Ecommerce, Subscriptions and Mobile, Oh My!
Technology is a wonderful thing. It's changed the way we sell (and buy) anything and everything forever. On top of that, it's helped us build viable businesses out of formally non-usable models. Specialized markets can be accessed by any business from anywhere in the world and consumers can purchase products and services from anywhere in the world at any time.
There are a few specific innovations and business models that made some of the newer commerce mediums successful and sustainable. What most people don't consider is that the business model you decide to run with isn't just a factor in your marketing strategy, it is part of your marketing strategy. This wasn't the case when everyone had to rely on retail or in-person sales but now that consumers can choose how, where and when they want to buy something, this commerce element of you strategy is vital to your business' success. That's why I think it's important for every entrepreneur and small business owner to know their options for starting or growing your businesses commerce strategy.
Ecommerce Made Easy
As long as you can figure out the distribution and inventory side of things, ecommerce is a solid option for any business and almost an essential one at this point in time. Even the biggest retailers make their products available to buy online because that's what their customers want. If you're a small business, this option can save you a lot when it comes to reducing your overhead. You'll also want to consider that tools like the WooCommerce WordPress Plugin and platforms like BigCommerce and Shopify have made it less expensive and exponentially easier to set up online stores, so you don't need to spend $20k to get a great ecommerce website anymore.
Note: When setting up your ecommerce site it's important to be aware of what your customers are going to want from the user/buyer experience
From a marketing perspective, selling your product or service online opens the door to cheaper advertising and a larger audience. Instead of trying to market to the 500 people within 25 miles of your store who could be buying your widget, you can market to the 500k across the country (or the world) who would definitely be interested in what you're selling. This makes it much easier to build a quality audience through social media and content marketing and much cheaper to target a relevant audience through ad platforms like Facebook or Adwords.
Subscriptions Are Convenient
If you're offering a product, service or software as a service that needs to be repurchased regularly you should consider a subscription model. Netflix innovated this model with their original DVD delivery offering, but more recently we've seen this model prove successful for all types of businesses. Dollar Shave Club broke into the scene with their (very affordable) viral video and cost-friendly product offering. What makes this model really successful isn't always the actual product, it's the convenience. Your customers can sign up one time and receive something they want or need monthly without having to think about paying a bill or choosing from a handful of similar products ever again.
Your product or service will always play a role but the price point is much more important in this instance. Adobe offers their Creative Cloud for about the same cost as the actual creative suite. The difference being you have to continually pay for the cloud service, but you get access to all of their apps and updates instead of paying for a few apps once and being stuck with that version until you're willing to dish out more money for a newer version.
A Quick Note On Product Curation
Another example that might be considered less 'useful' would be LootCrate. They offer a curated box of geeky stuff for less than $20 a month, which leverages the convenience factor on multiple levels: the ongoing subscription and not having to choose the products yourself. Product curation is something else that people are willing to pay for and a service/product hybrid that has been doing well for multiple industries including fashion, food and beverage, personal grooming, and geekery.
Let's Talk Mobile Commerce
Between businesses being able to accept payments through their mobile devices, customers being able to pay in-store with their mobile devices and anyone being able to buy almost anything through mobile apps, I'd say there's something special going on here. Did you know that in 2012 Ebay did over $500 million from mobile purchases alone! The first thing to consider is the fact that impulse buying just got a whole lot easier. The next thing to consider is that word of mouth marketing is now infinitely more powerful. A good recommendation from a friend (or an acquaintance) can lead to an instant purchase.
There aren't a lot of traditional businesses (product/services) I know of selling through mobile only as many customers will have to establish trust through a website or retail store first before being comfortable purchasing on the go, but mobile works really well as a supplemental option for repeat customers who are 100 percent comfortable with your business and pleased with your offer.
In App Purchases and Mobile Services
There are, however, several businesses popping up that offer services on the go. Transportation services like Uber make money through users booking and paying for transportation through their app. The same is true for apps/networks like Task Rabbit that rely on people within the network to fill the order placed by the app user.
Many apps also offer extra features, upgrades or points through in-app purchases. This could be new fonts in a design app or extra coins in a game like Clash of the Clans. Many of the usable utility apps rely on usability or advanced features to bring in revenue while games like Candy Crush get their users addicted to the point of spending hundreds of dollars before they even realize it.
