What Type Of Mindset Does It Take To Grow An Online Store?

Growing an online store into something spectacular requires the right mindset. You can’t just do it half-heartedly. You’re either all in, or you’re out. 

But what does that mean in practice? What type of thoughts should be racing through your head if you’re the sort of person who wants to run an online store and thrive? Let’s take a look. 

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The Ability To Embrace Feedback

Perhaps the most important quality or mindset of an ecommerce entrepreneur is the ability to take and embrace feedback. While being told you suck or your products aren’t worth the money isn’t a pleasant experience, it is critical information you can use to become more competitive. 

Most customers will leave feedback out of anger. And while their emotions might not feel good, you still need to recognise what feedback actually is: a service. 

Think about it. You’d probably have to pay a mystery shopper a considerable daily rate to get them to provide detailed feedback about your products and services. But disgruntled customers do it for free, and they’re often highly motivated to do so. Just listen to what they say, look for patterns, and see whether anything emerges. Then act on it. 

Continuous Learning

Another mindset of successful online store owners is their willingness to continuously learn. Graduating from university might have happened years ago, but they are still hungry to know and be more. 

In ecommerce, continuous learning means staying up to date with all the latest trends and innovations. Those at the bleeding edge of things are more likely to gain a competitive advantage over those that rest on their laurels. 

Just look at what Amazon did. The former bookstore decided to invest all its profits into improving its services and providing customers with a world-beating experience. The firm succeeded, and now it is one of the most successful companies of all time. It was prepared to try and do things that its rivals said were impossible. 

Time Management And Discipline

You also need a mindset of proper time management and discipline. You can’t afford to waste a single second of your day when you’re trying to be competitive and beat your rivals. 

Ideally, ecommerce entrepreneurs should set schedules and prioritize some tasks over others. They should also set aside time in the week for training and learning, as these activities can provide insights that dramatically improve your store. For instance, learning how to customize your Shopify theme can drive more engagement and increase sales. 

Innovation

Being innovative is another essential ingredient of the ideal ecommerce leader’s mindset. Seeing opportunities and acting on them is the difference between a good and a great entrepreneur. 

The competition in the ecommerce market is fierce. Dozens of shops are all vying for business, selling virtually the same products in every niche. The only way you stand out is if you decide to do things differently. Explore unconventional solutions and unique marketing approaches to stand out from the crowd. 

Remember, the more you innovate, the more likely you will stumble across something that genuinely works. 

A Data-Conscious Approach

You should also have an evidence-based mindset. Following the data and only using the things that work can be a great strategy for growing a thriving ecommerce business. 

Being data-conscious means using tools that let you collect and analyze the data in your possession. That could mean crunching consumer behavior numbers or evaluating your marketing outreach to see what works. 

Being more data-conscious can have tremendous benefits over the long term. As time passes, you get a clearer picture of what’s likely to work, and what won’t. You also see your unexpected successes, allowing you to probe them and find out what makes them so impactful. 

A Growth Mindset

Having a growth mindset is also helpful when setting up an ecommerce store. Being able to embrace challenges and seek out new knowledge can put you at a significant advantage over your competitors.

A growth mindset is essentially a mindset devoid of pride. You know your limitations and the fact that you don’t always know best, and embrace it. You accept your weaknesses and look for ways to overcome them. You also know that you have blind spots. For whatever reason, you are unable to see things that seem obvious to other people. 

Being able to grow, mature and change your perspective is a massive advantage for anyone in the ecommerce space. Having that capacity puts you at a distinct advantage over others in the field who may still believe their approach is best, even if it isn’t. 

A Focus On The Customer

Another great mindset for building an ecommerce store is to focus on the customer. Instead of thinking about what you want, you instead consider what they want. 

That might sound obvious, but you would be surprised at how few companies actually do it. Many unconsciously believe that their customers should serve them, undermining their fundamental messaging. 

But focusing on the customer doesn’t need to be hard. It just means adjusting your attitude to one that says your job is to meet people’s needs (not just get paid). Once you make this shift, you’ll find it far easier to win business and attract loyal customers who are willing to stay with you long-term. 

Strategic Thinking

Thinking strategically is another mindset you need to grow a successful online store. You want to be thinking two or three steps ahead to position yourself in tomorrow’s world. 

Strategy often requires getting together with other talented people in your firm to figure out what you need to do next. You’ll need to consider your market position, competitive landscape, and how you want your store to develop over the coming years. 

The basic goal of the strategy is to imagine what would happen long-term if you continued following the tactics you use today. You want to anticipate how the outcome might change if circumstances switched rapidly. 

Once you have the ability to think strategically, you can more easily see problems and opportunities coming down the pike.