Are you a business owner with an e-commerce store? If so, you know how important it is to market your store. But what are the best ways to do that? In this blog post, we’ll discuss some of the most effective marketing strategies for e-commerce stores. Stay tuned!
Promotional and pricing tips
- Offer free shipping on orders over a certain amount: Free or discounted shipping can help build trust because it shows customers that they don’t have to pay extra for the convenience of purchasing from you and increases the likelihood of them making a purchase. It’s also an effective tactic because having to pay for shipping can be a deal breaker for many people.
- Offer free returns on items: Promoting returns is also important because it allows customers to purchase more products without worrying about whether or not they’ll like them. According to research by Adept Creative , 56% of online shoppers believe free return shipping would motivate them to shop at an ecommerce store, and a separate study by UPS found that 82% of shoppers prefer retailers who offer free shipping.
- Offer coupons or discounts: Promoting discounts is another tactic to help build trust because it shows customers they’ll get a good deal if they make a purchase from you. Offering coupons can also be an effective way to generate buzz through people sharing them on social media. Promotions can be as simple as offering a freebie or including an additional product for free with a purchase.
- Promote bundled products: Promoting bundles can help you save money by purchasing a number of similar products at once and increase the average order value, which is important because it helps cover shipping fees that can be expensive for stores. Promoting bundles can also make customers more aware of complementary products that you sell, which gives them the chance to cross-sell and purchase additional items.
When you own an ecommerce store, it’s important to know what your goals are because they influence how you structure your pricing strategy.
For example, if you’re trying to drive more traffic to your website, then focusing on getting people to click through promotional ads would be a good choice because it can lead to them making purchases or subscribing to your email list. If you want customers to make impulse purchases when they land on your site, then running a special for a limited time may be an effective tactic because it encourages them to make a purchase before the deal expires.
Some pricing strategies you can implement include:
Price skimming: This involves launching your product at a premium price and then decreasing the price over time as competitors enter the market. For example, Apple tends to launch new products at high prices and then decrease them as new generations of products are released.
Targeted pricing: Setting the price at a specific value that’s based on research can help you reach your goal of attracting more customers or getting them to spend more money on each purchase. Promotions, discounts, and coupons all fall under this category because they’re used to drive spending.
Value-based pricing: This involves setting the price based on what customers are willing to pay for your product, which is typically more effective than forcing a one-size-fits all approach and charging everyone the same amount regardless of their needs and budget.
Cost+ pricing: Promoting prices that include your costs plus a standard markup can be a good way to ensure you’re not selling products for less than what they cost. Promoting prices that include shipping fees is another example of this pricing approach because your customers know exactly how much they’ll have to pay for an item before making a purchase.
Promotion mix
In addition to setting different pricing strategies, it’s also important to consider how you’ll promote them using a mix of promotional tools. Promotional strategies can include:
Email marketing: Promoting products via email is a common choice because it allows you to target existing customers who have given their permission to receive messages from your store. Promoting products in this way also gives you a chance to segment your audience into lists that can help you personalize promotions and reach those who are most likely to make a purchase based on their buying habits.
Social media ads: Promoting products via social media allows you to connect with a large audience at once, which can be helpful for reaching new customers or generating buzz about your latest collection. Promoting products via social media also gives you an opportunity to run ads that are targeted at specific audiences. Promoting products using social media is usually more effective when combined with email marketing because it can extend your reach and increase conversions. Promoting new product releases on social media can also help get customers excited about the latest items in your store, which may make them more likely to make purchases.
Paid search ads: Promoting products via paid search results in your store when a customer uses a search engine is another common strategy you can use to increase visibility and drive conversions. Promoting new product releases via paid search is a good way to get early adopters interested in trying out the latest items in your collection, which can help you attract more customers. Promoting products via paid search is also a good idea for cross-selling and up-selling because it can help you suggest items your existing customers may want to buy based on their previous purchases. Promoting products using paid search is usually more effective when combined with email marketing or social media ads, which can extend your reach and drive conversions from new customers. Promoting products on paid search is usually more effective when you have a clear idea of which keywords your target audience uses, and how they browse for items online.
Promotion timing
If you’re promoting a product that’s already been released, then it makes sense to promote it during peak shopping periods. For new products, it’s best to wait until you have a better idea of when customers are most likely to buy them before promoting the items. Promoting products in this way can help increase demand and your chances of being featured by retailers because it gives you a strong sense of when your product will be in high-demand.
