It is estimated that the e-commerce market accounts for as much as 8% of retail sales in the US. It’s no wonder that so many people are launching their own online business and making sales. Of course, running a business is very different in practice. The reason why so many e-commerce brands fail so quickly is that those launching them are not treating their business like a business.
Marketing is a fundamental part of managing a company, and if your e-commerce venture is floundering, then there’s a good chance that you haven’t prioritized nor invested in your marketing.
While marketing can be a difficult and always changing subject, there are some practical steps to take that could take your e-commerce venture to a whole new level. These basic steps will help you to create a practical e-commerce marketing plan.
Focusing on Content is Vital
The internet is nothing but content. Everything you see was written, designed, photographed, or filmed by someone, and then put online for people to experience. Content is at the heart of every marketing campaign that you conduct. That means developing a firmer understanding of what content marketing is and what it entails for your brand.
Everything from your website homepage, product pages, about us page, and your blog needs to be written with one goal in mind. To provide your target audience with value. When Google judges and ranks you based on how long visitors stay on your pages. Therefore the longer you can keep them on your site the better.
The right content will:
- Make sales for you
- Attract new audiences
- Improve brand loyalty and awareness
Fail to focus on and invest in your content and your e-commerce venture will be more likely to fail.
The Wonder of Emails
If you thought that email marketing was dead then you might want to check your inbox. Despite messaging apps and Facebook Messenger, everyone still reads their emails, with most of us checking them at least once a day. When an email strategy is designed well it can quickly become your most valuable marketing channel and can be a key profit driver.
Of course, what you send out as your email is the critical part to get right.
This is going to have to be aligned with your brand’s culture and tone of voice. But this can be hard to determine if you’ve never done it before. Many successful first-time e-commerce brands make use of well-known digital consultants like Gabriel Shaoolian to improve branding impact, and this can be a valuable step to take. Remember, nobody wants spam in their inbox. Build your email lists and ensure that every sentence in your communications has a reason for being there.
Using Social Media
They might be controversial, but if you’re not using social platforms to promote and market your e-commerce brand, then you are unnecessarily hindering your potential to grow. For e-tailers with a very visual product like clothing or art, being on visual platforms is essential. B2B brands need to be using LinkedIn and Twitter.
These are the basics of social media marketing, but it can be a subject that’s very quick to change.
All it takes is one change by Facebook and you can effectively vanish. Learning some basics about social media marketing is a good idea, but don’t rely on it or put all of your eggs in one basket. If the thought of this kind of marketing puts you off, consider outsourcing to a professional digital agency that can help you design social marketing campaigns. They will help you define your target audience, and identify the best social channels to be using for your brand. Social media doesn’t have to take up all of your time, but it is a useful tool for e-commerce.
It will certainly take time and work to get a business up and running. Just because an e-commerce venture doesn’t have a physical store or need huge teams of customer service staff, doesn’t mean that you can afford not to treat it like a business. It’s a bit like online trading, it takes time and effort to build so you must be patient and put in the work. Build stronger foundations, especially when it comes to your practical e-commerce marketing, and you will be far more likely to still be trading by the time 2021 rolls around.