The internet offers aspiring entrepreneurs an incredible opportunity to start and run an ecommerce business with minimal startup costs. By avoiding expensive retail space and leveraging online channels, ecommerce founders can get to revenue and profitability far quicker than traditional brick-and-mortar companies.

However, competition online is intense. Succeeding as a new ecommerce entrepreneur requires smart planning, flawless execution, and tireless effort. This comprehensive guide pulls no punches in laying out everything involved in building a prosperous online store from initial concept to scaling revenues to 7+ figures.

Researching and Selecting a Profitable Product Niche

Every thriving online retail business starts with identifying a compelling product niche that serves unmet customer needs better than the competition. Focus your search on these types of opportunities:

• Passion communities and hobbies with obsessed followings – gaming, knitting, camping, etc.
• Ethnic, local, or patriotic specialty products tied to customer identities
• Problem-solvers that make daily activities easier – organizers, ergonomic tools, efficiency apps
• Consumables with recurring demand – coffee, health supplements, pet food
• Leveraging existing brands and audiences through licensing deals, established influencers
• B2B products sold to other businesses – contract manufacturing, custom services

Conducting Market Validation

Once a niche is identified, validate demand in the market before investing heavily in inventory and website development:

• Survey target customers directly through paid sampling qualitatively about their needs.
• Create a landing page describing the product value proposition and pricing to quantify interest conversions.
• Interview individuals who match target buyer demographics to identify pain points and product-market fit.
• Search for relevant keywords on Google to estimate search volume and analyze competing sites.
• Thoroughly research competitors online selling similar products to understand pricing, positioning and gaps.

Securing Suppliers and Inventory

For physical product businesses, securing reliable suppliers becomes essential:

• Vet suppliers on cost, minimum order sizes, lead times, quality controls, terms, and production capacity scalability.
• Request samples from multiple suppliers to assess materials and craftsmanship firsthand.
• Negotiate discounts for bulk orders and payment terms to preserve working capital.
• Build relationships with key sales reps at supplier companies for added flexibility as you grow.
• Check supplier company stability – years in business, reviews, leadership depth, transparency.
• Conduct site visits or factory audits for critical suppliers to confirm capabilities and conditions.

For ecommerce startups pursuing a dropshipping model, research reliable dropshippers providing quick order fulfillment. This offloads inventory responsibilities to the supplier but lowers margins.

Developing the Online Storefront

Creating an exceptional online shopping experience converts first-time visitors into loyal, high-value customers. Essential elements for store design include:

• Attractive, professional visual design consistent with brand positioning
• Intuitive website navigation and layout focused on simplicity
• Compelling product descriptions, specs, photos, videos, and reviews
• Clear value propositions, calls-to-action, and trust-building cues
• Frictionless checkout and payment flows – guest checkout, saved payment options
• Mobile and tablet responsiveness for seamless experience across devices
• Page speed optimizations – compress images, minify code, defer offscreen elements
• Layered security defenses – HTTPS, SSL certificates, PCI compliance

Concentrate design efforts on high-impact pages like product detail, shopping cart, checkout, and account dashboard experiences. These pages generate the most conversions and dollars.

Building Brand Awareness Online and Offline

With a polished online store in place, driving traffic through coordinated marketing and customer acquisition becomes the priority. A blended omni-channel strategy works best for ecommerce brands:

• Search Engine Optimization – Keyword research, metadata optimization, link building, refreshing content, speed enhancements
• Paid Advertising – PPC, shopping ads, retargeting across Google, Facebook, Instagram
• Email Marketing – Signup incentives, welcome flows, regular promotions, personalized content
• Social Media – Engaging visual content, influencer collaborations, social advertising
• Public Relations – Earned media pitches, press releases, product reviews, roundups, case studies
• Referral Marketing – Customer refer-a-friend incentives, affiliate partnerships, relevant co-promotions
• Community Building – User forums, social channels, in-person meetups, content hubs
• Retail Partnerships – Bundled promotions, in-store cross-marketing, co-branded products
• Grassroots Outreach – Local events, nonprofit fundraisers, contests, pop-up shops

This combination of digital, in-person, and traditional marketing gives startups the breadth of channels needed for multi-touch attribution. Test response rates and cost efficiency across activities continuously to double down on what moves the needle most.

