Our tips and tricks explained for your eCommerce marketing strategy are a highly effective option to increase your customer base.
Increasing your customer base is one surefire way to sustain business growth amidst this highly competitive market. To do this, you must apply a consumer-based approach in all aspects of your business: product, service, and digital marketing strategy.
A highly effective marketing strategy is part science because it uses data and probability and part art as it requires creativity to ensure that it gets our attention.
Your eCommerce marketing strategy, in particular, should take into account the short attention span of people. According to Statistic Brain Research Institute, the average human attention span had dropped 33% since 2000 to just 8.25 seconds in 2015.
With the consumer’s short attention span and the pervasive white noise from the internet, a successful eCommerce marketing strategy must provide quick, catchy information through the tips and tricks explained below.
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Post Positive Reviews On Product Page
A 2016 report published by researchers from the Northwestern University looked into the effect of consumer reviews on the conversation rate, i.e., the likelihood of making a purchase. They found that the impact of reviews was the highest for electronics (317% increase), followed by home living (182% increase) and apparel (138% percent).
Another report also showed how product reviews drive sales and generate new customers. According to BrightLocal’s Local Consumer Review Survey, 91% of consumers aged 18-34 trust them as much as recommendations from friends and family.
Establish Your Buyer Personas
A buyer persona is a researched-based profile that represents your target customers. There is no way to tell the ideal number of personas because each company is different. Although, on average, marketers have 2-3, while others have only one.
When developing your buyer personas, make sure that you use real data combined with educated guesswork. The goal here is to identify your target market to develop strategies that will draw them in.
In general, your buyer persona considers these factors: needs, standard demographics, goals, pain points, and shared qualities that initiate their buying decision.
To collect the data mentioned above, you can perform the following:
- Review third-party market research and demographic data.
- Look at the demographic data from Google.
- Scrutinize the demographic data from social media analytics.
- Conduct face-to-face interviews with existing customers and potential clients.
- Run surveys and polls.
- Look at the trends from your customer databases.
By making your buyer persona as accurate as possible, you can make your eCommerce marketing strategy appealing to your target audience.
Be Active On Social Media Platforms
Aside from the prevalence use of social media platforms, they also allow you to design an eCommerce marketing strategy that reflects your buyer persona.
Social media is also a great way to engage with your community. Just make sure that your content provides real value to the audience—tackling their pain points, expectations, and concerns instead of flooding their feed with intrusive, blatant ads.
When you run a new campaign or launch a new product, make sure that you share this across your social media platforms. In turn, it allows your existing customers and potential clients from re-posting this on their wall.
To further draw in more customers and avoid abandoned carts, you must provide quick answers and remain active in the social discussion.
Note that all successful digital marketing strategies have one thing in common: consumer-based and not product-based. This means that they provide valuable content at the right time and in the right place.
Harness The Visual Power Of Instagram
Instagram offers a unique advantage when used as a digital marketing strategy thanks to its visual-themed platform and over 500 million daily active users. But its success boils down to two elements: the frequent posting of compelling photos with relevant hashtags and consistent and healthy engagement with followers.
There are multiple ways to engage with your Instagram audience. You can run a contest or poll, showcase the behind-the-scene of your product, give a sneak peek of your office culture, etc. But if your specific goal is to drive sales and draw in new customers, make sure that you add products to your “posts and stories” that allow them to make a direct, quick purchase.
Look Out For The Niche Area
Your buyer persona will help you find the niche areas where your target demographics congregate. Not only do you have less competition in this “online space, but” you can also focus on your marketing strategy because the audience is most likely receptive to your content, provided that it adds value to their life.
To put this in perspective. A yarn supplier that engages with a community of crochet fans on a Facebook group will most likely find success here to drive sales and branding.
This is because they can take part in the discussion that will help them position their brand and at the same time access tidbits of information to understand more about their customers.
But imagine the same yarn supplier posting blogs, webinars, or photos on forums of home gardeners. The contents are considered intrusive and unwanted by the members and a complete waste of marketing efforts.
Bear in mind that each social media platform has its strength and unique theme. You have to tweak your eCommerce marketing strategy to get your message across.
Reduce Abandoned Carts
A March 2020 report by research firm Statista showed that around 88% of global online retail orders or shopping carts were abandoned. A phenomenon that equally affects small and large businesses.
The top three reasons for this staggering number of abandoned carts may surprise you.
- Failure to create trust and credibility.
- Failure to reduce fear.
- Failure to reinforce and highlight the benefits.
Trust is the foundation of your eCommerce marketing strategy, as people need to believe that your business, channels, and online stores are credible. In comparison, placing security logos and privacy policies near the “Complete order” button helps. You have to understand that your “trustworthiness” is also judged based on these factors:
- Testimonials and reviews.
- Clear shopping policies.
- Professional branding.
- Prototypical design.
- Easy and intuitive navigation experience.
- Recognizable brands.
- Easy to locate contact information.
Fear of being conned is another driving factor why a huge percentage of shoppers abandon their carts. One of the biggest frictions is the request for information that people deem as unnecessary, according to a 2012 study released by Baymard Institute.
While eCommerce sites have valid reasons for asking for this information, making shipping and after-sale transactions a breeze, people are just inherently distrustful that about 50% of eCommerce shoppers are concerned about being conned online, according to the same study.
One way to allay shoppers fears to become an “explicit communicator.” Meaning, if your store asks for their number and home address, it should state why you need the information, for example, for shipping-related questions.
To further tackle the distrust, adding trust seals and SSL Certificates has been shown to significantly reduced the abandoned carts. In fact, their use could increase the conversation rates by up to 30%, according to a report in which Versign seal was posted on an eCommerce store.
Failure to include a “trust logo,” meanwhile, can spell disaster to your conversion rates. The vast majority of people who are engaged in eCommerce will not buy if a “trust logo” is missing or if they don’t recognize the logo.
And lastly, reinforcing the benefits of making a purchase can further eliminate the friction that is causing the shoppers to abandon their cart. For instance, if you provide free shipping or discount, it should be placed in the checkout header and is repeated when your customer clicks the “shipping method” button.
Retarget Your Potential Clients
It is much easier to convert consumers who have already made interactions with you into an actual buyer than someone who hasn’t made such an attempt. These include email subscribers, website visitors, and previous customers who are no longer engaged.
Google AdSense is a powerful tool to retarget potential customers because you can involve your mobile app and YouTube channel. The same is true for Facebook retargeting. It allows you to find users who have already visited your site and provides data to help you find their Facebook profiles and start your advertising campaign.
A Final Word About eCommerce Marketing Strategy
In the realm of digital marketing strategy, there are many ways to skin a cat. Nevertheless, all the methods have one thing in common: A consumer-based promotion done in the right place and at the right time.
