repeat customers are generated. Surveys show that customer service is the most important thing in a shopping experience.
2. Expertise
As you see in the chart above, competent and knowledgeable staff is something customers definitely appreciate. Here lies another opportunity for smaller merchants: The product range might be a little more narrow (and therefore manageable), making it easier to accumulate expertise on every aspect of the products. Customers often want to speak to real experts and this is something the big competitors mostly can’t offer.
3. Early adoption
For smaller merchants, it is often easier to adopt new technologies as they can implemented them more quickly. The same goes for new players just starting out. GAMB is a good example for that: building a completely new decentralized marketplace from the ground up gives us the freedom to use cutting-edge technologies, opening up countless possibilities to make selling on a marketplace a more satisfying experience for smaller merchants.
4. Personality
A small online business offers the opportunity of introducing the team behind the scenes. A lot of customers appreciate a personal contact with ‘their’ consultant. Imagine big companies introducing the whole team — no way this will ever happen.
5. Unique products
Unique products are a powerful tool to gain large numbers of repeat customers. Special designs, handcrafted unique items or for example antiques are products that can be sold via smaller shops more successfully.
6. Multiple sales channels
Smaller merchants have the freedom to choose the sales channels that work best for them. Be it their own webshop or various marketplaces. They can always search for the best opportunities to gain exposure and keep the bottom line intact. That is exactly why we are building GAMB. We want merchants to be empowered and participate in the decision making, providing a chance to build a powerful marketplace in which merchants can successfully and sustainably grow their business.
7. Advertising campaigns
A small team means flexibility and short communication channels. Quick reactions to ongoing events are no problem, while big companies may need a lot of time to create and approve a certain campaign and get it out to their customers. Also, smaller merchants can be a lot more creative about their ads, as they are not as heavily scrutinized as the big players.
8. Networking
Networking is a powerful tool smaller merchants can use to their own advantage. They can quickly get in contact with other merchants who work in similar branches and negotiate a cooperation, e.g. offering special complementary products the own shop maybe cannot provide — customer satisfaction is the objective here.
9. Social Media
Social media still is a wonderful way to gain new customers. Clever, personal and individual campaigns can attract attention while still being inexpensive. Remember: Facebook alone has 2 billion monthly active users!
10. Flexibility
We already mentioned flexibility as an advantage in setting up marketing campaigns. It can be vital as well when it comes to new products, trends or technologies! Short internal communication channels are great for implementing new ideas.
So as you can see, there is absolutely no need for smaller merchants to just surrender the e-commerce market to the big players. From personal support to social media: they have a wide array of tools at their disposal to be better than Amazon and Co. — if they give it their all.
Who we are
GAMB — The Global Alliance for Merchants on the Blockchain has made it its goal to deliver a sustainable alternative to the powers currently dominating global e-commerce. We are building the leading decentralized marketplace. By enabling merchants to actively participate in every important decision, we empower them to be more than just customers of a platform.
Author
Daniel Schnadt is Managing Director of the Gambio GmbH and has been working in e-commerce from the age of 16. As a leading e-commerce solution in germany with more than 25.000 stores currently live Gambio is supporting the GAMB Project.
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