Managing Order Fulfillment Operations

Operations form the crucial engine that delivers your product from facilities to customers. As order volumes scale, fulfillment workflows must become ingrained:

• Pick, pack, and ship orders accurately including inspection, documentation, labeling, and packaging
• Integrate shipping APIs for seamless label printing, tracking status updates, calculated rates, and delivery speed options
• Keep inventory organized and at optimal levels using warehouse management software and forecasting
• Consider outsourcing logistics to third-party fulfillment specialists as SKUs and sales grow. They handle storage, picking, packing, shipping, and returns.
• Provide self-service account features like order tracking, subscription management, preferences, and saved addresses
• Utilize returns management software to generate prepaid return labels and manage reimbursements

Delight customers by getting purchases reliably in their hands quickly. Shipping speed and dependability often determine repeat business even more than product quality itself.

Making Data-Driven Decisions to Optimize Conversions

Leveraging data provides the most powerful tool for continuously improving marketing, operations, and the customer experience.

• Instrument key business and transaction events for detailed tracking – purchases, traffic, on-site searches, page views, email opens, etc.
• Analyze customer cohorts like lifetime value, source, demographics, location, first vs repeat, along with behavioral segmentation
• Run A/B and multivariate experiments to find the optimal product pricing, promotions, website content, and creative
• Monitor rankings and traffic sources to identify SEO opportunities
• Survey customers for qualitative feedback at key touchpoints – purchases, onboarding, churn
• Blanchard customer service interactions and community discussions to understand pain points

Distilling insights from data to guide marketing optimizations and operational changes provides the fuel for growth.

Expanding the Business Profitably

Once core operations solidify and initial products gain traction, smart entrepreneurs seek new avenues for expansion:

• Expand to new geographic markets through localized websites, marketing, language, and shipping options
• Diversify product selection over time once top sellers plateau to find incremental growth opportunities
• Consider omnichannel retail with online-offline hybrid strategies – pop-ups, retail partnerships
• Explore acquiring competitors or complementary businesses to consolidate market share
• Develop white label/private label products with higher margins than third-party products
• Build a marketplace for suppliers and complementary sellers to add selection
• Create proprietary content hubs and communities to cultivate loyalty beyond just transactions

But resist stretching capabilities too thin or expanding faster than operations support. Disciplined, stepwise extension into adjacent spaces sustains quality, controls risk, and maintains sound unit economics.

The Rewards of Persistence and Passion

Launching a profitable ecommerce brand from initial concept to fully fledged business tests perseverance and demands passionate dedication. But entrepreneurs who stick to their vision and execute each building block diligently ultimately realize life-changing rewards. This playbook highlights the ingredients for constructing an online store positioned for the long haul. With meticulous attention to these fundamentals, selling your way to small business success can become a reality no matter your background.

Frequently Asked Questions about Starting an Ecommerce Business

1. What are the first steps to start selling online?

Choose a niche, setup a business entity, obtain licenses, select an ecommerce platform, find suppliers or inventory, optimize website design, integrate payments, arrange shipping.

2. Is it better to bootstrap or raise funds when starting an online business?

Bootstrapping allows more control and ability to reinvest revenue. Raising funds can accelerate growth but add reporting obligations and dilution. Many successful ecommerce brands start bootstrapped.

3. What should you sell in an ecommerce store?

Sell niche products tailored to your expertise and interests with proven customer demand, low competition, high margins, differentiation, and purchase frequency. Avoid commoditized markets.

4. How much does it cost to start an online retail business?

Costs range from $300 to over $100k depending on inventory, website, marketing, software, talent, and operations. Many bootstrap customer validation with minimal upfront capital.

5. What platform is best for building an ecommerce website?

Leading options are Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, and Magento. Shopify and WooCommerce are the most popular for small businesses starting out.

6. How do you drive traffic to a new online store?

SEO, paid ads like Google Shopping, content marketing, social media engagement, email marketing, affiliate marketing, influencer collaborations, brand partnerships.

7. What is the average cost for ecommerce paid advertising?

Plan for ad spend in the 5-15% of revenue range as a cost-efficient benchmark. Leverage ROAS metrics and start small while validating conversions.

8. What shipping options should ecommerce stores offer?

Provide free economy shipping, paid 2-day, next day, and same day delivery. Partner with USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL. Show calculated rates at checkout.

