One of the most important aspects of running an eCommerce business is marketing. Marketing is what generates awareness of your goods and services online to increase traffic and sales. When you are marketing, you need to know who your target audience is to create something they will enjoy.
eCommerce marketing strategies are the best way to approach your target audience. You can use different types of marketing strategies to reach them depending on your audience and the business.
This blog post will go over a successful eCommerce marketing strategy that you can use in your business!
What is eCommerce marketing?
eCommerce marketing is creating awareness of goods and services online. It aims to generate traffic and increase sales. eCommerce marketing strategies involve a plan of action that you can use. You can reach your target audience through various types of marketing strategies. It depends on who they are, the business, etc. It is vital to note that not all strategies work for all businesses. Therefore, it is essential to find the one that will work best for you.
There are four types of strategies, and you can choose one that suits your business most. They include awareness, consideration, conversion, and loyalty. These strategies all have different goals that will help guide the way they’re implemented in a business.
Awareness – This strategy creates awareness of your eCommerce store online. It uses different social media platforms, search engine optimization (SEO), email campaigns, etc.
Consideration – A consideration customer acquisition eCommerce strategy helps increase brand perception. It does this while building trust with potential customers.
Conversion – marketers use conversion strategies to gain interest in a particular product or service.
Loyalty – The loyalty strategy helps build long-term relationships with the current clients and target audience by establishing better communication and customer retention.
What are the most effective Types of e-commerce marketing?
Several eCommerce marketing tactics are available for eCommerce businesses. However, you need to select a strategy that will work best for your product or service. It should be a strategy that is affordable, secure, scalable, and customer efficient. The following are the most effective types of eCommerce marketing strategies that you can use.
Email Marketing (Post-Purchase Follow Up, The Abandoned Shopping Cart)
Email marketing is one of the best eCommerce marketing strategies. It helps in building relationships with consumers. Emails provide rich information about products and services. You can share information through newsletters and promotional offers. Email marketing is automated, making it easier for marketers to send email campaigns. You need to have a custom email address for every customer, and they should be able to access their accounts easily. For email marketing to be effective, marketers need to work on the following:
Follow-Ups after Purchase
Post-purchase follow-ups work by sending vital information to customers who have just made a purchase. They also send valuable tips on how they can use the product or service for maximum benefit. It makes clients feel that they are cared for, thus increasing traffic to your eCommerce site. Consumers can give feedback about your product or service. They can read product content and watch Youtube tutorials that you have on the product.
The Abandoned Shopping Cart
Some eCommerce marketers abandon their shopping carts without making a purchase. It could be due to many reasons, such as forgetting what they wanted to buy, not having enough money, or thinking that the product is too expensive. Through emails, the abandoned shopping cart strategy helps marketers connect with clients. These are clients who have left their products in a shopping cart without purchasing. The feedback will enable you to make an informed decision to prevent more abandoned shopping carts in your online store.
Content Marketing
There’s a saying that ‘ content is king’ in eCommerce. It means content marketing is the process of sharing knowledge vital for eCommerce businesses. Product pages build trust among clients who get the knowledge and skills that they require for a product or service that you offer. It increases brand awareness and sales, keeping you ahead of your competitors. Content marketing helps in building long-term relationships with clients through storytelling and visuals. How can you ensure your content is effective for your eCommerce business?
Relevant and up to date content
Relevant content will help customers make the right decision. You also need to create content that is informative and educative. Using a unique writing style will make your eCommerce site stand out from the crowd. The content should be meaningful and insightful for people who read it. Marketing through images enables you to link to social platforms. These include Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter, helping you increase traffic on your store.
Guest posts
Guest posting is an excellent way of sharing your content with other bloggers and website owners. You need to create unique, high-quality content that will appeal to the readers of other sites or blogs. It helps you build relationships with people who have authority in their fields. Using keywords is the best way to find a website that offers similar products and services.
Video Marketing
Videos are considered the future of content marketing. Videos are informative and engaging to users, making them feel close to your company or brand. People prefer watching videos rather than reading articles. Therefore it is essential to create a video for your eCommerce business. You can use YouTube as a platform where people watch tutorials. They can also watch other related videos about your products or services by your eCommerce business.
Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing enables you to reach many target clients worldwide. There are approximately two billion active users on social media sites. They use the platform to share their thoughts about products or services offered by businesses or brands. People who are interested in that particular product/service can share reviews. Social media platforms depend on the images and content of your eCommerce businesses to attract consumers.
