If your e-commerce marketing strategy is unrefined, you can quickly face terrible consequences! Follow these tips on optimizing your marketing strategy.
Are you looking to include online marketing in your business instead of just relying on brick and mortar stores? Do you need a strategy that is going to bring in as many customers right away as possible?
If so, then it is time to come up with the perfect game plan so that you bring the right eyes to your products and services. E-commerce tactics allow you to come up with the best ways to give your customers the best bang for their bucks.
This type of marketing also allows you to more easily develop a relationship with your customers so that you can solve their problems and keep them at your stores. With our knowledge of handling online business, you will be able to see results at a steady rate.
Here are seven tips for optimizing your e-commerce marketing strategy.
1. Come Up with Your Strategy First
Even if you already have an established business and are used to having people come to your physical stores, it is important to reach out to people outside of your backyard to bring in more money. However, planning is an important part of digital marketing.
First, you must write down how exactly you want to bring more attention to your brand and come up with more than one option. You can try out videos, blog posts, newsletters, and other content for digital advertising.
Once you have your ideas jotted down, you will need to set a period for which you will gather results on which moves are working and which are not. You can check in on your strategies every few weeks or months, but the more time you use, the better idea you will have on what works.
If you have a member of your staff who has experience checking statistics of these strategies, it’s best to hand them this responsibility. This will allow you to take care of other aspects of running a business.
2. Create an Email List
When it comes to shopping, either online or in person, not everyone is going to make a final purchasing decision when they first look at a product. This is where building a relationship with your customers so that they come back after consideration comes into play.
Online marketing can make this process easy in several ways, one of which is with an email list. With this list, you can let customers know if anything is changing with products that they might be interested in, or if everything is staying the same. We love ConvertKit for all things Email marketing. Check out our resource page for more info!
You can collect customers’ emails when they check out at your e-commerce store so that they will get updates on items that are in their range of interest. Leaving an option for entering their email instead of making it mandatory will make them feel more comfortable purchasing from you.
If your website has a live chat option, then you can provide the option for leaving their emails when they are in conversations with you, your staff, or other customers. Another option is with giveaways at physical stores so that they visit your online store just as much as your physical shop.
3. Include Product Reviews in Your E-commerce Marketing Strategy
Honesty is a major component of getting customers to believe in you as a go-to company for their needs, and the more praise you receive from past and current customers, the more new ones you’ll be able to bring in. That’s where reviews of your services come in handy.
Including product reviews is one of our marketing tips because it lets potential buyers know that your items perform and last as well and long as you advertise. Giving customers the option to express their history with your products also lets them feel like they have a voice, and this sense of freedom will push them to come back to your site.
It is best to have one page on your site dedicated to reviews so that it is easy for new visitors to find where they can get second opinions on your products. Leave a section for customers to post their reviews, as well as plenty of space so that they can write as much as they feel like they need to.
The happier your customers are with your products, the better reviews you can expect. This can increase traffic to your website, thus boosting your company’s popularity online.
4. Offer Free Shipping
Part of running a business is knowing where you will need to sacrifice a chance to make money so that you can keep customers happy and willing to fork over more cash to your business in the future. One way in which you’re e-commerce strategy can give your customers’ wallets a break is with free shipping.
Providing this option for buyers will give them the chance to save money for anything else that they need, whether it’s for their purchasing journey or other parts of their daily routine. This extra money can be spent on other products that you have available, which means more money for you.
You can include a promotion for free shipping in your marketing ads so that more people become aware of this option. Doing so will allow customers to make a purchasing decision at a faster rate, and they will come back to your site because of how easy you make it for them to make decisions.
Your free shipping option should be easy to notice on your site so that customers can take advantage of it. This will help customers realize the opportunities they have to save money.
5. Reward Loyal Customers
If you’ve had your business around for anywhere from a few years to a decade or two, there are certain customers that are responsible for your success more than others. Keeping these customers loyal is made easy with rewards.
In addition to free shipping mentioned above, your e-commerce business can give customers opportunities to take advantage of that treat them for constantly coming to you for their needs. Taking advantage of one reward will motivate buyers to see what else they can get from buying your items.
Whatever options you provide should make it easier for customers to save money. One way is with discounts, which allow them to keep more money in their pockets along with their favorite items, and another is tickets to events that your business is involved in so that they can meet the creators behind their products in person.
Points also come in hand for rewards because they let customers build up enough to obtain items for free in the future. All of these options save you time that would go towards attracting new customers so that it goes towards keeping the loyal ones happy.
6. Consider Social Media
E-commerce marketing allows you to reach as many people as possible so that the world slowly becomes aware of your services. One way to do so is with social media, which can be used for the time you need to bring in new customers.
It is important for you to take advantage of all of the social media sites so that you can connect with as many people as possible. One option is Facebook, which can be used for blogs about your products, reviews of your services, and news about upcoming events.
Videos can also be used for promotion, and sites such as Instagram and SnapChat can be used to post fun and informative content. Twitter can also be used for updates on your company and short clips about new items that will be available in the weeks or months to come.
Links to your site also come in handy for bringing more eyes to your company through social media. You can include links to reviews of items with your posts, as well as links to forums that potential customers can join and use to start conversations with other customers and your staff.
7. Go Mobile
Another way that you can increase your customer base is through the technology that people use to make their purchases. Today, mobile devices have become a reliable tool for making purchases, and you need to use that to your advantage.
You must make your website easy to use on a variety of gadgets, including smartphones, tablets, and laptops. These devices can be used in different situations, such as on a bus ride to work, on a lunch break at a job, and in the car with friends to a party.
When testing your site’s mobility, you need to make sure that all pages on your site are able to load quickly, even faster than on non-mobile gadgets. This provides a sense of convenience that will allow them to feel confident in searching for the right items no matter the conditions.
It is also important to make parts of your website such as reviews, comment sections, email listings, and forums easy to access on mobile gadgets to make communication as easy as possible. Doing so will help you keep relationships with current customers, as well as develop new ones.
Our Take
E-commerce marketing allows you to bring attention to your brand from more than just people in your neighborhood. With the right e-commerce marketing strategy, you will be able to create a presence for your business in your field.
The best strategy takes advantage of all digital avenues for advertising and communication while also making it easy for customers to make the right purchasing decisions. With these tips, you will be able to take your business to another level.
Check out more of our business and marketing expertise so that you can make money conveniently and efficiently.