Even though e-commerce is a relatively new concept, there is already intense competition with multiple players vying for the top spots in every niche you can think of. The success of an e-commerce store, among many other things, depends to a great degree on your ability to market it properly to potential customers. Even though you may be tempted to implement short-term marketing hacks to tackle problems as they emerge, it is invariably far better to develop a sustainable marketing strategy that you can implement over the long-term for the enduring success of your online venture. As per Neufutur, management gurus often remind you that you are supposed to go on working on your business and not necessarily in it. Some practical marketing tips for achieving fast but lasting growth:
Use Contextual Marketing Tactics
By knowing the profile of your target audiences, including their interests and previous online search and buying behavior, you can offer visitors to your store suggestions regarding the products that they could be most likely to be interested in. This technique makes it more likely for customers to buy more, observes EJ Dalius. For example, if you have searched previously on the e-commerce platform for cat food, contextual marketing enables the delivery of advertisements of various accessories for pet cats like feeding bowls, ID tags, medications, and more. As may be imagined, a cat lover is more likely to buy these items when reminded about them. The success of contextual marketing, as this process is called, depends on how well you are able to construct the profile of potential customers. Typical methods include tracking user behavior using analytics, surveys of the visitors to the store, and increasingly, AI-powered marketing automation techniques.
Encourage User-Generated Content, Advises Eric Dalius
Claims by marketers are often exaggerated which is why customers tend to discount them. On the other hand, they tend to trust more the reviews, ratings, and observations regarding product performance, user experience, complaint handling, etc. by other customers who have already purchased and used the product. The extra credibility that customer reviews carry, can be leveraged by you by inviting your existing customers to post photos, reviews, and feedback in other forms on social media to add more punch to your marketing. Of course, marketers need to know that this can backfire badly if the general feedback is negative due to poor performance of the product or the company in handling customer complaints, warns Eric J Dalius.
Partner with Non-Competing Businesses
For an e-commerce startup, it can be very difficult to increase brand awareness in the initial stages. If you are a specialist online store, you can think about collaborating or striking up marketing partnerships with other e-commerce ventures that are not competing with you for sharing each other’s marketing reach. For example, you can have a reciprocal arrangement for hosting advertisements that do not need you to spend any additional money but give you exposure to a new set of potential customers. You can also explore the opportunity of creating bundled offers, whereby a customer buying something on one online store gets a discount for buying on the other.
Come Up With Videos for Customers to Demonstrate Ways to Use Your Product
YouTube channels are a great way of connecting with all your customers and potential customers. We all know that people are passionate about interactive tutorials, how-to videos, and behind-the-scenes videos. Getting an opportunity to enjoy a sneak peek into what all is happening behind the curtains could be a great way of knowing about the concerned video. When prospective customers obtain all inside information about your brand or organization, they would develop trust for your brand and eventually buy your products.
Conclusion
Running effective marketing campaigns could be a wonderful way of guaranteeing the success of your online store. Moreover, it could be an efficient way of positioning your brand name right in front of a huge audience comprising untapped potential customers. You could boost your e-commerce business if marketing campaigns are done right. Always consider relationship building as your top priority. Focus on encouraging, inviting, and rewarding customers for engaging effectively with your organization. You would soon reap the benefits and fruits of labor.