Are you interested in ecommerce but don’t know how to start?
Building a successful ecommerce brand from scratch might feel overwhelming, but the good news is that it’s entirely doable with the right approach.
Whether you’re an experienced entrepreneur or just starting out, the steps to building an ecommerce brand are the same. It’s about more than just selling online—it’s about creating an identity that resonates with your customers and keeps them coming back for more.
Ready to dive in?
Let’s explore how you can turn your ecommerce dream into a thriving brand in seven simple steps!
7 Steps to Building an ecommerce brand
1. Market Research
2. Brand strategy (positioning)
3. Brand identity design
4. Brand promotion
5. Consistent service
6. Community building and customer loyalty
7. Continuous innovation
What exactly is an ecommerce brand?
An ecommerce brand is more than an online shop that sells goods. It is a business that has carefully and consciously created an identity that aligns with its target customers. Great ecommerce brands delight their customers with every interaction. They stand for something more than a transaction and always keep their word.
Examples of successful ecommerce brands
To get a deeper understanding of what an ecommerce brand is, let’s look at 3 examples.
1. Dollar Shave Club (DSC)
Can a brand that sells razors online become so valuable that Unilever decides to buy it for 1 billion dollars after just 5 years in business?
That’s the story of Dollar Shave Club. Founded in 2011 by Michael Dubin, it scaled at an impressive pace and was ultimately bought by Unilever in 2016 for a whopping 1 billion dollars.
You may ask, “What made Dollar Shave Club grow so fast?”
Key things that differentiated Dollar Shave Club from the big players in the industry
- It understood its audience to the core
- It established an identity that sparks an emotional connection with its would-be customers
- It highlighted its brand identity across all customer touchpoints
DSC understood its audience to the core. It knew the pains of its customers and came up with a clever way to meet those needs.
Most of the razors in the market were overpriced, and laden with proprietary shaving technology that did little for the customer in terms of getting the job done. Also, customers had to go to stores to buy these overpriced razors every now and then.
Dollar Shave Club offered an irresistible deal. “For a few bucks a month, you can get a razor shipped to your doorstep.” In essence, DSC made it cheaper and more convenient for adult men to shave.
But that’s not all. DSC also developed a lively brand that connects with its target customers, as seen in the ad below.
DollarShaveClub.com – Our Blades Are F***ing Great
From its primary color orange, which gives off a cheerful and personable vibe, to its funny language and often sarcastic tone, everything is aligned to the interests of its customers.
You can picture people smiling whenever they interact with DSC, whether it’s getting their monthly package, seeing a funny YouTube video, or reading one of DSC’s snarky blog posts.
It’s mostly fun.
Above all, they keep to their promise of helping people get a smooth shave for less dollars and less stress.
2. Velvet Caviar (VC)
With 23 million dollars in net sales in 2023, Velvet Caviar is definitely a brand to learn from.
Six months of research before launch. That’s what it took Michelle Aran to kickstart her ecommerce brand, selling phone cases online.
Again, understanding a target market and their pain points, creating a product to meet their need, and developing a brand that sparks an emotional connection with these customers is key to the success of Velvet Caviar.
VC’s tagline, “pretty yet protective” summarizes what Velvet Caviar is all about.
According to Michelle Aran, before Velvet Caviar, phone cases were either good-looking or protective, but never both. She saw a need, created a product, and developed a brand that embodies the solution it provides.
3. Toms
This shoemaker has grown from its early days into a multimillion-dollar ecommerce brand.
The reason for their growth is simple. A purpose beyond the transactions.
TOMS promises to “give 1/3 of profits for good. With each pair of TOMS that you buy, you help positively impact lives—105 million and counting.”
This brand stands for impact and gives customers the feeling of being part of something bigger while rocking their TOMS shoe.
Why Build an Ecommerce Brand and Not Just Sell Online
As the world progresses digitally, more people are buying things online.
Ecommerce has been growing year over year. Therein lies the problem and the opportunity.
Many businesses are opening online shops, so competition is high. To take a slice of the ecommerce pie, you need to stand out. That’s where ecommerce branding comes into play.
Benefits of Building an Ecommerce Brand
1. Build trust
With many options today, customers have more control over who they do business with. If you want them to buy from you instead of your competitors, you need to build trust.
Creating an ecommerce brand, after finding out the problems your would-be customers face, helps you stand out. It shows that you care about them, and makes you a favorite for what you sell.
2. Increase revenue
With increased trust comes more sales. You’re not just building a brand for the sake of it, but tying it to your business. This is a mutually beneficial relationship with your customers. You make them feel good while meeting their need with your product, and they reward you with their money.
3. Make Impact
You don’t have to be a TOMS to make an impact. Customers appreciate the little things; like good customer support, a timely response, and on-time delivery of products.
How to Build a Successful Ecommerce Brand
Now, here’s how to build your ecommerce brand for lasting success.
1. Market Research
Behind every successful ecommerce brand is weeks to months of in-depth market research.
You need to get a clear picture of the market you want to target with your product. If there’s little to no demand for the product, your chances of success are slim at best.
There are a handful of ways to confirm market demand.
a) You can start by asking yourself “What do people need?” or “What problem do a lot of people have that a product solves?”
But don’t just stop there if you come up with an answer.