9. How should you manage inventory for an online business?

Use inventory management software. Integrate channels. Optimize stock levels. Track costs. Monitor turnover. Setup reorder points and alerts. Streamline supply chain.

10. What metrics are most important for an ecommerce business?

Conversion rate, average order value, cost of customer acquisition, lifetime value, churn rate, traffic sources, gross/net margins, cart abandonment rate, fulfillment costs per order.

11. What tools are needed to manage orders for an online store?

Order management software centralizes inventory allocation, order processing, documentation, labeling, tracking status, returns. Integrate with shipping carriers.

12. When should you start hiring employees for ecommerce operations?

When order volume exceeds owner capacity. Outsource initially for flex support with fulfillment, virtual assistants, marketing, and customer service.

13. What are important ecommerce customer service channels?

Phone, email, chat, self-service knowledge base, user forums, social media. Empower reps to resolve issues quickly. Offer convenient contact options.

14. How much budget should be allocated to acquire a customer?

Limit CAC to 75% of average customer lifetime value to maintain profitability. Monitor CAC by channel and aim to decrease over time through optimization.

15. What strategies increase average order value?

Bundling, upsells, larger sizes, multi-packs, warranties, free expedited shipping above order thresholds, discounts for higher quantities.

16. How can you reduce shopping cart abandonment?

Improve site speed and navigation. Highlight security and ease of checkout. Offer guest checkout. Set up cart abandonment email sequences. Enable easy returns.

17. What tools help manage an ecommerce business?

All-in-one platforms like Shopify. Accounting, email marketing, payment processing, inventory management, order processing, reviews, and analytics systems.

18. When should you trademark your online store brand name?

Ideally before launch to secure rights. But you can register trademarks for existing brands too. Search availability early to avoid conflicts.

19. How do you optimize a store for mobile?

Use responsive templates. Test on devices. Ensure fast load times. Simplify navigation. Enlarge buttons for touchscreens. Personalize marketing.

20. How can you get product reviews on your ecommerce site?

Proactively request reviews post-purchase by email. Offer incentives for writing them. Show testimonials prominently. Syndicate external reviews.

21. What are the most important pages on an ecommerce site?

Homepage, product listing, product detail, shopping cart, checkout, search results, account dashboard. Optimize these high-impact pages.

22. How do you improve conversion rate on an online store?

Improve speed and navigation. Refresh product info and images. Personalize for users. Show trust badges, reviews and social proof. Reduce field abandonment at checkout. Offer guest checkout.

23. What is an average ecommerce conversion benchmark?

Average conversion rate is 1-3% across visitor → lead → customer. Target 10%+ add to cart rate. 60-90% on checkout page itself. Measure against competitors.

24. How do you make an online store appear credible?

Show real customer photos and testimonials. Feature founder’s story openly. Highlight physical location and contact details. List credentials like awards and media mentions.

25. How should ecommerce businesses handle product returns?

Offer 30 day return window. Provide pre-paid return shipping labels. Refund upon inspection if unused condition. Reimburse original shipping fees.

26. Should an online store have a loyalty rewards program? When?

Loyalty programs increase repeat purchase frequency. Consider when you have sufficient returning shoppers. Points and tiered benefits entice signups. Integrate with CRM.

27. How do you increase customer lifetime value?

Targeted upsells, cross-sells, and promotions. Loyalty incentives. Personalized recommendations. Customer win-back campaigns. High-value retention offers like VIP access.

28. How do you retain customers beyond the first purchase?

Send a personalized thank you and welcome email. Offer exclusive discounts for repeat customers. Deliver valuable content through email and social channels. Provide exceptional service.

29. What should you include on the About Us page?

Founder’s story. Photos of team. Images of premises and facilities. Sourcing information. Quality control highlights. Awards earned. Press features.

30. What types of products should you consider selling online?

Passion niches, specialized hobbies, giftables, subscriptions, problem-solvers, consumables, ethnically relevant, patriotic, nostalgic, licensed.

31. How do you optimize an ecommerce site for SEO?

Target keywords. Create meta title tags and descriptions. Improve site speed. Refresh content regularly. Get backlinks. Format with semantic HTML. Submit sitemaps.

32. What is the best ecommerce platform?

Leading options are Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce and Magento. Shopify and WooCommerce are most popular for starting small. BigCommerce and Magento offer robust enterprise features.

