Mark AdamsThe stakes have never been higher for online retailers trying to compete with sellers flooding marketplaces from retailers like Amazon and Walmart—and, in some cases, the direct-to-consumer retailers themselves.
Marketing your first-time product or service, as many online sellers have been discovering to their eventual dismay, is an insane amount of work. And it’s not as simple as it used to be. There are more channels, more consideration demands, and more highly trained SEM (search engine marketing) professionals.
Scaling your ecommerce presence is no easy feat. It can be compared to making a new brand, and not seeing instant success as you would in other industries, like banking. The difference lies in the fact that the customer buying your product typically has no idea how you arrived at their decision to purchase.
The good news is that making a good marketing strategy is a lot easier than it sounds.
If you’re ready to take the first step, we’ve prepared this step-by-step guide for you.
The goal of this article is to help you think about how you can improve your startup’s online presence so that your products and services get more visibility online.
Do you want to create the best marketing strategy for your online needs?
If yes, continue reading.
What are the basic factors to consider?
The first step to creating your precious marketing strategy is to determine those factors that can affect your success in ecommerce. Once you know what can and will affect your small business, you can base your decision on it and move forward with proper planning—or not.
As many people find hard to believe, it’s the main competitors’ efforts that determine whether your startup will succeed or not. If you’re not in the same niche as Amazon, Walmart, or even infobubble, you’ll have a much better chance of success.
Think about the following factors:
Customer reviews. Your job is to create a good product and deliver the best service. Good customer reviews really help, and we’ll go into how to create them later on.
Your job is to create a good product and deliver the best service. Good customer reviews really help, and we’ll go into how to create them later on. Product quality . You don’t want to be sold out of. And you’ll struggle with the fact that there is a wide range of quality with online sellers and the wide range of product types they present.
You don’t want to be sold out of. And you’ll struggle with the fact that there is a wide range of quality with online sellers and the wide range of product types they present. Customer acquisition . What are the best ways to attract new customers?
What are the best ways to attract new customers? SEO . What SEO practices will help build visibility as well as differentiate your products and services from the rest?
What SEO practices will help build visibility as well as differentiate your products and services from the rest? Link building . Another important topic towards promoting your product or service to the very top of the Google search results.
Another important topic towards promoting your product or service to the very top of the Google search results. Competitor analysis . You’ll look at the top ecommerce sellers in the industry to see their goals and see if they are similar to yours.
You’ll look at the top ecommerce sellers in the industry to see their goals and see if they are similar to yours. Competition analysis . You’ll identify what you should do to stand out from the crowd.
You’ll identify what you should do to stand out from the crowd. The Brand . Your competitors, as mentioned above, will have a huge influence on your decision of channel.
Your competitors, as mentioned above, will have a huge influence on your decision of channel. PPC (pay-per-click) advertising . Once you’re ready to invest in marketing, you’ll look at which keywords you can bid on to get higher visibility for the long-term.
Once you’re ready to invest in marketing, you’ll look at which keywords you can bid on to get higher visibility for the long-term. Instagram . Hopefully you have a social media presence. Do you have a small one or the biggest one in the world?
Hopefully you have a social media presence. Do you have a small one or the biggest one in the world? Sponsors . You’ll want to meet and build strong partnerships with those who you believe will support your business.
You’ll want to meet and build strong partnerships with those who you believe will support your business. Blog. Like to write? Do you have a good blog that can bring your product or service top of mind?
Start Right now and plan for the long-term
You’re ready to create your own marketing strategy. I know you are. Wanna know a really good thing about kick-starting your own ecommerce business? It’s not required. You can do it right now.
Create your branding and establish your brand
It’s a must. The question is when. Don’t leave this for a later date.
At the very least, you should clearly define your brand identity. Which colors should it be? What should it stand for? How will it look like?
Your brand is the identity you’ll build for your brand—the features that will bring you ahead of your competition.
long-term marketing techniques for Ecommerce?
Incorporate video in all your marketing and communications
Videos are the perfect solution to keep your brand fed with new ideas, fresh conversations and fast-paced videos.
From explainer video production to product demos, as well as reviews, animation or training videos, your startup can leverage the power of videos in all its marketing efforts.
And when it comes to YouTube, a video search may get you close to the answer you’re looking for.
So, how can you incorporate video in your marketing campaign?
Indulge in this article by Global Video Marketing and you’ll find the answers.
Create a brand voice
It matters what you want your brand to sound like. Is it funny? Is it sweet and snarky? Is it serious?
Create an impression of your brand by creating a brand voice.
You can also read this article that tells you how to create a brand voice.
Start investing in social media monetization
How can you grow your business without attracting additional customers?
