When I was in my favorite Borders bookstore downtown Indianapolis drinking my favorite type of coffee a guy seated beside me said, “I still can’t believe this is store is closing. This store is on the National Register because the historic building used to be a bank. What do you think about that? I replied, I guess they couldn’t keep up with the ever changing internet these days.”
With the ease of online shopping, and the introduction of e-readers, coupled with retailers promising to deliver any book, anytime, anywhere, at cheaper pricing, consumers are abandoning traditional bookstores, like Borders.
So, this made me pause to think. As small business owners, we must also be constantly changing or we will be left behind just like Borders. This is a lesson that we don’t want to learn the hard way. We must always be aware of the current and hottest market trends in the market so that we stay on top. Just like Amazon.
Seattle-based Amazon started as an online bookstore in 1995 selling hardcover and paperback books. Today, as the largest online retailer in the US, Amazon has added apparel, furniture, cosmetics electronics and more to its company. Its products are offered in dozens of categories, but people still think that Amazon only sells books. Amazon continues to stay on top because they continue to add new services.
Many lessons can be learned from Amazon through leveraging its power to grow our business:
Lesson 1: Diversify Your Products
Amazon offers numerous ways to sale the same product. For instance, if you have a report, you can list the report as a physical product, in digital form as an eBook or even record it and offer it as an audio book. By changing the format, you can sell your products to millions of buyers in one click since Amazon stores credit card information in a user’s account. So, it’s really easy for the buyer to add a product to his shopping cart.
In 2007 when Amazon announced the revolutionary wireless reading device, Kindle, and began selling books in the Kindle format, I bet Amazon never imagined that customers would be purchasing more Kindle books today then all printed books – hardcover and paperback – combined. With more than 950,000 eBooks, newspapers, magazines and blogs listed, buyers are flying to Amazon’s Kindle Store to purchase products that can be read on Kindle e-readers, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, PC, Mac, Blackberry and Android-based devices. Digital books are definitely here to stay!
Through Kindle Digital Publishing, it is easy to self-publish an eBook in minutes by converting and uploading it from a variety of preferred formats. You must own all the publishing rights to any content you upload for sale in the Kindle Store. Kindle Digital Publishing pays you a royalty for each title you sell.
Another reason to list your products with Amazon is that product listings will rank higher in the search engines based upon the key words in your product name. Since Amazon has such a high page rank and credibility with Google and other search engines, your product page can get ranked faster and often higher than your own web site!
By ranking higher in Google and other search engines many more people will see you, which in turns equals more potential sales. Placing key phrases in your product title will assist you in ranking higher for those key words in Google.
So, if you aren’t listing your products in Amazon in a number of different formats, you are missing out!
Lesson 2: Fulfillment of Products: Dependable & Quick
Did you know that Amazon also allows merchants to access its world-class fulfillment capabilities to have Amazon fulfill orders for you? This is a great reliable and quick resource to consider for your product orders. Amazon also allows you to store inventory in their fulfillment center, if you don’t want to store it yourself. Amazon will then later fulfill the product order for you.
When a customer places an order with Amazon, Amazon will package and ship the products to your buyer. Amazon makes it easy for a customer to combine products receive its Super Saver Shipping rates. So, this is a great opportunity for a customer to buy your product and combine it with other Amazon products. Amazon also provides customer service and returns support so you don’t have to. This is a great opportunity for small businesses to increase sales through leveraging Amazon’s fulfillment centers.
Lesson 3: Internet Store Front: Your Window To The World
Through Amazon Services, an Amazon.com company, you can quickly create and maintain a web store. Here you are able to create an online business through its self-service tool that launches and markets promotions across numerous channels. This basically is your business face to the world.
And, one of the cool features is that Amazon has built-in optimization for search engines. This optimization feeds your items to search and comparison engines to allow buyers to quickly and easily find your products. This is an excellent tool for small business owners to leverage Amazon’s business presence throughout the web. You also don’t have wait to get started selling your products. No up front costs exist as to hardware and software, since Amazon’s web store technology is hosted in the cloud.
So, there you have it. Either innovate or be left behind. With Amazon and its numerous services, a small business can get big business benefits. Are you ready to touch many more buyers than you can ever image by simply re-packaging your products and selling them in different channels? For more details on how to sell in different channels, click below.
To learn more about business growth and how to start a business, download my free 47 page “Business Thrival Blueprint“. BusinessThrival.com is a site dedicated to helping business owners achieve a thriving business and life.