Promotion frequency
In addition to timing your promotions, it’s also important to consider how often you’ll promote new products after they’re live in your store. Promoting products once or twice is usually enough for gaining initial traction, but more frequent promotions are beneficial if you’re trying to get customers excited about a new product release. Promoting products via social media ads is usually more effective when you’re promoting a new product because it can help extend your reach and generate buzz about a new release. Promoting products using social media ads can also be combined with email marketing to make the promotions more targeted, which can result in higher conversions from relevant customers. Promoting new product releases via paid search ads is usually less frequent because it takes time for an item to gain traction after being promoted in a search engine.
Good Website Design for eCommerce Success
Make sure your website is easy to navigate and has an aesthetically-pleasing layout.
Website design includes making sure the site is easy to navigate, that it’s layout is pleasing to look at and that it reflects your brand, product line and company culture in just the right way.
Website design is important because it helps ensure that potential customers can easily find what they are looking for and continue through the checkout process. For those reasons, you should hire a professional designer or team of designers to help create a website that presents your products in the best possible light.
Easy navigation and aesthetically-pleasing layout can increase how current customers use your site and help you bring in new ones. Website design is the first step to accomplishing these tasks, so do not skimp on it or outsource it to someone without extensive knowledge of ecommerce website design. Website design is more than just making sure your site has a good color scheme.
Use high-quality images to showcase your products
Using high-quality images to showcase your products on your ecommerce site is essential for success. It’s also important to use photos that are clear and up close, as well as large in size.
Photos of your product should be used throughout the website, if possible. Website photos not only help potential customers get a closer look at what you have to offer, but also increase trust in your company.
Photos on your ecommerce site need to be used thoughtfully and for specific reasons, like the ones given above. Website photos can also be used as an additional tool for marketing your business across social media platforms.
In addition to being used on a product page, you should use images throughout the rest of your ecommerce website design for a number of reasons:
- Website photos should reflect the brand and product line
- Website photos should be clear, close up images of your products
- Website photos can be used as social media marketing tools for brand awareness and to drive traffic back to your web page or ecommerce store.
Write informative product descriptions
Include informative product descriptions on your ecommerce site to help potential customers decide whether or not they should buy the product.
When it comes to item descriptions, you want to provide as much information as possible about what makes a given product unique and different from the competition without being overly wordy. This means creating descriptive copy that complements photos of your product and gives potential customers a reason to buy.
Writing clear, descriptive copy is an art form in itself so it’s important to hire someone who knows how to write a well-crafted description. Product descriptions should include information about why the item is unique from other similar products, what kinds of situations it should be used in, what makes it different from other similar items and what makes the product better than others on the market—or why it’s priced higher.
Writing a good copy about your products helps online customers decide if they should buy your product or click out of your site, so make sure you spend enough time writing clear, informative descriptions that can sell without being too wordy.
Create a blog to share helpful tips and advice
Create a blog on your e-commerce website to give shoppers helpful advice, industry insights and product recommendations.
There are many different types of blogs that you can create for your e-commerce site, but the purpose should be to engage potential customers, educate them on products they may not have heard about already and encourage them to buy more from the website.
Blog posts should be written in a way that is helpful and informative for the reader, but also fun and easy to read. Website blog posts can offer e-commerce shoppers links to check out similar products, industry insights and even product recommendations based on what you know about their interests or purchase history.
You can write blog posts directly into your ecommerce website or use a platform like WordPress, but make sure you regularly update posts with helpful information to help draw in potential customers. Website blog posts should engage the reader and answer their questions, while still selling your ecommerce business and merchandise.
Use effective keywords in your online marketing campaigns to reach more customers
Keyword research is the process of determining which keywords potential customers use when searching for or browsing products on your ecommerce website or related websites. Keywords can include words and/or phrases such as “buy,” “shoes,” “red dress” and more, but they should be relevant to your business and products.
Keyword research is important to the success of your online marketing strategy because it shows you what kind of keywords and phrases potential customers are searching for when shopping for products like yours. Keywords help businesses rank better in search engine results, so using effective keywords can drive more traffic back to your ecommerce site or other related websites.
Once you’ve determined your target keywords, use them in your online marketing efforts such as social media, PPC and display ads. Keywords should also be used to optimize website pages, product descriptions and blog posts for ecommerce search engine optimization (SEO).