Social media marketing is crucial in the digital marketing of your eCommerce business. The social marketing channels that increase traffic to your business include Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. You can use them to increase user engagement, tell a story and collect feedback. The platforms will also help you increase sales, drive traffic to your website or blog, and build customer loyalty.
Search Engine Marketing
What is search engine marketing, and what role does it play in eCommerce marketing? Search engine marketing involves using Pay Per Click(PPC) campaigns, product campaigns, and display campaigns. These campaigns allow you to pay for the top spot on search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. When a person types in the search box, it triggers an algorithm enabling your site to appear on top of results. It allows your eCommerce business to increase website traffic. Search engine marketing helps potential clients to locate you without difficulty. Pay per click on Google enables you to show your ads as soon as someone types in a keyword that you have targeted. Google Ad Words encourages Google shopping. It helps marketers to reach specific target clients by showing adverts for the products or services they offer.
Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization is one of the best ways to drive traffic to eCommerce businesses. It helps you achieve better online visibility. Optimization of search engines enables you to optimize your site with keywords. You can also use meta tags and headings that allow search engines to show your site in search engine results. Therefore, when users type in a keyword related to what you offer, they can find your site. Unlike the brick and mortar stores, digital marketing enables you to gain traffic on your site. Also, it increases sales and boosts brand awareness.
Search engine optimization is divided into white and black hat strategies. The white hat SEO is the most effective SEO strategy. It focuses on creating high-quality content. Thus, making it easy for users to navigate through your site. It offers a user experience that will make them want to return. Black hat SEO techniques include keyword stuffing, hidden text, or links, among others. They are not acceptable by Google as they could cause penalties such as deindexation
Influencer Marketing Strategies
Influencer marketing involves connecting with individuals of influence on social platforms to promote your eCommerce business. These influencers could be celebrities, bloggers, or even ordinary people who have a vast following. You can create awareness about your e-commerce products and services by creating an agreement to share their experiences after using your product. It is best to use marketing influencer strategies such as affiliate programs, product reviews, and blog giveaways. However, you need to select the best influencer for your eCommerce business. Choosing the wrong one would be counterproductive.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliates are individuals or companies that have a relationship with your eCommerce business. They sell the products on their site, and you reward any sale they make through affiliate marketing programs such as Amazon Associates, Clickbank among others. You can opt to use affiliate marketing in different ways, including eating awareness about the goods and services you provide. It is a symbiotic marketing strategy as you and the affiliate both benefit. For example, you get more traffic on your site, and the affiliate receives a commission from each product sold.
Affiliate marketing also helps you create an engaged community that shares their experiences about the products they buy. It is one of the best ways to increase sales and improve brand awareness. Affiliates are trusted by other people because they have purchased and experienced the product they are promoting.
Local Marketing
Local marketing is an excellent strategy that enables you to reach local clients on different platforms. It is essential to use local marketing strategies within the geographical location you want to go. Local consumers are not interested in visiting stores’ websites that are far from where they live because it would require too much effort. They usually have a preference for businesses offering goods and services close to their homes or offices. You can increase your eCommerce business by using local marketing strategies such as Google My Business, Facebook Local that help you build visibility locally. You can also use location-based services that allow people to find businesses near them on GPS-enabled sites.
Ecommerce Marketing Tips
Other than the strategies, you can also use marketing tips for your marketing campaigns. The tips enable you to increase your conversion rate by convincing your website visitors to make a purchase. These tips include:
Use personalization
Using personalization means tailoring your eCommerce business to the needs of current customers. It is vital in addressing their requirements and ensuring they have a great user experience at all times. For example, you can address them by using their names when sending out newsletters or asking for feedback from time to time. You can also recommend products based on their previous purchases and make it easier to find the right product. Personalization makes customers feel valued and provides them with a sense of reassurance hence encouraging them to make a purchase.
Capitalize on user-generated content (UGC)
User-generated content (UGC) is crucial because it helps in creating awareness about your eCommerce business. You can use UGC to educate clients on the different products you sell and the services you offer. It also helps build trust with potential customers interested in buying goods or availing of other types of services. The best way to do this is by assisting them to create content. For example, you can create a contest among consumers on Facebook to share their experiences about your products with others. The winner gets to win some gifts or discounts at your eCommerce business which motivates them to participate in future contests and improve brand awareness. You can also use social media hashtags to encourage them to share information about your business.
