e-Commerce Ascension Series: Ascension (IX)

The e-Commerce industry is where all the hot business is nowadays.

If you have reached the last step of our e-Commerce Ascension™, you must be ready to strive for your spot on top of the competition. In this step, I explain what actions stakeholders must take to maintain their unfair advantage in this ruthless industry. I will address points regarding market research and how to study industry trends, which are more volatile than in any other field. I will talk about making a habit out of always trying to widen your horizons to obtain that winning product that surpasses all other rival products on the market. Moreover, I will go through the details of how should new development plans be approached and why you should always consider hedging your growth by constantly expanding your portfolio.

The first detail of the Ascension step is to keep informed on industry trends. If possible, I strongly recommend creating a budget for resources that will give you a heads-up about the next big thing. Of course, this is a trial-and-error process. Still, I believe that having this information advantage is bound to create a hefty return once you identify the next winning product before it even achieves its status with the broad public. Remember, even if 1 out of 100 products deems itself successful, you will strike gold. E-commerce is strongly time-sensitive, implying that besides the what, the most significant factor is the when. A good product won’t sell if you are the last to jump on the trend. Stay profitable, and stay informed!

The second item on this list is constantly learning how to explore other opportunities. Strongly intertwined with the first element of the Ascension step, this practice focuses on developing an entrepreneurial mindset. Always seek out different paths that allow you to grow your business in other directions. It’s a no-brainer that you should focus your resources on your cash-cow project, but the returns on any product are diminishing, implying that it will hit a hard cap at some point. Expanding your business in other directions will allow you to gain additional, albeit single digits, percentages towards your profit.

The third and last item is the proper strategy to prepare for the new developments. It might be a bit counterintuitive to what the first two items above recommend you should do, but this final step is what differentiates winners from losers in the e-commerce industry. Always take your time and plan out the playing field before jumping into the action. Usually, you’d want to be the first to put out a product on the market, but the second you do it, a copycat will steal your product and sell it for a lower price. Therefore, you should prepare yourself so that it will allow you to maintain this strong differentiator from copycats and uphold your status as an industry trendsetter. Research the possible market demand, secure the supply, and invest in solid marketing that will outshine cheap white-label drop-shipping duplicates.

If you enjoyed this article about the Ascension in the e-commerce industry, all the other steps of the e-Commerce Ascension™ become way more accessible. The template is not just a powerful tool to increase your e-Commerce performance. It’s a mindset that allows people like you and me to gaze through the lens of consumer behavior and successfully apply the insight gathered.