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6 Bold Ways to Create An eCommerce Marketing Strategy

by | May 31, 2019 | Market That, Most Current, Uncategorized

ecommerce marketing strategy

The Bold Strategies Behind an eCommerce Marketing Strategy

 

You have an amazing product, now how the heck do you get in front of the right consumers so they’ll buy it? We have the answer for you, an eCommerce marketing strategy.

“Failure to plan is a plan to fail.”

– Benjamin Franklin

An eCommerce marketing plan is a good place to start, but how about crafting a bold marketing strategy to take your eCommerce brand to the next level. We’re talking bold as in taking the initiative to make sure you make the sale–leaving the possibility of not getting it out of the question. Here’s why bold is the way to go:

  1. There’s tons of competition in the eCommerce world and there are likely hundreds of products (if not more) that are similar to yours. You’ve got to find a way to stand out!
  2. Getting outside of your comfort zone and in front of several different strategies in combination with one another can help capture as many different types of audiences as possible.

You’ve got to do it. You want the sale to every consumer possible so don’t leave it up to chance to make it happen. Here are 6 bold ways to give your eCommerce marketing strategy the umph it needs!

 

 

1. How to Use Content Marketing in Your eCommerce Marketing Strategy

 

Content marketing is free if you do it yourself, or you can hire a content marketing expert to help create engaging content for you. Content marketing is used to help you stand out, makes you an expert in your field, and helps work towards the high SEO ranking that can produce online sales.

When you think of content marketing, blogs and newsletters probably come to mind. Content marketing doesn’t have to just be blog posts and emailing newsletters. Share the knowledge and expertise you have surrounding your industry and products in different ways.

Consumers are looking for people to answer their questions and if you can supply them with that information through content marketing and tie your product to it, they’re likely to buy.

 

 

2. Ask for Product Reviews

 

We can’t stress product reviews enough! Gone are the days that consumers give a crap about what brands have to say about their own products. Instead, they’re searching the internet for products that other people say they like, and they find these by reading reviews.

So, how do you get product reviews from your customers? Good question. There are a few easy ways to receive a positive review without begging past customers to write one.

  1. Give your customers enough time to receive their package, open it up, and give your product a try. Then, email them and ask them to leave a review. Make it easy for them to do so by giving them a clickable, easy-to-use link that takes them directly to the place where they can give their feedback. The less steps for them the better.
  2. Offer incentives for when a customer leaves an honest product review. Whether it be in a follow-up email, on your website, or on a card inside the package they’ll be opening, provide a discount code for future purchases or free add-ons to their next package when they take the time to leave a review.
  3. Ask influencers you work with to review your product to their audience. Offer them a discount on your product (or a free product altogether) if they’re willing to talk about how much they love it to their audience in their own content–this could be social media posts, Instagram stories, in blog posts, cookbooks, you name it.

 

How to Put Product Reviews to Use

Now that you have loads of reviews, what do you do with them? If you have ‘em, use ‘em. You’ll want to put them to use to generate future sales with potential customers.

  • Use the feedback you receive to improve your products. Consumers have nothing to lose when it comes to leaving a review, which means they’re probably telling you the truth. Take what they say into consideration and improve your product based on recurring themes.
  • Directly share positive reviews with your audience. Thank those who took the time to leave their thoughts by posting their positive review on your Instagram stories or giving them a shoutout on your next social media post. It makes them feel important when you recognize their efforts, plus it helps get the positive review in front of your other people’s eyes.
  • Strategically place reviews where other consumers are likely to see them. This might mean having a “Review” page on your website. Or maybe having one as a highlight on your Instagram.
  • Use customer review videos on your website. If you’re lucky enough to have review videos, or you’ve taken our advice on how to acquire video reviews from your customers, show them off! Put these types of videos on your website, social media, newsletters, and wherever else your customers might get a chance to see them.

 

 

3. Influencer Marketing – Put ‘Em to Work

 

Influencer marketing can be intimidating, especially when it comes to small businesses and start-ups. But it doesn’t have to be. We’re not saying try to get someone on social media with 12M followers to be a marketing piece for your brand. It’s more about reaching out to micro-influencers who are relatable to your brand and already possess your intended target audience.

Consumers usually trust micro-influencers more than they do the Kim Kardashians of the world anyways because their recommendations are legit and they engage with their audience in a much more genuine way.

If you find an influencer that your brand is interested in working with, here’s how you go about it. Offer your influencer discount codes that they can give to their audience. Doing this makes it easy to track their performance and analyze how beneficial influencers are for your brand’s bold eCommerce marketing strategy.

You might also ask them to host giveaways and contests for your products. Depending on your product and its cost, team up with your influencer and host a giveaway each month (or a few if it’s logical for your brand). Give away a free product to the winner.

* It’s best to give away prizes that are effective enough to create excitement around the contest and your brand as a whole.

 

4. Tap Into eCommerce Email Marketing

 

Use your growing marketing list and create a bold marketing strategy around it. Start by sending a welcome email when a consumer subscribes that shares a glimpse of the content they can expect to see.

Then, send them offer emails and updates. If you have current offers going on, send them a reminder that makes them not want to miss out. Personalize offers and news you send them too based on what they seem to be interested in, the content they view, and the products they’ve purchased in the past.

And in the unfortunate but common event that a consumer leaves products in their shopping cart, send an ‘Oops! Did you forget about me?’ message their way. Maybe they changed their mind and decided against purchasing from you, but when they receive an email like this, they’re likely to go back to their cart and reconsider. Salesforce found that 60% of shoppers went back to the carts they had abandoned to actually make the purchase within 24 hours of receiving an abandoned cart email.

Or … Bonus! Offer them a discount code for 10% off the products they left abandoned in their cart–they’ll definitely purchase them now.)

 

 

5. Make Your Instagram Shoppable

 

Who knew buying stuff could be so dang easy … Instagram did, and they put the easy shopping option to use. Shopify sites can link products in Instagram photos to make the posts shoppable to their followers. When a consumer clicks on the photo, the tagged product will become visible and shows the basic information about it (product name and price). From there, the consumer can click on the tag and a link takes them straight to the page on your website to purchase.

Sounds cool, but why do we care about having a shoppable Instagram? You’re using a platform that is already highly engaging and you’re likely to get in front of a larger audience when you use its features and create ease for potential customers. You can also rely heavily on the visual emphasis of your brand which is appealing. Plus, like we said … it’s so dang easy!

 

 

6. Develop an eCommerce App

 

It’s bold and high-tech, but if you have the resources and it makes sense for your brand, do it. Brand apps require consumers to download your app in order to use it. It’ll stay on their phone, tablet, or computer as long as they have the app downloaded, which keeps you top of mind.

eCommerce apps are also simple to use and don’t require consumers to do lengthy online searching for multiple sites to find what they need. Everything they need is right there waiting for them in one application.

You should ask them to set up push notifications too to keep them engaged and aware of your brand and what you have to offer. Push notifications can help you personalize a consumer’s experience by offering them products, promotions, or recommendations based on what they’ve purchased from you before.

 

 

Bold Is the Only Way To Go!

 

Add these 6 to your eCommerce marketing strategy to make your brand bold and your online sales even bolder.

Need some additional help laying out a strategy that’s best for your brand? Bareknuckle’s got your back!