ECommerce has quickly become one of the most talked-about topics on the internet today, especially with retail markets around us deteriorating and its growth being increasingly limited. E-commerce platforms now need to differentiate themselves from their rivals by improving their marketing practices; this guide to marketing on e-commerce will explain both fundamental techniques used for managing marketing as well as platforms available to them for doing this effectively.
What is ecommerce marketing?
E-commerce marketing refers to the practice of increasing awareness for your brand while simultaneously turning visitors who visit your website into buyers. E-commerce sales have seen rapid growth, with high street shops losing popularity, so brands need to distinguish themselves online from rivals by standing out amongst competitors and remaining distinctive from them.
E-commerce Advertising
E-commerce advertising is a type of marketing primarily concerned with driving customers to an e-commerce site and increasing customer spending rates to drive conversion rates higher, ultimately raising brand recognition. The marketing aspect includes tactics employed for product promotion, such as banner ads, display ads, or even in-depth media campaigns; employing effective promotional and Marketing techniques will only serve to benefit your business in the long run.
E-commerce Marketing
Businesses selling e-commerce have multiple marketing channels at their disposal when selling online, as detailed in this guide on E-commerce marketing. Below are just a few of these prominent options that companies should utilize when marketing e-commerce sales online.
Social Media Marketing
Social media has revolutionized how consumers shop. Features like swipe-ups and direct purchases on social media have genuinely enhanced customer journeys.
Instagram and YouTube’s rising popularity has enabled companies to establish an identity for their brands while building relationships with followers – although specific social media platforms may not always prove effective. Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube have tailored their platforms to accommodate those wishing to market their services.
When initiating a campaign, it is crucial that you are aware of which platforms will be utilized by you and their nuances. Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube are among the premier players on Social Media platforms and can help you reach the target audience you seek. However, Twitter might not provide this.
An additional form of influencer marketing that may prove fruitful on Social Media could be influencer marketing. Influencers are those who help in the promotion of products and services of brands. Influencers generally have thousands or even millions of followers; these influential people can effectively reach new audiences to promote your brand.
Content Marketing
More additional companies are turning to content marketing as a form of promotion. Content marketing refers to writing blog articles about the products or brands you sell – in terms of e-commerce, this could include brands you’re offering for sale – to increase awareness among your target customers while simultaneously building credibility within the marketplace. While writing blogs might seem easy enough to generate visitors to your business website, SEO skills will need to be employed if this strategy is going to work successfully. SEO stands for search engine optimization, which effectively lets your content be found easily through crucial search terms that readers would search for and then include within your blog posts or articles.
Email Marketing
Email Marketing is one of the lesser-known products of marketing. While its open rate may range between 2%-3 percent, in e-commerce, it often exceeds this average figure due to various reasons. Many online stores require you to sign up before offering discounts; secondly, and more likely still, values during certain seasons of the year increase sales further. If you run an e-commerce shop yourself, email marketing could provide an invaluable way of keeping in contact with former customers while potentially convincing new ones to return!
Other things to consider
Abandon Cart
Marketing alone may not be enough to increase revenue potential; there are various other avenues you can explore as a means of expanding it. Among them is abandon cart functionality – customers continue adding items to their cart but eventually abandon it without explanation or return later on your website. Re-engaging customers is crucial to conversion.
If they have visited your website but left their cart behind, send an email reminder. Your customer retention strategy could take various forms, whether that is sending reminders to returning shoppers, offering free delivery, or offering 10% discounts when they buy within 24 hours after previously adding items to their carts – whatever works, keep customers returning after adding products will generate additional income while simultaneously increasing conversion rate on your website.
Customer Referral and Affiliate Marketing
Like influence marketing, more brands are turning to affiliate-based marketing as an effective tool. Influencers receive products to wear and promote to their audiences, while affiliates get a commission if customers shop using their affiliate code on the website. There is likely some overlap among brands.
When setting up an affiliate program, it is essential that you identify what products or services you plan to provide and the most efficient means of running them. Many companies are opting to provide discount coupons of 10% off that are specific to each participant, offering kickback payments depending on how often their voucher is redeemed – similar to affiliate marketing but without the commission involved. It provides for customer referral.
Simply stated, when a client refers a friend or acquaintance to your company, it’s easy for you to create an individual code specific to that individual and thus grow customer bases rapidly.
Marketing Neil Patel provides an exhaustive list of alternatives to affiliate marketing in his most recent blog post titled Affiliate Marketing Easy: A Step-by-Step Guide.
To Conclude
As you can see, the marketplace of e-commerce is vast and offers various marketing avenues that could boost your image and ultimately increase profits. As with all marketing endeavors, your goal should be to stand out amongst competitors by becoming memorable to your target customers and thus making more sales than your competitors. While this guide to marketing on e-commerce may not provide definitive answers for every situation you might face in the future, it should give some excellent ideas that you could apply moving forward.