Amazon with a $358 billion market cap is one of the most successful online retailers.
Online retailing business has huge potential, however it is also very competitive. A lot of
companies came and vanished into thin air. Giants like Amazon and startups from the
garage are fighting fiercely for the biggest piece of the market.
A strategy powered by real and factual information about your competitors is the difference between your success and failure. Amazon is an example with a $358 Billion market cap.
They mastered the art conversion optimization. This means that the chance of a potential buyer ending up buying when they visit Amazon is very much higher than their competitors.
They make significantly higher revenue per visit than their competition. All these by studying
their competition and using data intelligently.
Business development executives are constantly looking to obtain product and pricing data from competitor websites to gain that competitive edge that is so necessary for survival. They want Information about products, product features, and even inventory details. This data can help formulate an effective sales, pricing and marketing strategy which can increase their profitability and chances of survival.
Dynamic pricing, pioneered by Amazon, has made this competition even more fierce.
The difference between a sale and a lost customer can sometime mean a few cents.
Getting the right data is not simple. Some websites are easy, some are as tough as karborundum. Picking the right data feed provider is very important. For small and medium-sized online companies, a competitive analysis should include a regular and if possible, real time monitoring of the competitors’ websites, prices, products and reviews. This data can be used both offensively and defensively to improve your competitive position.
Being aware of your competitor's data will place you in a better position and ensure you are always ahead of your competitors.
Companies have taken the “do it yourself” approach to gathering this information or subscribed to expensive data brokers. In either case the solution is less than optimal.
“Do it yourself” is fraught with dangers of ever changing websites, technologies and a distraction away from the core business.
The expensive data brokers in a retail world of margins of 2-3%, you can’t really afford to subscribe to such sources and services.
There is the world of “Data as a Service” where companies like Datahut just provide you the data – no questions asked – no servers needed – no software to manage – no proxies to route – pure data feeds.
Don’t be driven out of business by data – take charge and let data drive your business to new heights.