Ecommerce marketing is what makes this work for you. No longer does it simply involve the act of paying for digital advertising, it includes all the planning, execution and follow-up that support the creation of a smooth experience for customers from the time they first discover your brand to the time they become a regular supporter of your brand.
This guide will outline all the strategies, concepts, and tools necessary to succeed in the ecommerce world today.
What is Ecommerce Marketing?
Ecommerce marketing is a process of promoting a company’s products or services over the internet, and creating an opportunity to purchase that products or services through an electronic interface. However, from a professional point of view, ecommerce marketing is more than just a campaign to sell products, rather, it is an analytical approach that blends social interaction, search engine optimization, and psychological factors to facilitate sales conversion.
In contrast to traditional retail marketing, ecommerce marketing allows for accurate tracking of customer actions throughout the buying process. You can see exactly where the customer originated, what products they viewed, and the reasons for their abandonment of the cart. The main components of ecommerce marketing include everything from SEO to automated email, which work together to deliver a cohesive brand experience.
The most critical factor in ecommerce marketing is not merely acquiring “traffic”, but rather obtaining “targeted traffic”.
Types of Ecommerce Marketing Strategies
To create a sustainable business model, you cannot depend on one channel to generate sales. You should use a varied approach if you want your strategy to be effective. The basic ideas of modern eCommerce marketing are as follows:.
Search Engine Marketing
When it comes to SEM, this means both organic SEO and paid search ads (PPC). SEO is your long term strategy where you will focus on search intent as well as organic rankings, whereas PPC will give you immediate access to high volume keywords and high competition products via Google ads.
Content Marketing
Content acts as a “Bridge of Trust”. Through the use of blogs, videos, and guides, we are able to provide value to our customers before we ask them to buy. By creating content, we are seen as subject matter experts (SMEs) in our niche versus a company simply selling a product.
Social Media Marketing
Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook have become more than just platforms for engagement, they now serve as channels for sales. With social commerce, customers can find and purchase products without having to leave the app.
Email and SMS Marketing
Email and SMS are our “owned media”. Although algorithms are constantly changing, our subscriber lists are still ours. Email and SMS marketing are the most cost effective ways to encourage repeat purchases from existing customers and to build customer lifetime value (CLV).
Ecommerce Marketing Ideas to Increase Sales
Below is a list of ideas that could help drive traffic to your store:
Guest Blog – Establish your brand by creating backlinks & authority through pages that are credible in your niche (use this strategy for both your own blog & one that you use to guest post on.)
Get Product Reviews – There is nothing more effective than social proof when it comes to converting sales.
Tiered Discounts – Create a tiers system for discounts i.e., “spend up to $50 & get 10% off”, “spend up to $100 or more and get 20% off”
Unboxing Videos – Work with strong influencers to show potential customers the physical experience of your product.
BOGO Deals – Use bogo promotions i.e., buy one get one free, to move inventory more quickly.
Loyalty Programs – For every dollar spent by the customer, creates repetition as they accumulate points.
Flash Sales – Provide a limited time window (24-hours) with extreme discounts.
Holiday Promotions – Target every holiday beyond christmas such as valentine’s day, mother’s day, etc
Interactive Quizzes – Interactive quizzes aka finding “the perfect skincare routine” captures emails & provides personalized product recommendations.
Pinterest Advertising – Effective for highly visual niche markets like home decor & fashion.
Retargeting Ads – Display ads to people who have viewed your products but did not complete the sale.
Affiliate Marketing – Allow others to sell your products in exchange for a percentage of the commission.
Podcast Sponsorships – Podcast sponsorships allow a brand to reach captive audiences.
Giveaway Promotions – Run contests where the requirement for entry is social sharing.
Personalized Recommendations – Utilize ai technology to provide “people also purchased” recommendation sections.
Live Streaming Sales – Selling your products live to consumers on social media sites, such as youtube or instagram..
Free Shipping Thresholds – Minimum order amounts for free shipping, e.g., free shipping on orders of more than $75.
Google Product Listings – Displays product images on the google search engine results pages.
SMS Alerts for New Drops – Mobile sms text alerts for new product launches, notifies your best customers first via text.
Referral Incentives – Pay $20 to both the referring customer and the new customer.
User-Generated Content (UGC) – Highlight your customers’ photos on your website homepage.