There are sites, extensions (sometimes even apps) that you can install, track, and set up campaigns on.
And if you have the budget, you can also hire a social media specialist to implement different strategies and increase social media traffic.
Invest in ecommerce marketing
It’s going to be costly, but it’s worth it. Invest in SEO and pay-per-click advertising so that your site appears in search results.
Create and maintain an email list
In order to figure out who the people are who have been interested enough to purchase your product, you need to talk to them first.
You can find out more about email marketing by visiting this article on email marketing.
Turn the Word of Mouth into Sales
Educate your target audience
It’s important to be familiar with what your target audience knows and likes.
You’ll want to include them in the planning process as to what type of customers they are. You’ll want to know what they like, what their objections are, and what type of content they enjoy. By being aware of these common likes and dislikes, you’ll be able to create a relevant and appealing content that your audience will enjoy.
You can start by creating a survey that will ask your customers what they’ve purchased on your site, what they like about your company, what they would love to buy, and what they might be thinking of buying.
By creating custom content that answers questions in a way that doesn’t involve you asking them but rather them answering, the audience will be more likely to share your content with others.
Be human
Your audience is made up of people. Treat them normally. Give them the same level of service you would give them in person that day. This will create loyalty within your circle.
Treat your customers like good friends
Again, your customers are human. And they care about you.
Your customers are used to lengthy terms of service and stiff customer service pages.
Keep it simple. Say your name, the easy to use contact form, that you are a 16 year old girl with a bad cough, and then your product or service name. And if you need to refer to how your product or service will help your customer, you need to do that in words they will understand. Not the scientific lingo that they’ve never heard before.
Treat your customers like family
Thanksgiving is a time for family. You’re fortunate to have people in your little group who are supporting you and being there for you. They’re like family. You’re creating your own circle of people who are like family.
Try to think of pride in doing good things. If you’re creating your own ecommerce business, never let someone down. Treat your family, your ecommerce customers, like you would treat your family.
Create an FAQ
You know, those “FAQs” that your company has on your website? Don’t just leave it sitting there. Use it to your advantage in waiving off any suspicions from the customers who would be concerned if they didn’t know the answer to their question.
Educate your customers
The whole point of your “educating” is to help customers understand what you’re selling, why they need it, and how you can help them in which way. Rather than keep it simple and wanting to beat them over the head with it until they get it, you need to give them the information and back it up with an easy-to-understand demonstration.
For example, if you’re selling a weight loss product, don’t just tell them about the weight…give them a demonstration. Show them how it works and how it will help them with their problems.
Use social media
People want to connect with others, and they want to be engaged. Social media is a great way to have interactions that will benefit your ecommerce business.
Marketing is the process of connecting with people, and that’s what all your social media should be doing. You’ll want to be active on Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest and LinkedIn.
Your best method of marketing is to find someone in your inner circle who is adept at using these sites, and turn them loose to network with others in your niche and give your business a good run for its money.
Long-term Marketing Tactics for Ecommerce
Have you created your brand, defined your audience, and started investing money into your social media marketing? Now, be sure to do the following things to make sure that you are at the top of the list for your future leads:
Focus on the long-term
The first marketing tactic you should take on is the long-term. Your marketing plan is going to work much more smoothly and more effectively if you’re focusing on the growth of your business.
You need to be patient while you wait for your products and services to grow and grow.
The cornerstone of this is your product or service. You need to make sure that your products or services are of the highest quality.
You can check out this blog post for a comprehensive guide on how you can use amazing Superfoods for extended health benefits.
Improve SEO
You need to optimize your site for search engines in order to get more traffic to your site.
It’s important that you get the right keywords so that it ranks high when people look for your product.
This isn’t something that you want to do once, because you’ll need to redo it every time you want to make any changes.
To do this, make sure that you get the best out of the that the search engines have to offer.
Sell on Amazon
If you want to sell directly on Amazon, you need to know how to correctly handle the stock issues. You can learn how to do this by checking out this article on how to sell on Amazon and get the best out of it.
Manage your email list
You’ll want to manage your email list by using an email marketing software.
If you do not know how to create an email newsletter, the eecureMail software can help you.
Cover your marketing bases
If someone buys your product and service or even if they ask for a referral to someone else, you’ve got to take the opportunity seriously.
Besides the standard terms that you need to cover, you also need to show them that you care that they did business with you.
You can do this by taking advantage of outbound marketing techniques. You can refer them to other people in your group, and you can like their post on social media.
Be ethical in everything you do
There are companies out there that make a lot of money on their backs. They might be dishonest, and you don’t want to be part of that kind of company.
You’ll want to be honest about everything that you do (especially with your sales strategies).
You need to set a standard for your operations by being an ethical company. You don’t want to let others down.
