- Tamara Mellon is the co-founder of Jimmy Choo who later launched her eponymous footwear company as an e-commerce site.
- Kara Goldin is the mastermind behind Hint Water whose digital sales have grown to almost 40% of her business.
- Mellon, Goldin, and four other successful e-commerce experts have given their best tips on what it takes to build an online company that stands the test of time, including embracing the 'Unicorn Principle,' selling a quality product, and reading your company's reviews.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
E-commerce is one of today's most buzzworthy industries, with countless solopreneurs claiming overnight success. These Advisors in The Oracles, as well boss ladies Tamara Mellon, who launched her eponymous footwear company as an e-commerce site, and Hint Water mastermind Kara Goldin, whose digital sales have grown to almost 40% of her business, share what it takes to build an online company that stands the test of time.
1. Have a testing mindset
The world of e-commerce is constantly changing, including the channel your ideal customer uses to discover new brands, the creative she responds to, or the experience she or he expects.
The best digital businesses leverage the flexibility and immediate feedback loop e-commerce provides and deploy tests quickly (new channels, new creative, new experiences) that reveal what is or isn't working. Data is the best guide for where to invest more heavily and how to scale your business.
—Tamara Mellon, co-founder and chief creative officer of luxury footwear brand Tamara Mellon; co-founder of Jimmy Choo; equal pay and women's empowerment advocate
2. Share your story
Start with a product that has a purpose or solves a problem. In our case, Hint Water was a healthy, enjoyable alternative to all the sugary, sweet drinks out there; it's water that makes you love water. Then share your authentic story with consumers. Start a conversation, interact with them, listen to them, and educate them.
It's also important to keep your website dynamic, both visually and verbally. The content should be engaging and give consumers a reason to stay on the site and fall in love with your product. While you should change the site often, never lose your core identity or stray from the mission of your business.
We offer different incentives through a rewards program, create fun bundles, and make it easy for people to have Hint delivered every month via our subscription service. It takes constant attention and evolution, but essentially it's about having a brand personality and always relating to your customer.
—Kara Goldin, founder and CEO of Hint Inc.; creator of The Kara Network, a digital resource for entrepreneurs; and host of the "Unstoppable" podcast; follow Kara on Twitter and Instagram
3. Embrace the 'Unicorn Principle'
A unicorn is a one-of-a-kind creature. Consider what makes you, your brand, or your product unique — in other words, a unicorn. Then research and test this differentiator to find out whether your target audience cares about it. If they do, you've hit gold: that's the "Unicorn Principle."
Your job then becomes finding the best way to communicate with your audience so they learn about this uniqueness. Advertising and influencers can help. Before investing in marketing campaigns though, listen to what your audience is talking about. (Hint: Check their Instagram feeds and read their comments.) It all starts with offering something special.
—Rafael Romis, founder and CEO of award-winning digital agency Weberous and e-commerce strategist at Generate Culture; connect with Rafael on LinkedIn
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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