Trailblazer CustomInk started up in 1999 offering custom shirts and has grown due to its innovative business model and powerful t-shirt design editor.

Customers and organizations can sometimes be intimidated by the t-shirt making process. By making the process seem easy and visually interactive, users are engaged instead of put off.  As a result, CustomInk crossed $100 million in sales just last year in 2012.  Other companies offering similar services such as Zazzle and CafePress (reaching 100M+) along with other smaller companies ($3-12 million) fill the gaps of this market.

When competing, smaller businesses shouldn’t see it as “taking on CustomInk”.  Operating a business that is too focused on a larger competitor will just encourage replication and recipe for disaster.

Smart challenges to address consist of differentiating your business. You should strive to offer low prices, an effective design editor and great customer service, but small businesses can come out even further ahead when focusing on their own unique strengths.  This usually includes quality, flexibility, and developing personal relationships. This can help small businesses carve out a niche even in the most competitive markets.

Chances are larger companies could have you beat on price. Other factors you can compete on are specialized value and service. Possessing the flexibility and adaptability needed to meet the needs of your customers will help you rise up as a lovable business.

DON’T GO TOO BIG TOO SOON

Whether or not you currently have a small local print shop, you serve as a middleman, or you already operate solely online,  make sure you do not build anything large scale in the beginning. Building a website from scratch – especially one consisting of multiple features and advanced editors – can quickly cost your business. After you launch this business, you should also expect to make changes according to your customers’ wants and needs. By not putting in all your resources in the beginning, you can easily make changes down the road. Consider using a premade script, especially in the beginning (but make sure it is open source so you can alter it later without issues).  An example of a complete solution (one that includes ecommerce and design editing capabilities) is iScripts PrintLogic. This online design and printing software can give you all the features you need at a significantly reduced price and timeframe compared to building from the bottom up.

DEVELOP YOUR NICHE
If you haven’t already, you should define your target and only sell to them. Don’t try to be too many places at one time or plan to sell to the masses.  Dedicate your attention to a specific niche.  Once you conquer there, you can move on to higher levels and develop more products and services. Aim high, but make sure the target is right.

BREAK DOWN YOUR EFFORTS

How many things are on your “to do” list? “Which ‘to do’ list?” you ask.  You could try a multitude of different marketing techniques, but which ones are most important? Which ones can you already do well?  Instead of learning a variety of new skills and spreading yourself (and resources) thin, focus on your strengths and simply work up.  Always focus on what takes you the least amount of effort first. If you lack the ability to move further beyond this point, you could also consider outsourcing some of your efforts to get the biggest bang for your small business buck.

OFFER BETTER CUSTOMER SERVICE

Be more personable than the big guys. Typically larger companies do not have as much time for one-on-one customer interaction.  Hear your customers and respond in a friendly and helpful manner. Go above and beyond (but within your own means). Sometimes this is your best marketing investment as a small business.

DON’T OBSESS OVER OTHERS

While you may be peeved that larger competitors have more leverage to gain contracts and reach larger organizations, don’t let their actions guide your own strategy. By reacting instead of innovating, you will always be a few steps behind.

OWN YOUR ONLINE PRESENCE

It is almost a guarantee that your customers will be checking up on your social networks and reviews before doing business with you.  Trust is a segment all its own – from online reviews and comments to forums and social media, all eyes are on your business.  This is also an opportunity for your company to shine.

What is a marketplace? These are platforms or websites that have two distinct user groups that rely on one another for goods and services (examples: users and sellers on eBay are two separate markets).  Because these sites can be hard to develop, we would like to address this challenge by supplying you with a few helpful tips.

Some of our products – iScripts MultiCart and iScripts eSwap – give you the ability to create a multi-vendor ecommerce site or bartering website.

The Chicken and Egg Dilemma

Your initial users will be fueled by site activity.  Users will not just come and sign up on your site if it looks like a ghost town. Users are looking for a site with products and other users.  Buyers will not purchase from your site if it seems obscure.

At the same time, suppliers will be hesitant to add inventory if they do not see a large pool of potential buyers.  This being the case, how do you successfully grow a double-sided online marketplace? It is at this stage that businesses fail, become overwhelmed or think they have reached a brick wall.  This is unfortunate because it is possible to overcome this hurdle, but it just requires some additional effort.

1. Make It Different

Does your site have a strong focus? Although there are many different types of marketplaces and ecommerce websites, you can still have an original site idea.  How? Through the niche market that you choose and what your site can provide.  Examine and research your surroundings to find an unmet need.  Should your site be local or community based? What types of users do you want to cater to? What are their needs? What about suppliers? Is there a way to connect the two?

Recently in Chicago, a woman decided to create a business selling cancelled weddings!  Instead of all that money going to waste, she buys the entire wedding at a heavily discounted price and resells it to couples that have expressed an interest in getting married on the fly.

Contemplate the possibilities to find your best opportunity!

2. Start with Sellers

After you start your site, you should first focus on acquiring sellers. Usually, this is the easiest starting point.   The first time a buyer visits your site, it would be ideal if the experience was positive enough to increase word-of-mouth and tell a friend or two.  If the buyer leaves due to lack of inventory or disappointment, not only is your site not worth mentioning, but the visitor will also never come back.

However, with the right value proposition, sellers will have little reason to deny featuring products and joining your site.  You could pose a limited time offer, perks or a negotiation based upon future variables (such as traffic, ads or sales).

3. “Fake” Users and Products are Okay

Ever hear of faking it until you make it? While this is not a long term solution, or directly profitable, you should create a few user profiles or fake accounts to start off with while recruiting those closest to you to join your site. This should give you at least enough users to not be a vacant site, which is the bare minimum.  Consumers act as bait for sellers and vice versa. You need something to offer. For instance, if you have eSwap (the swapping and bartering site), add some high value products of your own to encourage users to add their own products for lower prices.  Adding high value items will also attract quality sellers and buyers to your site.

4. Start Creating a List (and make the calls!)

While growing your site, be sure to find a way to acquire customer information such as addresses, emails and phone numbers. Whether this is due to an ebook offer, survey, trial, contest or other type of promotion, you should encourage your visitors to someone submit their information – even if they are not directly registering with your site.  After acquiring this list, you can then reach out to specific target in the future. This doesn’t require much – just a strategic plan and proactive follow up.

5. Make Your Own Strategies

Besides working your list, develop another strategy to aim at your market.  You cannot rely solely on SEO and Google Ads.  Although it is helpful, you can’t control the price of ads or compete on some of the major (and expensive) keywords.  Just because of this, the game is not over.  Take control of your own success by creating your own strategies. Provide something valuable to your audience. Make it bookmark and blog worthy.  This will make you more competitive and help your brand get noticed.