Talk to the people who you think are having the problem. Ask them what they currently do to solve their problem, and how far they’ll go to solve it; whether or not they’re willing to pay, and how much they think is a fair price.
For example, Velvet Caviar observed that people needed cases that could protect their phones while also flexing beauty.
After checking to see that there’s demand for a particular product, you need to know the brands that are already meeting that need. What are most of them doing and what makes each of them unique? Are there any areas of their product or services lacking? Is there something most customers find frustrating in the market?
Asking such questions helped Dollar Shave Club stand out. They observed that most of the razors sold were overpriced, and bloated with unnecessary features. They found a frustration and capitalized on it.
Next is knowing your ideal customers at a deeper level.
Are they more professionals? What’s their age group? What’s their typical day like? What are they interested in? Which celebrities or media personnel do they mostly follow online, and what’s their language and tone like?
After good market research, you would’ve laid a strong foundation for building a lasting ecommerce brand.
2. Brand strategy
The next key step is uniquely positioning your brand in the market. During market research, you must have noticed some gaps. Perhaps an underserved population. Or an inefficient way of designing and manufacturing products. Or maybe the other businesses don’t care enough about customers or lack a distinct personality.
Finding your unique selling point, and a strategic angle from which you can capture market share is crucial.
Some differentiators could be
- Price
- Convenience
- Product Design
- Manufacturing process
- An overarching purpose
Take Velvet Caviar, for example, their unique selling point is that their phone cases are “pretty yet protective”
3. Brand identity design
After settling on a brand strategy, it’s time to build the elements of your brand. What your customers will see, hear, and feel.
It includes choosing a brand name, designing a logo, choosing typography, color palette, and tone of voice to match your unique selling point.
Check out this article on brand identity design for more.
Note that at this point, you’ll want to register your business, and apply for trademarks to protect your brand assets like your brand name, logo, and tagline.
4. Brand promotion
Your brand is all set and ready to go live. Now you must show it to those who can benefit most.
Your customers determine how you promote your brand: this is why market research is vital. In the early days, you may opt for more paid ads to reach customers faster with your products. If your customers spend more time on Facebook, that’s a better bet for advertising. Generally, you can hardly go wrong with Facebook advertising if you have good products that meet a need in the market and have ads that are tailored to your ideal customer profile.
Other options include;
Influencer marketing – partnering with micro-influencers that have built an audience, including your ideal customer profile. They help you promote your brand before their followers on social media.
Content Marketing – Find the intersection between your brand and your customers, and create content that sparks a connection.
5. Consistent service
Ultimately, keeping your promise is what will keep customers coming back to you. Imagine buying a TOMS believing someone else is getting a shoe because of you; only to find out that they don’t actually give shoes to others or impact lives as they say. You’re most likely never going to do business with them again, and you’ll not recommend them to anyone because they broke any trust you may have had.
A great brand doesn’t stop at finding a pain point and making a promise. It strives to always fulfill that promise, and steps in swiftly to communicate with its customers whenever there’s an issue.
6. Community building and customer loyalty
Building a community around your product makes your customers feel like they’re part of something special, actually, they are because your brand is special. Encourage conversations about how your product is making their lives easier, better, and more pleasant.
You can also start a customer loyalty program to reward consistent shoppers.
7. Continuous innovation
Like humans, brands are supposed to evolve over time. Ensure you keep up with market changes. You may spot new opportunities for improvement.
Also, user interests change with the times. Flip phones were once the order of the day. Keep a balance between staying true to your core message and adapting to the times and market demands.
You don’t need to change your brand name, logo, and colors, but you must ensure your strategy is still bringing desired results.
Important Things To Consider for Your Ecommerce Brand
Think Long-term
While there are exceptional stories of brands that started making millions of dollars in a few years, that’s not the norm. Also, making millions doesn’t necessarily mean those brands are turning a profit. They may be spending more than they make.
It takes time; think 5 to 10 years, to build a profitable ecommerce brand, especially without investors.
It’s why you shouldn’t pick a product that won’t be in demand for long since the market could disappear before you start gaining traction.
Additionally, staying long enough in a market is in itself a strong brand signal.
If you can’t go a couple of years without profits, while committing to the promise you make to customers, you should reconsider.
Your supply chain matters
Customer complaints about ecommerce brands are mostly related to unfulfilled or delayed orders. Imagine the excitement customers have about getting your product on a particular date, only to be hit with disappointment that the order was delayed.
Do well to communicate properly whenever unexpected changes occur.
Maintain Brand Reputation
As you begin to grow, you’ll face challenges. Customers may vent their frustrations on social media. It’s essential you monitor conversations across the internet, and step in to resolve any dispute promptly.
Customers have higher expectations of brands these days, but they also realize that one may fall short every now and then. What they barely tolerate is when you stay silent while they complain or try to sweep their concerns under the carpet.
Conclusion
While the ultimate aim of most ecommerce business owners is to be profitable, it’s hard to do it without strong branding. Customers have raised the bar higher. The competition is fiercer. Branding is no longer a nice to do, but an essential part of a successful ecommerce business.
Ready To Build Your Ecommerce Brand?
Suffix Designs has helped dozens of businesses go from ideas to launching profitable brands.
With our expert brand identity designs and marketing, we help you stand out in today’s crowded marketplace, attracting and keeping customers for a lifetime of business growth.