Before you dismiss the notion that video game industry is actually a good example for eCommerce companies, I'd like you to consider the following information. Over 25% of men aged 18 and below play video games. The majority of video game players in the US are between 18 and 35 years old. So either most of them have the purchasing power now or will be the bulk of people that have it in the nearest future. These are the millennials, who currently spend the most money shopping online in the US. 

That's why the video game industry is a great example: it has the right consumer base. These are also the people, who are likely to be good with new technologies in the future. The consumer reactions to various decisions by game producers and publishers can tell businesses a lot about the mindset of their prospective clients and the business practices that won't fly with savvy online shoppers. Let's take a look at some of these examples, which might help you build an ethical and prosperous business online. The following tips should work for the majority of eCommerce niches. 

Product Expectations

There's nothing worse than falling short of customers' expectations. We're living in the modern world of advocates, reviews and open access to information. You'd think that trying to deceive the customers in one way or another is probably going to be hard. But there are plenty of online businesses that are still trying to do that. What's worse is the fact that you don't even have to lie in order to cause a backlash from your audience. All you have to do is over-hype your product and the clients will not be satisfied with what they're getting. 

One of the most obvious examples was Watch Dogs by Ubisoft. This game was advertised and hyped for around 2 years, before being released in 2014. And the results were devastating: the graphics were bad, the story was bleak and the list goes on. It was a pretty hard hit for the publisher. At some point, it was even labeled as the new EA. And if you don't know, EA was voted the worst company in US a couple of times. The whole situation may even affect the second iteration of the game. So what are some of the lessons that you might learn from this example:

 Keep It Real

It's never a good thing to over-advertise your products. This creates a false sense of uniqueness and value around the product. As Harvard Business Review puts it - "stop trying to delight your customers." It's a lot better to make basic promises and fulfill them, then to promise something extraordinary and not deliver on the promise. Leave the extraordinary products to Tesla. Focus on the real benefits of your products and services.

 Test Your Products

There are a lot of companies that receive goods and never test them beyond the basic functionality. Have you actually tried using the product in the environment that it was intended for? Yes, that takes time and effort, but if you're running a small-medium online store - it's doable. You can even build an additional source of traffic from this approach by creating helpful video reviews/ articles about the product itself. Go beyond the standard pre-shipping inspection, if you really want to stand out.

Another issue that might actually hit you hard is the inability to deliver the products. In the gaming world, it's pretty easy, because a lot of games are being downloaded nowadays. But if you're actually selling a physical product: not being able to meet the demand means lost sales. People will simply go elsewhere, unless you have a unique product that no one else is selling. An example would be supply issues with the latest iteration of Nvidia GPUs. This creates speculative pricing, disappointment and potential loss of revenue. 

P.S.

As I was writing this article, 'No Man's Sky' came out and was totally trashed by many reviewers, as the biggest disappointment of 2016. This is what you get when you over-hype your product with an inflated marketing budget. And it doesn't matter, if it's a game or a consumer product. You have to deliver on your promises.

Join the Audience

It has been discussed numerous times in a countless number of articles, but nevertheless, it's still an important principle that any business should follow. Knowing where and when your audience convenes can really help you with product promotions, brand awareness and any other marketing efforts. This can be so effective that it may actually 'kill' your website. 

Related gaming product companies have also realized the importance of the community. That's why you see brands like Corsair and NZXT interacting with their potential buyers online. Community management is the future of marketing, so you better be ready for it. What can you learn from these gaming and industry-related brands? 

 Be Relevant

In order to engage the community, you have to be able to relate to them. Blatant promotion and no interactions won't get you anywhere. You have to build a reputation. It's up to you how to do that. Selling clothes? How about some tips for a fashionable look this season in a community that will love them, like Male Fashion Advice? Trying to promote a software product for online merchants? Build a useful list of tools for them that they will appreciate and include your product there.

 Don't Be Pushy

Even if people are discussing your products, it's not up to you to steer the conversation. A good example is the backlash that EA community manager received when he tried to steer the conversation about a particular product in a favorable direction.

But where can you find all of these communities, especially if you have a very niche product that isn't that easy to promote? It's simple. Research the niche, like there's no tomorrow. Remember that there are always related communities that might be very eager to engage with your brand. Case in point for the video game industry - the various cable management communities, where PC enthusiasts show off their neat cable management tactics to make their computers look stunning. These people are also more likely to be interested in gaming.

