E-commerce is projected to account for nearly four trillion in 2021, which shows an increase from the estimated three and a half trillion in 2020. With online shopping becoming more popular with each passing day, it’s never been easier to open up your store.
With more opportunities to grow comes fiercer competition. To see consistent and sustainable growth, you need a strategy in place that is coherent and long-term – something very prudent and documented. For e-commerce brands, that means maintaining a stronghold over their marketing and growth channels.
It’s important not to jump the gun when creating a marketing plan. E-commerce marketing tools are available, but it’s best if your strategic e-tail foundation before using these channels.
We will see just that in this blog!
Before jumping to the list of channels, let us get some more clarity into the fundamentals of e-commerce marketing.
E-commerce marketing employs several channels, but not all of them will be right for every business. It’s important to carefully assess each channel and determine which ones can have the most significant impact on your bottom line based on your company’s resources and strategic intel.
Assuming you know your product-market fit well, let’s see the channels that can yield the right results for your brand.
Here are five important marketing channels for e-tail businesses like yours.
1. SMS
More businesses are incorporating SMS into their marketing strategies because it is becoming essential for communication with customers. In 2020, 90% of messages were read within 3 minutes, which likely explains why marketers are using SMS to communicate with customers more than before.
Studies have found that 19% of all Black Friday orders were sent via SMS, with SMS accounting for 2.5% of total sales on the day!
Businesses utilize SMS messages to increase profits during the holiday shopping season because it is an effective method for gaining customers’ attention in a crowded email inbox.
Benefits of SMS Marketing for E-commerce
- Text messages reach mobile users at almost 100%
- SMS campaigns are cost-effective.
- Flexibility – you can send text and HTML-based messages to have complete control over your message formatting from the subject line and content body to background image and color scheme.
- You can include links to product pages or landing pages with Rich Media Messaging.
2. Email
Despite the advent of new marketing channels, email marketing continues to be a profitable channel compared to its competitors.
The email has remained effective because it provides a means to connect with the individual consumer. The opt-in nature of email makes it only possible for merchants to contact those who allow them access into their inboxes.
E-commerce businesses can sell products to an audience more effectively through email marketing because this method reaches people who have expressly stated they are interested in hearing about their brand.
Benefits of Email Marketing for E-commerce
- Targeted – you can create segments based on location, demographics, purchase behavior, and other factors to have an audience relevant to your business.
- Reach – email marketing allows businesses the opportunity to reach multiple audiences with ease.
- Personalization- The ability to personalize each message makes it more effective in drawing customers’ attention and persuading.
3. Content Marketing
Content marketing is essential when you have items to sell online. Everything you trade in your store needs product descriptions, sales banners, and photos. Content Marketing is an irreplaceable strategy.
Content provides support around your brand, taking many forms (i.e., articles, photos, blogs, infographics, etc.).
Content should always be created with your readers in mind. For example, if you sell women’s fashion apparel, don’t write a blog post about going vegan unless that’s part of your brand image.
Benefits of Content Marketing for E-commerce
- Content Marketing creates a connection with customers by helping them understand you.
- It can help bring in more traffic to your website, which helps boost sales.
- Make your brand stand out from others who are selling the same products as you do.
- You can use content marketing to keep customers coming back for more!
4. Social Media
Although email marketing is incredibly beneficial, social media has more potential to grow and connect your brand with its audience. Social media networks like Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest have billions of users that can potentially be subscribers or customers for your business.
E-commerce marketing is heavily reliant on visuals, so harness the visual nature of social media by creating beautiful products and brand photos. Social media is one of the best ways to keep your customer engaged. You can give your brand a personality over the internet – and your target audience will love you for it.
Benefits of Social Media Marketing for E-commerce
- Social media marketing is an inexpensive way to promote your brand.
- You get instant access to a large audience of potential customers with who you can communicate directly.
- Social media allows you the chance to have one-on-one conversations with your target market by giving real-time responses.
- Your business can be visible on another platform and even grow.
5. Word-of-Mouth or Referral Marketing
Word of mouth is still one of the most potent marketing tools at your disposal. People trust the opinions and advice of their peers, so having happy customers spread positive word-of-mouth about your brand is a pure marketing goldmine.
In addition to helping you acquire new customers, referral marketing can also retain happy customers by incentivizing referrals. For instance, you can offer a discount for both the referrer and referee or even sweeten the deal with values for all parties involved.
A customer referral program that distributes reward points is just as effective if you already have a loyalty and rewards program in place.
Benefits of Referral Marketing for E-commerce Brands
- Word of mouth is the cheapest and most effective marketing technique.
- It can help your business reach new audiences that may not have heard about your brand or shop before.
- You can save money from advertising by using word of mouth as a free promotion method.
- Referral marketing helps you build your customer base faster than any other form of outreach.
Your turn…
Email and SMS marketing are two tools that can increase your sales. Both have over 30% of email sales coming from automated messages, and SMS conversion rates rise over 400% year-over-year.
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