E commerce Solutions: Reaching Global Consumers - RichardACox/financialmarkets GitHub Wiki

E commerce Solutions: Reaching Global Consumers

By Richard Cox

Recent sales numbers in the world of e-commerce have already surpassed the expectations that were seen just a few short years ago. These types of trends have put many traditional retailers on the defensive and forced many companies to develop new strategies in terms of the ways that they attempt to reach consumers on a global level. The rise of companies like Amazon and Alibaba have already shown that the world on consumer sales is quickly changing, and that companies that fail to adapt are likely to fall by the wayside.

Fortunately, these types of negative outcomes can be avoided. And when you put your company in a position to adapt to the broader trends that are seen in the market, these types of activities become much easier to accomplish. This is often as simple as keeping an eye on the strategies that are being enacted by major players in your industry, as a constant awareness of the competition is an absolute requirement in order to keep pace with the companies that will be trying to gain market share.

Modeling Industry Leaders

In the realm of e-commerce, there are some companies that have paved the way forward in ways that can help many other companies in the same industry. In developing a broad and diverse product line this company has developed some of the most innovative solutions for reaching a broad base of potential customers in a timely and efficient fashion. The incredible diversification of product lines is something that will continue to be an absolute necessity in the future as more and more companies are competing for the same business online.

In many cases, it is a wise idea to stand on the shoulders of giant and to model some of the tactics that have been employed by the industry leaders that have come before you. This does not mean that you can simply emulate your competition. Quite the contrary. But it does mean that you should assess the trends, and identify what has worked within the industry -- and what has not worked. This will enable you to construct a suitable plan that works best for the goals of your company.

Product Diversification

Another factor that must be considered in the modern retail age is the idea of product diversification. This has always been a part of retail but many traditional retailers have missed the ways these trends have changed in the last decade. The dominance of organizations like Amazon and Wal-Mart should be key indicators here in that their real strength comes from their ability to diversify and attract a larger swath in its consumer base. You may have a customer or client coming to you for one product or service and they might stay to buy a few more of your offerings.

This is critical in growing a business and it is even more important whenever you are looking to attract customers at the global consumer level. This is the environment that is now seen in the modern retail business and so it is critical that you adhere to many of these rules in order to remain effective and relevant in these new market sectors.