The right marketing technique is the backbone of your e-commerce store but it only works if you understand what to do, when to do it and how to plan. Understanding those details will enable you to make better choices, plan depending on your budget and build a loyal following while you are at it.
As an e-commerce business owner, making your site stand out is becoming harder than ever as more individuals start selling online.
Fortunately, by implementing a few best practices, you can stand out within your industry and set yourself up for success.
In this post, we’ll cover some unique e-commerce marketing strategies. These aren't generic tips like building an email list and optimizing for SEO. You're probably doing that already.
Here are six strategies that actually WORK:
The foundation of standing out is to present your product or service as a solution to your customers’ problems that’s better than your competition.
But it's almost impossible to do without data as its your short cut to understanding their habits & behaviors.
Consider collecting customer data by:
This way, your marketing team will understand why customers buy from you, and they can target that particular pain point better. Or, if you find your product isn't meeting your customers' needs, this knowledge will allow you to readjust and adapt.
Few e-commerce stores partner with complementary brands, although it's an effective way of reaching a larger audience.
This involves contacting companies targeting the same audience but with a different product and joining up with them.
For example, if you're selling coffee beans, partner with an e-commerce store selling coffee machines and other equipment. You could then run a special where customers can buy a coffee machine and beans at a discounted price.
This way, you, your partner, and the customer all benefit. You and your complementary brand reach a wider audience by teaming up, and customers get good discounts.
Influencer marketing is still a thing! Simply partnering with an influencer and getting them to promote your brand and reaching thousands, if not millions of new potential clients and customers through one person.
Although it's becoming more common among e commerce stores, it's still an effective strategy because you're reaching thousands, if not millions of new eyeballs.
But it's essential to partner with an influencer that aligns with your brand vision and target audience. This way, they can post content like product reviews and how-to guides, and this brand awareness complements your other marketing e-commerce strategies like paid ads and email marketing.
If you have a brick-and-mortar store, you could ask customers to sign up for your SMS or email newsletter when they check out. So you're using your offline audience to gain traction online.
You could also hand out flyers at your brick-and-mortar store with promotion codes that encourage shoppers to share them with family and friends.
This word of mouth helps spread your message online, and reports show that 74% of customers identify word of mouth as critical in a purchasing decision.
Nothing can replace quality content published on your website in positioning you as an authority in your industry while offering additional benefits such as :
When you're creating quality content regularly, you gain credibility among search engines, and this credibility increases your chance of ranking first.
It also provides a better experience for customers because your articles help them solve problems and make better buying decisions.
And if you're running marketing e commerce campaigns on Facebook or other social media platforms, you can use the content on your website to attract potential customers.
Customer acquisition is expensive. Fortunately, bringing in new customers constantly won't be essential if you can build a loyal customer base.
Few things build customer loyalty better than running a loyalty program.
But this goes deeper than just increasing customer retention. It shows customers that you care about your relationship with them. This brand loyalty can be stronger than saving a few extra dollars. So, if a competitor sells something at a lower price, your customers will still choose you if you've built a strong relationship with them.
And starting a customer loyalty program isn't as difficult as you think. Simply reward certain behaviors by offering exclusive discounts and giveaways.