The answer might come from an unexpected location. This is from my personal experience. It's not exactly related to the video game industry, but it gets the point across. I was once researching keywords for a website that sells cheap clothing. They also sold related products, like affordable provocative lingerie. After some keyword and backlink research of their competitors I found an unexpected place for their potential customers. It was a community of sex toy owners. Particularly, owners of realistic sex dolls. I'm not giving you any links - go ahead and do the research yourself ;) 

Anyway, these people were actively buying clothes for their toys. Given the nature of these products, the owners weren't particularly keen on forking out a lot of cash on clothing for the toys. But they still wanted them to look realistic. That's why sites with affordable but good clothing were very popular among them. They even had fashion shows for their toys. It was a pretty strange experience. But it was eye-opening: there's always something to learn about your audience. There are always communities that can really care about your product, but never were on your marketing agenda.

Listen to Your Audience

One of the greatest sources of potentially vital business information is your audience and their feedback. Video game industry is full of those examples. One example that I can really relate to, being a part of the player base, is the disastrous launch of Battlefield 4 and the consequent damage control by the publisher. The game was littered with bugs, glitches and wasn't very stable at times. Being one of the most popular franchises in the niche, Battlefield 4 initially disappointed many gamers. 

The best thing about the situation is the fact that the publisher actually listened to the feedback from the audience and made significant changes to the game in the coming months. This disaster also introduced community testing environment, CTE, to the Battlefield franchise, where balance and coding updates are being tested by gamers. This essentially created a team of free testers that help make DICE's products a lot more playable. 

This example shows a really important correlation between your audience and the success of your product. These are some of the things that you can take away from it: 

 Crowdsource Your Product Ideas

If your users/clients are passionate about your product - they'll share their feedback, either with you or with the communities, where they spend their time. We discussed these communities above. Find voices in these communities that provide valuable feedback and use it to update your product and its presentation. All of this information can help you create a superior product that's based on what people actually want. Remember, these people are buying your product. They use it. They know better than you, if it's good or not. 

If you provide valuable feedback about the ways your going to fix the issues, like DICE did with Battlefield 4, this might also boost your reputation and credibility, as people like to be heard and listened to. 

Customer Support is Crucial

This is pretty obvious for anyone, who tried to get any information from a seller or a business. Timely responses that help you make better purchasing decisions are great. They increase customer satisfaction, boost business reputation, create positive buzz around your brand online. Let's face it, you're not Google or Facebook. You can't afford bad customer support, because your company is not a monopolist.  

EA was called the worst company in America, as I mentioned before, partially for their bad customer support. Bad customer care can also cost you reputation, revenue and future sales. What EA did next proves that they recognize better customer experience as a valuable tool for business growth. EA overhauled the way they run the business. From interactions between employees to conversations with the clients - 'no stone was left unturned'. 

Proper investment into customer support provides numerous benefits for your company. If you're really building a business aimed at growth and expansion - there's no way around it. 

Find Your Niche

Indie games are the perfect example of how companies can compete for their spot in the niche. Of course, not everything is perfect for many of the developers. But there are some really great success stories that you can learn from. A bulk of Indie game developers basically explore, update and polish concepts that were abandoned or never reviewed by big companies in the niche. The behemoths of gaming, like Ubisoft, are aiming at the maximum possible revenue and growth. That's why they focus on products that will cover the biggest market share. That's why games are starting to shift towards more casual player base in many niches. 

Indie developers tend to focus on specific niche products that might be interesting for a limited audience. But being a small company with not that many employees - the revenue stream is adequate for supporting their growth. Indie development is famous for its experimentation and that's where they beat the big companies. And here's what you can learn and apply for your business from this gaming niche: 

 Test New Products

Try something new for your lineup of products. In fact, you can make it your main focus, like many indie game devs do. This can change your business forever. As a pure commerce example, take inspiration from John Nese, who sells soda. Not your regular rival selection of Coke and Pepsi. How about 500 different sodas from all over the world? He found his niche and his business is thriving. This could be applied to any eCommerce category. Finding new things to sell and learning how they perform can be eye-opening. 

 Recycle Product Ideas

There are a lot of indie games that recycle ideas from previous titles. Be that game mechanics or visuals - there's a lot of room for improvement. Just don't mix up ripping off someone's idea with actually creating a new product from its basic components. How can this work for eCommerce? Easy. Take a look at the booming t-shirt business. For example, Design by Humans, Busted Tees and Threadless all sell the same essential product. But they're all successful. The key here is to add a unique twist to your products that makes them original, like original design. Take this speaker. It's simple, yet there's nothing else this unique on the market. 

I hope that these tips will inspire you to approach your business in a much more creative way. And maybe play some games;) Video game industry is a great example of high tech market that's constantly growing. Take a look at the latest introduction of VR. This niche represents the most active category of shoppers, both by age and by income, so their desires and general attitude towards businesses can actually teach you something about your potential audience.