Build a loyalty program (Generate Word-of-Mouth Marketing (WOMM), Reviews, Referral Marketing, Testimonials, Case Studies)
A loyalty program is another tip that enables you to increase sales by rewarding your best customers for their purchases. It offers an opportunity to engage with the target market on different levels because they feel recognized when you give out rewards or discounts based on the number of purchases made over a specific time. They also get opportunities where they can win cash prizes or free coupons for future shopping. The loyalty program also encourages them to share their experiences with others and generate new customers who can later become loyal clients of your eCommerce business. You can use several ways to build a loyalty program. These include:
Word of mouth marketing
This marketing enables your clients to get the word out about your eCommerce business. It is vital to build trust with those interested in buying goods or availing of other types of services. The best way to do this is by encouraging them to share their experiences with others through social media posts and any relevant platform. Through word of mouth, customers can share their experiences. They can talk about how they made purchases at your business and any benefits they had. It provides them with a sense of reassurance hence encouraging them to make a purchase. Word-of-mouth marketing spreads quickly through platforms where people interact freely.
Reviews
Customer reviews help in building trust with your clients for your eCommerce website. They provide you with an opportunity to improve on the different aspects of your eCommerce business. Reviews through blog posts also enable target customers to clearly understands of how products or services work. Hence making it easier for them to decide to buy something from you.
Referral Marketing
Referral marketing occurs when a customer refers someone to your online store. They can be family, colleagues, or friends to purchase a product from your online store. You can reward your clients for referrals they make by giving them discounts on free giveaways.
Testimonials/Case Studies
A testimonial is a written or spoken statement from your customer. It provides feedback on the different products and services you offer. It also helps in building trust with customers interested in buying goods. Testimonials contain an endorsement on the various aspects. These are important to them when they place their order at your eCommerce business.
Case studies are detailed reports of the different products or services you offer. It provides target clients with an opportunity to understand how these work and also build trust.
Invest in live chat
Live chat helps in establishing contact with customers who want more information on your online sales. You can employ staff or work with a bot to provide information on different products and services that you are marketing for eCommerce. When first-time customers get answers right away, they are more likely to purchase a product.
Cater to the shopping cart
An abandoned cart occurs when customers add items to the shopping cart but decide not to buy them. It happens ue to poor customer service or a slow delivery system. You can reduce this by providing your clients with easy-to-navigate websites. They have an efficient search engine and a quick check-out process. You can also introduce instant delivery options.
Implement a responsive website design
A responsive website design is vital in eCommerce marketing. It adjusts to the screen sizes of different devices, enabling clients to access your website on any device, increasing traffic. Your website should be mobile, laptop, tablet, or any other screen size-friendly to gain more traffic.
Ecommerce Marketing Strategies
With the strategies and tips now clear to you, we need to discuss essential factors for creating a marketing plan.
Set goals based on industry benchmarks
Setting clear and measurable goals enables you to track the different aspects of your eCommerce business. You can use third-party statistics or benchmarks to determine how many customers visit your online store, increase sales, and follow up on which marketing strategies are working best for your company. The location and size of your business will play a key role in helping you set goals for your eCommerce strategy.
Break down your strategy into small tactics
An eCommerce marketing plan is broad. Therefore, you need to divide it into small tactics that are easier to manage. You can use events or milestones as a means of breaking down your strategy into small tactics that you can track and measure at any given time. For example, you can divide your eCommerce marketing strategy into monthly milestones. Thus the number of sales made monthly. It will enable you to monitor how your company is performing and track all the different aspects that work well. You can then do away with what is not working and embrace what works for your business. That way, you will be able to track and measure your progress as you scale up.
Delight your new and long-term customers
In eCommerce marketing, you want to build a long-term relationship with your customers. You can do this by:
Providing excellent customer service
Customer satisfaction is critical in eCommerce marketing. If you do not meet your customers’ expectations, they will look for other products and services. That could lead to a decrease in sales. You can solve this by having an efficient customer service team. You also need to answer questions or address the concerns of potential buyers. The team needs to respond to inquiries, complaints, or any feedback in time. It helps to maintain a steady flow of clients as well as keep your existing ones happy. If the customer service is not efficient, they will look for other brands. Buying from competitors could eventually lead to a loss in sales. You can also make use of live chat for prompt engagements.
Offer free shipping
Free shipping boosts eCommerce sales as it gives customers a good reason to buy from you. You can give them free shipping by using courier services for your deliveries.
Offer incentives and discounts
Incentives and discounts encourage potential buyers or clients to make purchases. They can buy from your eCommerce store as they know that they are getting something in return. For example, if their total purchase is over a certain amount, they get free shipping.
Conclusion
Knowledge is power, and now you have all of it on eCommerce marketing strategies and tips. It will enable your eCommerce business to thrive. But you need to access your business to determine the most suitable technique to use. The digital marketing tactics in this article are the best practices that will help you achieve your goals.