33. Should you sell on Amazon, eBay or Etsy too?

Marketplaces expand reach, especially initially. But consider commission fees, competition, and branding control tradeoffs. Your own site provides the most sales upside long-term.

34. How can you personalize marketing for ecommerce?

Segment customers by attributes like demographics, behaviors, purchase history, email activity, social activity, traffic source, lifetime value. Tailor messaging per segment.

35. How do you build an email list and nurture leads?

Offer signup incentives. Send welcome series introducing your brand. Deliver valuable content consistently. Promote to recent site visitors who didnt convert. Automate workflows.

36. What metrics should an online business track?

Revenue, traffic, conversion rate, average order value, customer acquisition cost, lifetime value, retention rate, profit margins, website analytics, operations.

37. When should you expand into new product categories?

After current offerings plateau and new market opportunities arise. Diversify methodically into adjacent niches without diluting focus too far.

38. What is dropshipping and should you use it?

Dropshipping enables selling products you don’t stock. Suppliers ship directly to customers. Useful for testing new products. But margins are lower than carrying your own inventory.

39. What should you include in your ecommerce email newsletter?

New arrivals, promotions and sales, shipping notifications, company or product updates, email-only coupons, how-to tips, personalized recommendations, seasonality.

40. How often should you email your ecommerce list?

1-3 times per week is optimal for most retail niches according to benchmarks. Test different frequencies against engagement metrics. Time based on seasonal buying cycles.

41. What should you include in your online store footer?

Contact info, email signup, navigation, payment logos, shipping details, returns policy, social media links, trust badges, review snippets, copyright.

42. How do you improve your ecommerce site’s speed?

Choose lean templates. Optimize images. Enable caching. Minify code. Defer offscreen elements. Remove unnecessary plugins. Compress files. Upgrade hosting if needed.

43. What are common ecommerce customer service questions?

Where is my order? How do I track shipment? Can I change or cancel order? Why was my credit card charged? How do I return an item? When will backordered item ship?

44. Should you offer live chat customer service?

Live chat raises conversion rates by enabling real-time support. Consider when you have staffing budget. Use chatbots to handle common questions and route advanced issues to humans.

45. How much budget should go towards paid advertising?

Aim for 5-15% of revenue depending on growth goals. Leverage ROAS metrics. Validate conversions before aggressively scaling spend.

46. How much equity should you give investors?

Typical equity percentages are 10-30% for angels and VCs on $500K-$2M+ rounds. Accelerators often take 6-10% for $100-150K funding.

Here are more frequently asked questions about starting an ecommerce business:

48. Should you hire a marketing agency or do it in-house?

Initially, outsourcing to an agency can be more cost effective. Bring marketing in-house once you have sufficient budget and team experience.

49. What should you include in ecommerce site navigation?

Homepage, product categories, collections, new arrivals, sale items, blog or resources, shipping/returns policy, search bar, account login, cart. Keep primary nav clean.

50. How do you optimize category and product pages?

Compelling titles, descriptive copy, detailed specs, expanded images, video demos, customer photos, support content like sizing guides, expert recommendations.

51. When should an online store offer free shipping?

Offer free shipping on orders over a minimum threshold like $50. This encourages larger basket sizes. Absorb small shipping costs or bake into product pricing.

52. How much should shipping costs be for most ecommerce orders?

Keep shipping under $10 per order if possible. Higher shipping costs increase cart abandonment significantly. Offer fast expedited shipping for a premium.

53. When should you start blogging and content marketing?

Early on to establish SEO and brand voice. But first focus efforts on core business fundamentals before distraction of content. Outsource initially if needed.

54. What business insurance should ecommerce stores have?

General liability, product liability, professional liability, commercial property coverage, cyber and data breach insurance, business interruption, workers comp.

55. When should you trademark your ecommerce brand?

Ideally before launch to secure rights. But you can register trademarks later too. Just search availability first to avoid conflicts with existing brands.

56. How should you structure your online store branded domains?

Make domain name keyword-rich with your brand for SEO. Use .com TLD if available. Secure matching social media usernames. Don’t worry about country domains early on.

57. Should packaging be branded for ecommerce products?

Branded packaging reinforces quality and uniqueness of your products. Custom boxes, tissue paper, stickers increase unboxing experience. Integrate branding and design.

