14 November 2017
Google is not King
The consumer behaviour on the Internet has changed. Today, the consumers are searching for products directly in webshops and are increasingly avoiding the search for products via Google. It is therefore more important than ever to become the consumers’ preferred webshop.
Search and you shall find ...
Previously, a search for products started on Google. For a long time, this has been the typical procedure when the consumers wanted to find the required product and this has resulted in increased interest and huge attention to search engine optimisation for e-sellers. But a new trend has become popular in the digital market. The consumers are more often searching for products directly in the webshops where they think the products can be bought and are thus avoiding the use of Google.
This was one of the messages which Hesehus acquired from the European e-commerce conference Global E-commerce Summit in Barcelona in June 2017. With Google’s diminished status as king, it is therefore more important than ever before to become the consumers' preferred webshop and thus top-of-mind of the consumers who are searching for the products of which you are the expert.
The new e-commerce queen
One of the companies which has profited hugely from the new behaviour on the Internet is the global market place Amazon which offers the consumers a multitude of different products. The consumers know that Amazon is able to deliver most products and are therefore starting their search for specific products directly in Amazon's webshop. As a result, Amazon has taken a big slice of the cake from Google. In the US, Amazon commands 43% of the e-commerce market, while Germany and France command approx. 30% of all e-commerce in the individual country. In Denmark, e-commerce is still spread over many webshops and in 2016, Amazon commanded 2% of the Danish e-commerce market which actually makes it the second most used webshop – and mind you, this is without having a Danish webshop at all or without having marketed the webshop in Denmark yet. So the consumers are happy to shop with their new "online lady friend". At present, Amazon has a conversion rate of 12%, while the conversion rate of its loyal “Prime” customers, who get an exclusive access to products and freight options through a monthly payment, is a high as 74%. The figures speak for themselves and Amazon must be considered as the “queen of e-commerce” – a queen who has certainly given Google the push!
Cultivate your niche
Can you e-sellers compete with Amazon at all? Yes, of course you can. By doing what you do best and be experts in your own products, you can do something unique which Amazon cannot do. By focusing on what you can offer your customers and how you can remove all trouble experienced by the customers, you can create a customer journey which your customers love, remember and choose every time..
Stof & Stil – customised package solutions
One of the companies which Hesehus has helped to use its expert knowledge and experience to deliver the best customer journey is one of Denmark's largest fabric and design companies Stof & Stil. By means of user surveys and in cooperation with Stof & Stil, we identified the customers’ needs and clarified how to ease their working day through Stof & Stil’s webshop. Among other things, this resulted in the feature STOF & STIL Kit which is customised to inspire the customers using nice designs and also to ease their purchasing process. The kit consists of total packaging solutions for various projects, e.g. felted Easter eggs or confirmation dresses containing sewing patterns, fabric, thread, accessory needed and not least a picture of the finished result. Furthermore, the customers can choose between different variations of the products in order to create their own, unique designs. Through its kit solutions, Stof & Stil is professionally holding their customers’ hands and helping them to buy exactly what they need when they wish to create a certain outfit.
Nissens – they know your customers’ cars
The global supplier of product and services within engine cooling and air conditioning, Nissens, has also been successful in cultivating its niche within automotive. This allows their B2B customers to enter registration number or car brand, model, engine and year of their customers' cars and they will only be presented with the products which match exactly the car for which they require spare parts. In this way, Nissens has made it easy for each customer to find exactly the spare parts which are relevant to their customers' cars and remove the products that are not relevant. Nissens has hereby removed all trouble experienced by their customers by only presenting them with the products that match their needs.
Know your customers
In order to attract customers and compete with the global market places where most products can be found in one webshop, your company needs to understand how you can create a unique customer journey which your customers cannot get elsewhere. This requires insight into your customers’ behaviour and needs – an insight which can be retrieved from the large quantity of data that is available to you. Let us help you to focus on your customers, emphasise your expertise and create the journey chosen by your customers every single time.
Are you interested in hearing more about how to cultivate your niche and become the customers' preferred webshop? We would like to invite you for a cup of coffee or we can visit you for a non-binding talk.
Please contact CEO, Lars Hedal, at +45 40 25 50 83 or write to hedal@hesehus.dk
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