With many consumers preferring the convenience of online shopping, businesses are abandoning brick-and-mortar shops for online stores and marketplaces. And with more and more companies going digital, competition is stiffer than ever.
So how do you stand out when there are hundreds of online stores similar to your own?
A well-crafted eCommerce marketing strategy can make a world of difference.
But what, first of all, is eCommerce marketing? In a nutshell, it’s promoting your online store and driving traffic to it. Its primary aim is to convert visitors into paying customers and ultimately retain them through quality products or services and excellent customer service. Making your brand as visible and memorable as possible is vital to a sound eCommerce marketing strategy.
Unlike the usual brick-and-mortar setup, the online shopping industry is much more dynamic. Those who are new to eCommerce and online marketing may be surprised that there is so much more to do than setting up a website, uploading photos of items, and putting a price on them.
The usual challenge of running a business in such a wide and open virtual space is that there’s a lot of competition. Consumers are often faced with the dilemma of having too many options.
So how can you market your store online and scale your eCommerce business? Below is a short guide with some tips on how to up your online marketing game.
1. SEO is key
One way to let search engines know about your store and drive traffic is through search engine optimization (SEO). This is an important marketing strategy that helps customers find your brand organically when someone searches for a product or a term that is often used in connection to the item.
The best way to drive traffic to your site is to ensure that your website is fully optimized with the right keywords. Keyword research is an important and unskippable step. It also helps if the site adheres to the webmaster guidelines of the search engine you’re trying to rank for. The principles are often easy to understand and sets the best practices for anyone doing SEO.
2. Include user-generated reviews
It’s not a secret that consumers are a lot more tech-savvy these days, and one of their smart online shopping practices is looking at reviews before making a purchase. eCommerce stores with user-generated reviews are generally more well-received and trusted than those with testimonials released by businesses. Most consumers include reviews in their purchasing decisions, so having this section on product pages is helpful to your business and potential customers.
Gathering customer feedback can be challenging, as most customers don’t bother with it once they have their items. Make it easier for them to leave a review by sending an “order completed” email with a direct link to where they can rate the product and leave feedback. Entice them with a discount code or voucher for their next purchase.
3. Embrace "M-commerce"
M-commerce or mobile commerce refers to eCommerce websites that are optimized, functional, and fully accessible through mobile devices. Due to the accessibility and convenience of mobile phones and similar gadgets, more and more people are using this as a preferred way to do their business online, including shopping. To reel in customers and convert them, it’s necessary to make your eCommerce site mobile-friendly.
The most critical elements of mobile surfing are navigation and user experience. Make it easy for customers to find and buy what they want. Slow loading pages, low-quality images, and incomprehensible walls of text will make them more likely to click exit and go to the competition. If they ever did add something to their cart, allow visitors to come back and resume their unfinished transactions later. Make the online shopping experience as convenient as possible for your customers.
4. Provide multiple payment options
New services for mobile are popping left and right as consumers prefer to use this to make online transactions. Naturally, they have many options on how they can pay for other goods and services, and if you want to make more sales, your store should be able to accept those kinds of payments too. Apart from the usual debit or credit card payment option, include popular mobile payment apps such as Google Pay, Apple Pay, Venmo, Cash App, and more.
5. Offer enticing shipping options (free shipping or flat rate)
Whether customers are shopping online through a mobile app or a browser, one of the biggest makers or breakers in the shopping experience is the shipping fee. Consumers often want to know the total cost of their items upfront. They don’t want to carefully pick and compare items and go through checkout without knowing the shipping cost beforehand. Unclear shipping fees often lead to cart abandonment and disappointment.
Free shipping is an enticing promotional tactic where customers can buy what they need and not worry about how much they will pay to get their items shipped. It’s normal for merchants to worry about who pays for the free shipping, but there is a way to balance the expenses.
Include the free shipping model in the business model, pricing, and marketing. In doing so, the shipping costs are factored in the cost of delivering goods. If free shipping is marketed correctly and combined with up-sells and even cross-sells, the added items will improve the sales margin. Another way is to establish a business relationship with shipping companies. Although merchants may initially feel the financial burden of the free shipping scheme, the long-term results will yield loyal customers.
Offering free shipping for every order may not work for all merchants, but variables can be adjusted to make it possible. An option is to offer free shipping only if the customer's items reach a minimum order. Gauge the average order value needed to make up for the shipping cost. In other situations, free shipping may not work because customers are abroad. Make free shipping available for customers who are nearer or in the same country, and make this perk known by specifying which locations are qualified.
Flat rate shipping may not be as enticing as free shipping, but it helps set customer expectations. If the fee is reasonably low, then it minimizes abandoned carts. This arrangement is enticing for customers buying in large quantities or purchasing high-priced items. They are more likely to complete the checkout process if they see that they need to pay a $7 flat rate shipping fee on a $200 order.
6. Utilize social media
Almost everyone you know is on social media, so it makes sense for businesses to advertise on popular platforms. Influencers and brands directly use some social apps to sell, so do not miss out on these opportunities. Building social media profiles may take some time, as building a following organically entails consistent effort.
Remember to use available tools at your disposal, such as high-quality images, videos, and smartly placed hashtags. Most people think that social media is a place where you just dump product images and hard sell, but engagement is one of the most crucial things you need to master to attract and convert customers.
For image-heavy profiles like Instagram, the best way to engage with the audience is to post stories and videos that provide a behind-the-scenes sneak peek of how a product is made or adding an interesting tidbit about a company. Storytelling is central to the audience in this platform.
Facebook has a store where merchants can directly integrate their eCommerce platforms. It’s a fairly straightforward way to make sales through the platform as customers, followers, and fans can directly buy from the page. Businesses have the choice to redirect products to their eCommerce store as well.
7. Customer support excellence is vital
Most eCommerce business owners should make it their goal to ensure that their eCommerce store is well-designed and easy to use. This allows both new and seasoned shoppers to navigate the website and complete their purchases with no assistance. The website should also provide excellent customer support. There are plenty of channels to provide customer service, including live chat, social media, phone, or email. Most customers expect a swift response as they often need to complete their purchases as soon as possible.
It’s not only important to respond quickly but accurately as well. Being heard is vital to a great customer experience; therefore, it is important to address customer inquiries and concerns as soon as possible. If 24/7 support is not available, there are customer service software, email.
A collaborative post with Catherine Vanvonno, the President and CEO of 20four7VA, a trusted remote staffing company. She oversees the overall growth and success of the company, leads the short and long-term strategies, and manages the company's finances. She also directs the management team when it comes to daily operations, brand management and marketing, client relations, strategic planning and business development areas. While it is certainly a challenge to work with staff from all over the world, her positive attitude and progressive leadership style enabled her to overcome the hurdles and establish a thriving and solid relationship with her team of 70+ talented individuals.
