Forget Reach, Start Selling

strong>This is an interesting book that, with a casual glance, could be overlooked as being ‘yet another ecommerce-type book’, yet ignore it at your own risk. In one way, it is a difficult book to describe, mixing current advice, theory, real-world examples and practical pessimism together. Would it be unfair to suggest that it could be a good ‘kick up the backside’ or refreshing ‘slap in the face’ for those who are, or who should be, involved with sales and business-at-large?

Ecommerce is no longer a hot-topic for many companies. It is a must-have. Yet statistics show that new ecommerce companies have a lower overall survival rate than other startups and about 80% struggle to earn even a modest income from their activities. The message is clear: companies need to carefully look at what they are doing and start selling – then they can worry about fine-tuning matters and increasing their reach.  This book may help… although a warning should be given about its potential to shock and alarm the unwary!

Despite the presence of many big-name ecommerce giants, there is still scope for smaller players to benefit from online sales. Not everything needs to compete on the lowest price or fastest delivery for commodity items. Specialist items can still benefit from online sales, whether as a process or acting as a very-large fishing lure. The author wants you to be different, and seeks to help define and develop strategies that can let you grab a niche for yourself. At the heart of the advice is, as you may expect, focussing on the customer’s individual needs – although as obvious as this may seem, it is something that is often overlooked or barely understood.

The writing style is clear and flowing. It can serve several audiences at the same time. In some situations it might have benefitted from greater use of referencing, enabling easier access to source material, but this is a minor point overall. Once you get past the history-to-date lesson and evaluation of why ecommerce has seemingly fell into a low-profit business realm, the author looks forward to considering the limitations of ecommerce marketing and how it can be challenged. A specific model is explained, backed by research and real-world exploitation, and the reader is encouraged to apply it to their own situation (or modify their situation to the model). It a book for do-ers rather than dreamers.

It was an interesting read on many levels, encouraging further research as well as actual deployment. It can be a book you should read before you fine-tune your business plan (or equivalent in this modern age) as well as acting as a wake-up call for those with an existing business. Even if you think you have your ecommerce operations running smoothly, reading this book will either validate your good work or give you a few “oh heck” moments, sending you back to tinker with a few things. 

All of this, and more, for a price where you’d struggle to get a consultant to say “good morning” and mutter a few preliminaries.

This review was published earlyer at www.darreningram.com