Staying on top of the latest trends and effectively running your online business is never easy in the rapidly changing online landscape. What works in marketing your business one day may fail to capture the attention of an audience the next. The products that are hot and trendy are quickly replaced by products that are even hotter and trendier. The eCommerce software that your customers find simple and easy to navigate and use one moment, may in the next moment become obsolete with the release of the latest and greatest thing.
Staying on top of the changing eCommerce landscape is a constant challenge, and your footing is never sure. One of the most effective ways of maintaining that edge, and knowing what your customers want and desire is of course to ask them, and social media can play a big role in that regard. But you also don’t want to come across as helpless, as one who can’t function without their customer’s input or suggestions.
Staying abreast of the latest information yourself is vital, and there’s no better way to do this than by picking up the latest books on the subject. Books can provide you with more information than the blurbs of your customers, or the latest blog post on the subject by an expert in the field. They can allow you to develop your own unique strategies for running your store (which is itself unique, and should always strive to be as such), and not just pigeonhole you into one idea, or trend.
Let’s briefly look at a few of Holiday 2012’s best eCommerce books and what information they have that could make all the difference in the way your mobile store is managed.
Likeable Business, Dave Kerpen:Kindle, $12.10; Paperback, $14.06; Hardcover, $20.70.
Perception really is everything is the online world, and properly developing and cultivating your business’ appeal to customers is vital to being successful. This book is a great guide to building a likable business persona, and avoiding some of the pitfalls that can undermine and destroy that.
You Should Test That, Chris Goward:Paperback, $18.04.
Finding what works from the back end requires a great deal of patience and testing to create a browsing and shopping experience that is perfect for your customers, and this is work that most small business owners simply aren’t prepared to invest in. This book spells out why it’s so important to have a silky-smooth experience, especially when it comes to a mobile app and the various compatibility issues that can cause between devices.
The Impact Equation, Chris Brogan and Julien Smith:Kindle, $12.99; Paperback, $11.26; Hardcover, $15.85.
Social media marketing is vital to the success of any online (and even offline) business. How do you properly make use of these channels though, to get the word out about your company, get them interested in your brand, and not just make a lot of noise that serves little purpose in attracting new customers or retaining the ones you have? This book will show you how.
These are just a few of the great new books on real and digital bookshelves that can help immensely with successfully building your online business and mobile store, and maintaining your edge over the competition.