10 Ways To Make A Unique Online Store

Do you want your dropshipping business to show great results? Double down on standing out from your competitors!

How? You’re going to find it out from this article that goes through 10 sure ways to make a unique online store.

The eCommerce industry is definitely in its golden age. The sales are constantly growing. And Statista’s research predicts that they will exceed $4.8 trillion in 2021.

Image credit: Statista

Yet, while the sales are going up, the competition on the market gets stronger. Thousands of entrepreneurs give dropshipping a shot.

Indeed, why not? There is no need to put much money in to start and run it. Dropshipping is affordable and undemanding.

But, put yourself in buyers’ shoes for a minute. They see dozens of online stores every day. In other words, for them, there is a wide range of options to consider. Why should customers make their choice in your favor, then?

If you think that the situation is going to work itself out, unfortunately, you are wrong.

Only you can solve this issue by making your online store unique. And it’s not so difficult.

Here are ten proven strategies that are going to do the job.

#1. Choose a unique niche

Imagine yourself selling t-shirts. It seems to be a demanded product, after all. Everyone wears t-shirts, right?

Yeah, but how many companies do sell them? A thousand, maybe ten thousand… Who knows?

The point is to stand out from them. It means that you should get customer interest. Who are your clients? What are they interested in?

Quite difficult to define, isn’t it?

Ok. Now, let’s say you are selling t-shirts related to dogs. Wouldn’t your tasks be easier?

Of course! The picture gets clearer now. Your clients are dog owners and all the people who fancy different dog breeds.

Building your online store around a narrower niche allows you to zero in on a certain audience. This way, your customers’ interests and passions become much clearer to you – and it gets easier to find the right way to appeal to them.

Read this article while choosing your niche, and don’t forget to evaluate its potential with this free niche research tool.

#2. Start your blog

The power of content marketing is well-known.

Today, the Internet is the main source of information. Billions of people open their browsers every day to find the answers to their questions, or to entertain themselves, or to just pass the time.

In other words, they look for engaging, informative, or amusing content. So, if you want to make a unique online store that grabs your visitors’ interest, it’s a great idea to fill it with the desired original content.

The easiest way to do it is to start a blog on your website. It will allow you to post numerous useful and inviting articles related to the niche you’ve chosen.

If these articles help customers solve their problems (or simply entertain them), they change their attitude towards you. Unlike dozens of online shops that only try getting into clients’ pockets, you’re one of the good guys – the one your customers can trust.

#3. Provide the best customer service

The next thing you should do to make your online store stand out is to get in your clients’ good books.

Customers may forget your low prices and good quality products. What always sticks with them is how they were treated.

Your reputation is vital in the dropshipping business. And if you get in bad with some of your clients – for sure, it’s going to blow up in your face. Information gets around the Internet at lightning speed.

Thus, you need to make a point of providing the best customer service.

Probably, the most important thing on your way to pull it off is choosing reliable suppliers. If you do everything right, this task won’t pose a serious problem.

The next must-do is being honest. Don’t lie to your customers trying to stave off something unpleasant. It’s better to admit you’re wrong and try to fix the mistakes even if they are not your fault.

For instance, change a sweater if it doesn’t fit, notify your buyer about a delivery delay, etc.

Of course, the best strategy is to prevent the troubles from happening. That’s why you need to learn about the customer service mistakes entrepreneurs often make – read all about it here.

Customer trust is fragile. Cherish it, and this will pay off!

#4. Provoke a positive emotional response

To make your online store unique, your products should stir people, evoke some positive emotions, and be memorable.

Joy, amusement, pride, hope… These are deep and strong feelings that you want your brand and your products to be associated with..

Nike has its “Just do it” slogan. It motivates people to take actions, provokes emotional response, and gets associated with the brand immediately. When customers hear “Nike”, the next thing coming to their mind is “Just do it”.

So, ideally, you should achieve the same.

In other words, you need to put emotions in your promotion, so that customers could describe your products in a few simple yet catchy words.

#5. Shoot useful videos

We’ve already mentioned the huge part your content plays in making your store unique. Well, a video guide or review is the most engaging type of content you can imagine.

YouTube is one of the most popular video streaming websites that lets you reach your audience and connect with new customers.

Isn’t it a good idea to post your videos on YouTube, Facebook, etc.?

Surely.

What should these videos be about?

You don’t have to scratch your head for a long time. People are interested in your products. Take the bestsellers and make their video reviews. Put them on YouTube, social media, and your own product pages.

These simple actions are going to drive more traffic to your online store and boost your sales.

#6. Create special offers and bonuses

Who doesn’t like to be rewarded?

Any reward or praise makes your relations with customers stronger. This shows your special attitude towards them, and proves that you value them.

If your clients know that they’re going to get something extra as the reward for their actions or aid, they’re eager to jump at it.

Create special discounts and bonuses for your loyal customers. Offer them a reward for bringing in more clients. And you’ll see your profit going up.

#7. Stay consistent

Everyone likes surprises, of course. But, only the ones that match this person’s expectations.

In business, the thing of the paramount importance is being consistent. Once you’ve tried some exotic meal and liked it, you expect to come to this restaurant again and get the food of the same quality and taste.

You should be predictable for customers. If they’ve got used to see a new item in your store every week, don’t let them down –  keep it up. If you make special discounts every month or two, don’t quit it. And so on.

So you’ve got it.

If customers meet their expectations while visiting your website, they will come again!

#8. Be a professional

Let’s say, you want to buy a smartphone. You come across an online store selling them. Go to the product list. Pick an item. Go to the product page to learn more about the model. But see something like “This phone is good, modern and convenient, so buy it right now!” and its price. That’s all.

What would you think?

Right, the seller just wants to make money. He doesn’t even know the basic features this phone has.

Let’s be honest. You’d rather start looking for another store.

Customers feel insincerity.

To get their trust, you need to prove you’re an expert in the niche you’ve chosen. Your product descriptions and photos, the content you put on your site and in your social networks feed are the best evidence of your credibility.

Learn as much as you can about your products, post unique articles, answer your customer questions in details. Make them feel your reliability.

#9. Speak the language your audience does

When you and your friend like the same song, you both know the words, right?

If someone says that it’s their favorite song, too, but can’t recall a word or hum the tune, you know it’s not actually true.

One of the most essential things to make a unique online store is being tuned in to your audience. This is impossible without speaking their language.

If you’ve never played poker, you’ll hardly make out what poker players talk about.

Your clients need to be sure that they deal with someone from their circle. Otherwise, they are likely to ignore you.

Thus, you must convince your audience you’re one of them. Your articles, videos, product descriptions, etc. should be written or said in their language.

#10. Make people recommend you

The best advertisement is customer recommendations, isn’t it?

In all likelihood, you have a personal experience of buying something your friends recommended.

Keep it in mind: people’s opinion is the most precious thing to make your online store stand out. No commercials work better than customers spreading the word about you.

So, make sure people recommend your store on various forums and social media.

Of course, it’s not hard to implement if you follow the rules listed above. This way, your clients naturally will do so.

Besides, you can find some influencers on Instagram and YouTube related to your niche. They have a big audience of people who trust them. And many of them could be ready to cooperate with you to promote your goods.

Every successful business stands out from the crowd. To achieve great results, you should make a unique online store which draws customer attention. We hope the tips listed above will help you get on the top. If you have some questions left, you can leave them in the comment section below – we’re always eager to answer!