[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/07\/11\/beat-amazon-ecommerce-strategies\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/07\/11\/beat-amazon-ecommerce-strategies\/","headline":"Don\u2019t lose your e-commerce customers to Amazon","name":"Don\u2019t lose your e-commerce customers to Amazon","description":"Today\u2019s customer journey is a long and winding road. Online consumers, in particular, often navigate between multiple channels and touchpoints in order to make purchases. A buyer, for example, can browse an item in-store, research the product online, and finally complete his or her transaction using a mobile device. One way to simplify the customer […]","datePublished":"2016-07-11","dateModified":"2021-03-16","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/anthony-leaper\/#Person","name":"Anthony Leaper","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/anthony-leaper\/","identifier":173,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/284b70a9dba3df53b96b24674260cb821779d894774ca3812b8293c7be2d0078?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/284b70a9dba3df53b96b24674260cb821779d894774ca3812b8293c7be2d0078?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Future of Commerce","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","width":172,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/thumbnail-b192306e3aab4184b002f189610c6f96.png","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/thumbnail-b192306e3aab4184b002f189610c6f96.png","height":370,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/07\/11\/beat-amazon-ecommerce-strategies\/","about":[{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/commerce\/","name":"Commerce","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Commerce","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q26643"]},"Retail Trends, Data, News",{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/commerce\/trends-commerce\/","name":"Trends","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fad","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q787045"]}],"wordCount":813,"keywords":["Amazon","Content Marketing","Digital Commerce","E-commerce","Ecommerce","Omnichannel","Retail"],"articleBody":"Today\u2019s customer journey is a long and winding road. Online consumers, in particular, often navigate between multiple channels and touchpoints in order to make purchases. A buyer, for example, can browse an item in-store, research the product online, and finally complete his or her transaction using a mobile device.One way to simplify the customer journey involves integrating user-generated content, such as customer ratings and reviews, into your e-commerce platform. By enabling users to research products directly on your website, you can prevent prospective buyers from navigating away from your page before they\u2019ve made purchases.But with other e-commerce retailers like Amazon already well-established in this area, what can your business do to stand out from the competition? More specifically, how can you beat Amazon at its own game?Why Amazon is the benchmark for e-commerceAmazon was among the first organizations to successfully leverage user-generated content to influence decision making and increase sales. And with an annual revenue of over $100 billion in 2015, it should come as no surprise that the company has continued to harness the power of its strong social community to widen its competitive advantage.Amazon contains a wealth of rich content \u2013 in the form of customer ratings and reviews \u2013 that empowers buyers. As a result, its website has become the go-to destination for prospective buyers in search of peer recommendations and product information. According to Forrester Research,\u00a047% of customers use Amazon ratings and reviews before buying items.Additionally, a staggering 70% of people say they\u2019re more likely to purchase products when they\u2019re able to view ratings and reviews on a website. So if your business hasn\u2019t integrated user-generated content into its e-commerce platform, it\u2019s definitely missing out on sales opportunities \u2013 likely to Amazon.How easy is it to be better than Amazon?Of course, while Amazon is widely regarded as the preeminent leader in e-commerce, the enterprise is certainly not without its flaws. For one, the site\u2019s reviews are poorly regulated. It\u2019s easy for users to post ratings and reviews under incorrect models or even under the wrong products altogether. So you\u2019re liable to find as much lousy information on the site as insightful information.With that being the case, now is the perfect time to close the gap between your company and Amazon. But how can you get started? Here are three tips to help you top Amazon:Offer products worth raving about:\u00a0The best way to get people to talk about your products \u2013 and your company, in general \u2013 is by offering great products. When customers are completely satisfied with their purchases, they\u2019re more inclined to rate and review their new items as well as share other helpful details about their customer experiences.Incentivize your customers to rate and review your products:\u00a0Do you have great products but still no ratings or reviews? Well, you need to do something about that. Even when people are blown away by their purchases, they aren\u2019t always eager to document their satisfaction online. After all, people rarely act today unless there\u2019s value in it for them. So give customers incentives for rating and reviewing your products. Offer a 2% rebate to anyone who leaves a rating on your website. Reward users who share particularly helpful reviews by inviting them to appear in an advertisement.Offer valuable services that Amazon doesn\u2019t:\u00a0So you\u2019ve done everything you can to emulate Amazon. Your site is now chock-full of glowing ratings and reviews. But you still feel you\u2019re losing business to Amazon. One solution is to differentiate your enterprise from the competition and begin making your customers feel special by offering valuable services that Amazon doesn\u2019t. Amazon may provide users with helpful information and low-cost shipping, but it\u2019s definitely not willing to install the new television you buy from the site. But you can \u2013 and it could very well earn your brand the customer loyalty it needs to overtake Amazon as the worldwide leader in e-commerce.Technology is the key to winning your battle with AmazonIn order to compete with Amazon, you need to have the right e-commerce infrastructure in place. Your platform must create seamless links between the products on your site and the content related to your products, be it a rating, review, how-to article, blog, or FAQ.Educating your buyers is imperative to your e-commerce success. Fortunately for your business, the technology now exists for you to achieve this. By making helpful user-generated content available on your website, you can attract and retain customers, drive sales and increase revenue, create loyal customer advocates, and reduce shopping cart abandonment.Best of all, by adopting the latest innovative e-commerce technology and following the three tips above, you\u2019ll finally be prepared to beat Amazon at its own game.Ready to take CX to the next level? Learn more\u00a0HERE."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2016","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"07","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/\/07\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"11","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/\/07\/\/11\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Don\u2019t lose your e-commerce customers to Amazon","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2016\/07\/11\/beat-amazon-ecommerce-strategies\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]