Will Amazon's Same Day Delivery Hurt Your Business?

Customers who swear by Amazon will use it to buy anything and everything. Certain must-have technology items, such as computers, mobile devices and video games, prove people are willing to pay any cost to get their hands on hot items as soon as they are available. Speed trumps price in those transactions, and Amazon will win most of those battles. Chances are if customers search for a product online, they are looking for something unique, new to them or hard to find. If an e-business uses that to its advantage, it should not be affected by Amazon’s new same-day delivery service.

Go with your strengths. A brick and mortar, or e-business needs to offer more than just a product to survive. Business owners should have experience with or a strong passion for the goods they are selling. Even if Amazon sells the same product, providing additional personalized information about the product gives the small e-business an advantage. When companies demonstrate their passion to their customers, whether through blog posts, links to informative sites or testimonials from customers, they create a community around their passion for the goods that they sell. Engaging customers in this way will keep them coming back even if Amazon sells for less and ships it faster.

Show off your skills. When customers discover an e-business, they quickly decide whether or not it will meet their needs. A professional-looking site that is easy to navigate, offers a smooth checkout process, and allows customers to reach a real person via phone or e-mail will encourage repeat visits. By providing a great customer experience and resolving customer issues promptly, companies show customers how much they care about their business. Customers in turn share their experiences with their friends. When small companies have a superior and personalized customer service model, Amazon can’t compete.

Companies that feel the need to compete with Amazon on same-day delivery have already lost. Most people can distract themselves long enough to wait overnight or longer for their package to arrive. If customers choose Amazon instead of driving to a store or visiting a niche e-business, they are focused on price and ease of transaction. Customers who already have an established relationship with Amazon will go there reflexively. The same-day delivery service may change some customers’ online shopping habits, but the small e-business should be competing on elements of style versus economies of scale.