58. When should you expand into wholesale selling?

Once you have a loyal customer base and proven product demand, wholesaling lets you rapidly expand distribution through retail partnerships.

59. How should you handle taxes for interstate ecommerce sales?

Use automated sales tax software. Charge customer rates based on ship-to address if you pass taxes on. File returns regularly for each state where you have a nexus.

60. What business structure is best for an ecommerce company?

Most initially choose an LLC for liability protection and pass-through taxation. Your business structure can evolve over time as your needs change.

61. Is it better to bootstrap or get funding when starting an ecommerce business?

Bootstrapping retains control and ability to reinvest revenue. Outside funding accelerates growth quicker. Many successful ecommerce brands start bootstrapped.

62. How can you segment customers for more targeted ecommerce marketing?

By attributes like demographics, purchase history, email activity, social activity, traffic source, lifetime value. Create campaigns tailored to each segment.

63. How do you optimize pricing strategy for ecommerce products?

Benchmark competitors but don’t solely rely on matching them. Test varying prices. Use psychologically attractive price points ending in 9. Bundle products or offer volume discounts.

64. How do you maximize holiday ecommerce sales?

Offer limited time discounts and bundles. Send holiday gift guides. Create gift finder tools. Run sweepstakes and contests. Market via holiday-specific channels. Leverage user-generated holiday content.

65. What emerging ecommerce trends should new brands follow?

Sustainability, ethical production, diversity representation, causative branding, interactive elements like customization and augmented reality, mobile optimization.

66. How can an online store qualify for small business financing?

Maintain organized financial records. Build business credit profiles. Get a business credit card. Keep clean personal credit. Show increasing revenues and profits over 6+ months.

67. What metrics indicate ecommerce customer lifetime value (LTV)?

Average purchase value, purchase frequency, customer lifespan before churn, gross margin per transaction. Calculate LTV to inform CAC budget and retention strategies.

68. What tools can help improve ecommerce email marketing performance?

Signup forms, drag-and-drop builders, campaign automation, segmentation, AB testing, analytics like open and click-through rates, integrations with CRM and marketing automation platforms.

69. What metrics help forecast ecommerce revenue?

Website analytics, search traffic, past sales cycles, macros like retail industry growth, conversions by channel, average order value, inventory levels, marketing response rates.

70. How can you sell on Amazon Marketplace while still building your own brand?

Restrict Amazon to certain SKUs only. Drive all branding and content from own site to own customer experience. Feature own branding prominently over Amazon branding.

71. What emerging technologies are shaping the future of ecommerce?

Augmented and virtual reality, artificial intelligence and machine learning, cryptocurrency payments, mobile wallets, live video shopping, virtual assistants, internet of things.

72. How should ecommerce sites approach visual content and multimedia?

Invest in professional product photos and high-quality lifestyle images. Add video demos. Build out expanded image galleries. User-generated visual content. Interactive elements.

73. What are important considerations for international ecommerce expansion?

Adapting marketing, currencies and payments, taxes and duties, translations, shipping options, customer support needs, regional fulfillment, cultural nuances.

74. What are strategies for acquiring traffic to new ecommerce sites?

Search engine optimization, content creation, guest posts and influencer outreach for backlinks, social media engagement, community building, referral programs, online PR, targeted paid ads.

75. How can ecommerce sites get content ideas?

Search volume data tools, forums and communities, interviews with ideal customers, brand mission topics, trending subjects in your niche, repurposing collateral, competing content gaps.

76. What are important considerations when redesigning an existing ecommerce site?

Preserve SEO equity – redirects, sitemap. Partially test new design with sample traffic. Clear customer communication about changes. Maintain payment continuity. Align with brand.

77. How should ecommerce sites approach link building?

Focus on brand mentions and unpaid organic links versus paid and low editorial value links. Cultivate relationships with partners, influencers and press. Create resources and content people want to naturally link to.

78. What are important tips for managing ecommerce customer service?

Set clear expectations on response times. Empower reps to resolve issues. Offer self-service help resources. Analyze CS pain points continuously. Prioritize first contact resolution. Seek feedback.

79. What can impact deliverability for ecommerce email campaigns?

Quality and diversity of email list. Engagement metrics like open and click rates. Complaint rates. IP reputation. Domain authentication. Message content and formatting.

