Milan Harris is a branding expert and a serial entrepreneur who has scaled her first e-commerce business, Milano Di Rouge, to 8-figures.
In a world where interest in entrepreneurship and flexible work continues to grow, how to start a business can seem overwhelming. As a serial entrepreneur who has been able to scale my e-commerce business to an 8-figure global empire, I’m passionate about helping others achieve success as entrepreneurs. Whether you’re looking to start or scale your business, I believe e-commerce should be part of your business strategy. These tips have helped me grow my e-commerce business and can help you achieve your business goals.
Why you, why your business?
Determining what sets your business apart from your competition is key. Ask yourself what makes your business different and keeps customers coming back. Your business has a purpose, and you have a passion. Include both in your brand messaging. You should be clear on who you’re talking to, your value proposition and what makes your business different.
When I started my company, which is a backronym for Making Dreams Reality, I didn’t want to create another T-shirt or sweatshirt brand; so I tied it to a message that other dreamers like me could relate to. I started with T-shirts because that’s all I could afford; but I was intentional about building a brand with a message that would eventually allow me to live in my purpose. I also made experiences a core part of my brand. Those two ingredients helped build a lifestyle brand that inspires people around the world to go after their dreams and the life they want to live.
Social media isn’t your enemy.
Social media has grown significantly since I started my business 10 years ago. It has allowed my business to grow organically and achieve double in sales during the first four years, without opening a brick-and-mortar location. In addition to Milano Di Rouge, social media has allowed me to grow multiple brands in the past 10 years. When you post often and consistently, social media platforms can reward you by putting your content in front of more potential customers globally. Social media can give you the opportunity to build community and interact directly with your customers, build your email list, increase traffic to your website. There are also paid social media strategies to explore like influencer marketing or ads. Take an integrative approach to social media and understand its power to grow your e-commerce business and reach your customers directly.
Don’t solely rely on social media.
As mentioned above, social media is a great tool, but it shouldn’t be your only tool. Depending only on social media can be dangerous because you don’t control the medium or own the data. This can put you at the mercy of the apps going down for a period of time or your page being disabled. You need to get your customers off the social channels and into your own database. One way that you can do that is by encouraging your audience to subscribe to your newsletter or SMS list. Be consistent with finding ways to obtain contact information from your social media followers and customers.
Remain in the know.
Technology and industry changes are inevitable, from TikTok to Chat GPT. Regardless of what industry you start your business in, stay on top of the changes that can impact your industry, business or e-commerce. Tools like Google Alerts are helpful because they’ll keep you updated on various topics and send the articles directly to your email. Also, don’t hesitate to attend seminars or networking events, a lot can be learned from others. Read books, watch success stories and never stop learning and being a student. “Still Learning” is the motto at one of my brands, and “Remain a Student” is the motto of another.
Leave room for growth and improvement.
The old saying “the customer is always right” isn’t wrong. There’s a lot that can be learned through customer behavior or input, and most of it can help make your business better. Remain malleable to customer feedback. Take notes of new products or messaging that are performing the best and reuse that formula. When something doesn’t perform well, take a close look at it and see if you need to review the marketing strategy or redirect your time and resources towards something else.
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