Albert Einstein once said, “Creativity is intelligence having fun.” Business is all about being creative, and it's an important skill that can help you establish a truly unique and successful operation.
Coming up with an e-commerce concept, building it into a product and a brand that will compete with other established brands in the market is not easy. It calls for utmost creativity, proper communication of its values and creating desire in customers through the best marketing techniques in the industry. David Ogilvy, who is considered the father of advertising, aptly quipped, “The consumer is not a moron; she is your wife.” In this regard, here are five tips you can use to effectively market your e-commerce business.
1. Search Engine Optimization
This is the first facet of a working marketing strategy for an e-commerce business. You must ensure that you achieve the highest possible ranking on search engine results, especially Google. Attaining a favorable ranking in search engines is a journey that starts the moment you host your website, and it's one that never ends. Work on your pages’ load time, craft compelling content, use appropriate keywords, and utilize many more SEO strategies that work. This is actually the most effective way to attract new customers, so make sure that it's prioritized.
2. Think Social
How well do you understand your customers and prospects? Where do they spend most of their time? Don’t invest in content marketing or social media simply because that is how “things are done,” but because you truly understand your customers and think it is necessary and for your business. Profile your prospects based on various demographics such as age, location, gender, lifestyle, among others.
For example, if you were running a jewelry store, you might want to invest more on Pinterest or Instagram than Twitter, since your product images may be more effective than a 140-character description. Ideally, utilize all available social media networking sites for your e-commerce business to grow. Just make sure that you balance your marketing efforts with other things of interest such as sharing the latest news to avoid turning off your social media connections with a hard sell.
3. Manage Your Online Reputation
Online customers will not think twice before publishing their frustration about a certain product or service the moment they feel cheated. That's why it's important to keep tabs on your online reputation, closely monitor reviews, and clarify where you can. Don’t go on the defensive because you might end up brewing a storm you cannot calm.
4. Invest in Advertisement
Online advertisements, unlike conventional ads, are cheaper and easy to monitor. This is because they can easily be targeted to a specific niche market and can be monitored. Most of them, such as PPCs, are only charged based on what is actually delivered, like how Google ads charges are based on click-throughs and impressions created. There is no wastage and your brand will be exposed to the right audience for better conversion.
5. Don’t Forget Mobile Devices
The world is getting mobile. Most people today use their mobile devices to access e-commerce stores as much as they do on their PCs. Make sure that your e-commerce website is responsive to various mobile devices, make use of mobile payment platforms for convenience, and invest in mobile apps for more targeted marketing.
Finally, don’t go chasing after every Internet user. Concentrate instead on the sources of your traffic. If you generate more leads from LinkedIn, for example, explore various mechanisms in which this can be maximized.