How Did You Get Into eCommerce? And Why Reputation Travels
It's interesting to me that this is one of the most common questions I hear bandied about as an intro, but I don't hear it much talked about here.
My background is in software development, I happened to finish college around the time the Internet was starting to be commercialized, and the search engine wars were still in effect, and eBay and Meg Whitman were king of the world. I joined AuctionRover.com in 1999—amazingly at a time there were hundreds of auction sites to choose from when buying merchandise as everyone was trying to copy eBay.
It didn't have to be eCommerce. I just wanted to be in an industry that was growing, changes regularly, and had complex problems to solve. Check, check, check. I almost joined Microsoft instead, but I'm glad I chose Scot Wingo, Aris Buinevicius, and an eCommerce company.
What Should Newcomers to eCommerce Know?
If you're new to eCommerce, here are a few facts:
You aren't at conferences for the leads; you are there for the relationships.
The important referral you get may not be now—it could be 10 or (as in one of my cases) 20 years from now. Sorry, marketing spend allocators—figure out the last touch of that attribution strategy!
If you don't like the software vendors out there right now, wait 5 years. There will be another batch soon enough. Incumbents beware—you rely on reputation, but those paying attention know the deal.
Especially if you are new to eCommerce in the last 5-6 years, you may not yet fully appreciate this fact.
How Does Reputation Impact Success in eCommerce?
If you don't think people will reference-check you literally while you are in the middle of your sales pitch, you haven't been in the industry long enough.
Everybody knows everyone else—the eCommerce industry is an echo chamber.
Reputation travels.
Expert Consulting: How Will You Grow Your eCommerce Company?
When growth is elusive, I am an expert at asking incisive questions to surface the real issues and then present straightforward ideas that your team can actually implement.
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