80. How can you create urgency and scarcity for ecommerce promotions?

Countdown timer showing sale expiration. Limited inventory claims. Limits per customer. Exclusive or early access offers. Clear callouts indicating discount amount or savings.

81. What are important legal pages for ecommerce sites?

Shipping & returns policy, terms & conditions, privacy policy. State physical address, business entity, contact details. Comply with regulations like CAN-SPAM, GDPR.

82. How do you optimize ecommerce sites for voice search?

Use natural conversation language and keywords people speak vs type. Structure content clearly around question topics. Improve site speed. Enhance schema markup.

83. What are important features for ecommerce comparison and review pages?

Product name, image, rating score, pros, cons, decisive recommendations, structured data markup, links to check price and purchase, transparent review guidelines.

84. What are the most important ecommerce onsite search factors?

Keyword-optimized listings and product detail pages. Clear faceted navigation and filters. Predictive search functionality. Did you mean suggestions for misspellings. Sorting options.

85. How can you improve branded search visibility for ecommerce sites?

Create Google My Business listing. Request brand keyword searches show site in results. Cultivate off-site branded mentions through PR and influencer outreach. Optimize branded anchor text links.

86. What are important considerations for ecommerce sites focused on conversion rate optimization?

Page load speed, clear navigation, sticky navigation menus, exit intent popups, trust factors like security badges, social proof, minimizing checkout fields, guest checkout, prominent calls-to-action.

87. How can ecommerce sites get more content linkbacks?

Create resources people naturally want to reference like “best of” guides, how-tos, templates, research reports, statistical content, tools. Promote through outreach.

88. What are important financial reports and metrics for ecommerce companies?

Cash flow statements, profit and loss, balance sheet, sales revenue, traffic, conversion rate, average order value, customer acquisition cost, customer lifetime value, inventory turnover.

89. What data should ecommerce companies track for marketing analytics?

Traffic source, campaign cost, conversions by source and campaign, ROI, churn and retention cohorts, email and landing page metrics, call tracking.

90. What can ecommerce companies do to boost customer loyalty?

Loyalty programs, personalized experiences and offers, surprise rewards, exclusive sales access, community engagement, easy returns, branded packaging, excellent service.

91. How can ecommerce sites get press coverage and media mentions?

Newsworthy announcements, contributor bylines, reporter inquiries, product reviews and giveaways, media lists, personalized pitches, new site launch outreach.

92. What are important considerations for managing ecommerce accounting and finances?

Choose a central accounting platform. Integrate with other software and marketplaces. Produce financial statements regularly. Work with an accountant experienced with online sellers.

93. What can ecommerce sites do if experiencing sudden rapid growth?

Scale operations and technology incrementally to maintain quality. Add helpdesk capabilities and chatbots to manage inquiries. Set customer expectations on shipping times if needed. Bring on seasonal contractors.

94. What are important characteristics of high quality ecommerce product images?

High resolution, proper lighting and color, clean backgrounds, multiple angles, lifestyle context, consistent editing, prominent branding, calls-to-action.

95. How can ecommerce sites minimize risks around inventory management?

Accurate demand forecasting, safety stock minimums, lead time buffers, supplier redundancy, shelf life monitoring for perishables, cycle counting procedures.

96. Why should ecommerce sites focus on first call resolution rates?

Resolve issues quickly on first contact to satisfy customers in competitive ecommerce landscape. High first call resolution demonstrates service efficiency.

97. How can ecommerce managers stay updated on industry trends?

Industry publications and blogs, newsletters, conferences and events, analyst reports, networking with peers and brands at the forefront, continued education.

98. What qualities make a strong ecommerce manager?

Data-driven decision making. Customer-centric mindset. Technical aptitude. Analytical skills. Operations orientation. Comfort with risk. Resilience. Marketing savvy. Ability to multitask.

99. What risks should ecommerce business owners plan for?

Shipping delays and errors. Stockouts. Payment processing failures. Poor reviews. Ad account suspensions. Data breaches. Technology outages. Changing market preferences. Cloning by competitors. Negative PR.

100. Why focus on lifetime value (LTV) with customers?

LTV represents long-term earnings potential versus one-time transaction value. Maximize this by reducing churn, increasing purchase frequency, upsells, retention efforts.