Managing targeted keywords can be done through keyword research tools or by hiring an SEO agency. Keyword tools can be found online and they rank potential keywords based on search engine results, competitor data and other metrics. Keywords should also be monitored regularly so you know when they’re no longer providing useful information to your business or when new popular keywords show up in search engine result pages (SERPs).
Send out regular email newsletters to keep customers updated on new products and special offers
Sending email newsletters to potential and existing customers is a great way to keep them updated on your ecommerce business and products. Regular email newsletters can include information about new products, special offers, tips or more.
Email marketing is important for ecommerce websites because it’s an effective way to retain customers by staying top of mind without being too salesy. Email newsletters can be sent out through email marketing platforms such as Mailchimp and others, but email campaigns should be well-written and not too pushy.
Email marketing is a great way to keep customers engaged with your ecommerce business and it also provides you with an opportunity to make more sales by promoting new products and special offers.
Using email marketing tools like email drip campaigns can help your email newsletter be more effective by sending out email updates at set intervals or when events happen online. Drip email campaigns are useful for e-commerce websites because you can schedule email updates to go out at specific points over the span of several days, weeks or months.
These email campaigns can be used to draw customers back to your ecommerce website or email newsletter through different incentives that may include discounts, exclusive deals and gift with purchase offers. It’s important email drip campaigns don’t feel too salesy so they do not turn off customers.
Use social media to reach a wider audience
Using social media is a great way to reach more people for your ecommerce store because it allows businesses to connect with customers and drive traffic back to their websites. Social media marketing should therefore be used as part of an overall online marketing strategy.
Social media is also great for engaging with customers because it allows businesses to get feedback on their products, services or business in general. Social media is therefore helpful for getting valuable insights on what customers like and don’t like about your ecommerce store.
Social media marketing can be divided into organic social media marketing where you share content that’s relevant to your business but doesn’t directly promote your e-commerce store, and paid social media marketing that includes social media advertising.
Organic social media marketing can include updating your Facebook page with new products or blog posts, posting helpful videos on YouTube related to your business or industry and sharing interesting articles from other websites on LinkedIn. These are all great ways to connect with people online who may be interested in what you have to offer.
Creating quality content that is engaging and informative on your social media profiles is an important part of organic social marketing because it gives people a reason to interact with you and look at your ecommerce store. Paid social media marketing should be used in conjunction with organic marketing to help boost the reach of what you post on social media accounts.
Paid social media marketing can include buying ads on Facebook and other websites, but make sure to use tracking tools like Google Analytics and Moz Open Site Explorer (or another analytics tool) to measure the effectiveness of your social media advertising.
Social media advertising is a great way to drive traffic back to your ecommerce website. You can create a social media ad that includes a link back to your website and then target the correct audience either through interest targeting or geographic location.
Social media ads are cost-effective because you pay per click on an ad, but make sure you’re only paying for clicks from people who may be interested in what you’re selling.
Social media ads can also include a call-to-action button that asks people to visit your website or make a purchase, which is useful for lead generation campaigns. You should measure the effectiveness of social media advertising by tracking how many visits it’s driving to your website and the number of conversions you’re getting.
Social media advertising should supplement your overall social media marketing strategy to drive more traffic to your website. You can use social media ads to build brand awareness rather than directly selling products on social networks because this may turn off people who don’t want to be sold things.
Participate in online forums and discussions related to your product niche
It’s important to participate in online forums and discussions related to your product niche because this allows you to build relationships with potential customers. Forums like Reddit, for example, allow businesses to take part in conversations happening within their industry and engage with people who may buy products or services from them. This can be a great way to get noticed online and drive traffic back to your website.
Social media is one of the best ways for businesses to engage with their customers, which should therefore include participating in online discussions related to your ecommerce store or product niche.
When in doubt, contact a professional marketing agency to help you grow your online store. It may be less expensive than you think.
It can be difficult to know where to start when it comes to growing your online store. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, don’t worry – you’re not alone! A professional marketing agency can help take some of the guesswork out of the process and may end up being less expensive than you think.
At Adept Creative, we have over 15 years building brands and marketing products, so we understand what it takes to create a successful eCommerce strategy.
Contact us today for a free consultation and let us show you how we can help grow your business.
At Adept Creative, we have over 15 years building brands and marketing products, so we understand what it takes to create a successful eCommerce strategy.
Contact us today for a free consultation and let us show you how we can help grow your business.