Abandoned Shopping Cart E-mails – Send follow-up emails to recover lost orders.
Add-Ons Available During Checkout – Generate a small additional revenue from the sale of a related item during checkout.
Compare and Contrast Pages – Create “our brand” versus “competitor x” comparison shopping pages to attract comparison shopping customers.
Influencer Social Media Account Takeovers – Let an influencer post during your instagram story for 1 day.
Recurring Revenue – Subscription services offer a “subscribe & save” purchase option.
Ecommerce Marketing Strategies to Drive Traffic and Sales
In need of certain tricks to get the needle to move, the following is a complete list of ideas to experiment with in your store:
Optimize for Conversion (CRO)
Conversion rate optimization focuses on maximizing the percentage of visitors that comment on an online retailer’s web pages by creating a smooth, easy to use user experience (UX), creating fast loading times and creating a mobile responsive design.
Establish an Email Marketing Engine
Automated email marketing and email marketing automation are the most effective ways to create an automated email marketing program. By establishing automated email marketing campaigns such as “welcome”, “abandon cart”, and “post purchase” campaigns, retailers will be able to reach out to new and existing customers 24 hours a day without the need to be involved in daily email marketing efforts.
Quality Product Photography
The customer cannot physically touch an online retailer’s products when making purchases, so the only way to communicate the quality of the product is through the use of product images. Therefore, it is essential that retailers provide customers with many product image options, including 360 degree views, lifestyle shots, etc.
Scarcity and Urgency
Including phrases such as “only 3 units remaining” or “sale ends in 2 hours” creates a sense of urgency and a fear of missing out (FOMO) in an online shopper’s mind.
Leveraging Micro-Influencers
Micro Influencers (individuals with 10,000 to 50,000 followers) have a greater level of trust and are more connected to their followers than most celebrities.
Develop a Content SEO Strategy
Instead of only ranking your products by name, write content on topics that customers search for using Google.
Master Google Shopping Ads
Ecommerce businesses often get higher returns on their advertising dollars with Google shopping ads than traditional text based ads.
Focus on Retaining Customers
It’s far less expensive to retain an existing customer than to acquire a new one, companies should offer personalized discount codes and superior customer service to retain their loyal customers.
Streamline the Checkout Experience
Every click after the checkout page can reduce the likelihood of a conversion. Provide a “guest checkout” option, as well as fast payment solutions like PayPal, and/or Apple Pay.
Leverage the Influence of Video Marketing
In video marketing platforms (e.g., TikTok & YouTube Shorts) will be the most popular method used to promote goods and services, with higher conversion rates than standard image ads.
Make Social Proof Available Everywhere
Don’t keep reviews tucked away on product pages alone. Include testimonials on your website, emails, and ads, etc.
Start Marketing Your Ecommerce Store Today
Store owners often wait for “perfection,” the perfect logo, or the perfect 1500-word blog post. Unfortunately, eCommerce happens quickly.
You should start with the easy stuff:
- Set up your abandoned cart email.
- Optimize the top 5 products page for SEO.
- Do a small budget retargeting campaign.
Ecommerce marketing is a process of iteration, launching your product, collecting your data, making changes, and repeating. The faster you begin, the faster you will learn what works for your target audience.
Ecommerce Marketing FAQ
Q1: What is the appropriate amount to invest in ecommerce marketing?
A: The commonly used measurement is around 10-20% of gross revenue, however, for startups, it may well be considerably more (i.e., 20-50%) as they try to establish themselves and build their customer base quickly. Focus on your customer acquisition costs, or CAC, to ensure that you can return a profit.
Q2: Which is better? SEO or Paid Advertising?
A: Both have their place within a marketing strategy. SEO is designed to give a long lasting and sustainable growth opportunity, while paid ads will typically give short term traffic and the ability to scale your business quickly. Therefore, the best strategy will be to utilize both.
Q3: How can I determine which social media platforms to use as part of my marketing plan?
A: Find out which social media platforms your customers utilize. If your customers are primarily in the business to business sector, then you will want to focus your efforts on LinkedIn. If your target customer is a consumer who purchases visual products, then you will need to utilize visual social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok.
Q4: How do you define success for an online store?
A: The average ecommerce store will convert between 1-3% of their visitors into paying customers. Anything above 3% would indicate that your store is doing an exceptional job.
