The importance of digitization in the pandemic era has opened the pandora’s box of commerce. Is having an e-commerce really that important today? And how to best manage it?
Is having an e-commerce really essential?
We will not bore you for long to give you the answer: yes, ore-commerce is essential today. But it is not enough if there is not the right management. The pandemic has certainly acted from process accelerator, imposing new digital trends at the expense of old business models. Even physical sales, thanks to smart and cashless environments, have undergone important changes.
According to a research by Casaleggio Associati, the spread of online in the Italian population reached 74.7% in December 2020. But being online is not enough, and having opened a shop does not mean that the magic will happen automatically. A fact that, from a commercial point of view, is confirmed by ISTAT, according to which 33% of e-commerce fails in the first year of business. Also a survey conducted by Cristina Andreetta, sustainable digital transformation consultant, reveals how 77% of Italian companies do not have a clear strategy regarding online sales.
To understand the phenomenon we asked for clarification a Mik Cosentino, digital entrepreneur and founder of the Infomarketing X company. Here is how he interprets these data that are not very reassuring:
“It is mainly cultural factors that act negatively. For example, the historical reticence, which still persists in Italy, around issues related to the digital world. The fact that many companies struggle to get results with their e-commerce does not mean that the medium is not very effective. Indeed, the problem is the lack of adequate strategies behind the projects that are launched online “.
Mik Cosentino, digital entrepreneur and founder of Infomarketing X.
Cosentino, who also wrote the bestseller published by Mondadori entitled The bible of Infobusiness, focuses precisely on the strategic aspect.
“The first step to building a successful e-commerce is to immediately undertake a path consistent with the products on sale. Whether in dropshipping or private label, to start an online store you need to have a clear idea of the concept of Stop Loss, that is the strategy aimed at safeguarding the capital invested in an activity and which certifies the effective saleability of the product “.
The importance of analyzing and researching
At the base of every marketing strategy there is always a period of research and study. The first thing to analyze is the target audience and, what is called in jargon, market segmentation. In other words, the product finds its sense of existing in a certain area of the market, with a certain audience and a certain identity. To create a winning strategy you must therefore know the target audience, competitors, their product and, last but not least, the market in general.
About the importance of the analysis Mik Cosentino continues:
“A product should always solve a problem perceived as such by typical customers. For this reason, it is essential to have a clear idea of who you are addressing and what is the most effective way to do it. Without an accurate analysis of the product, e-commerce therefore risks turning into a failure experience “.
Following the analyzes, we move on to “the actual construction of the sales site: a showcase – concludes the digital entrepreneur – which, if well adapted to the characteristics of the product and market demands, can become global. The sales tests, where the best entry angles on the market are evaluated, will then determine the effectiveness or otherwise of the path taken. In this case we try to understand how the potential customer is stimulated to buy in his own e-commerce and not in another, and this is made possible by repetition. In sales tests, advertising campaigns are carried out on social networks, such as Facebook and Instagram, an interested audience and a list of contacts are created.As a general rule, it is important to maintain maximum flexibility in adapting to what consumers require, reacting consequentially”.