
The brick-and-mortar retail stores and shopping outlets were witnessing a swift decline for several years. However, the coronavirus pandemic sped the decline, urging consumers to shift towards the online landscape entirely. People who enjoyed brushing the fabric against their skin before making a purchase are now looking for safe, contactless deliveries.
Consumer preferences change every day, and currently, e-commerce businesses are ideally suited to address these requirements. Growing an online business is much easier than sustaining a physical outlet, given the numerous costs and rising expenses. Besides, these days e-commerce businesses are in cutthroat competition with rival brands selling similar products.
How can your brand rise above the competition and maintain a regular stream of revenues? Your e-commerce business needs a crafty and creative marketing mix to cement your brand identity and endorse it as a lifestyle.
If you generate and convert leads by running paid campaigns on randomly curated posts, you’re not creating a brand identity. Generating sales and cultivating a distinctive brand identity are two entirely different goals and strategies. How can you make your e-commerce brand successful with a focus on boosting sales and developing brand loyalty?
Keep reading to explore valuable insights into growing a successful e-commerce business in today’s competitive digital arena.
Be Accessible to your Audience
How accessible are your products and offerings for your audience? Are you selling on multiple platforms?
You may think that offering products exclusively on your website will facilitate a distinctive brand image and connection. While that’s true to an extent, but it will indeed reduce your sales volumes and revenues. Carving out exclusivity makes sense when you run a luxury brand catering to a small and specific audience.
As an entrepreneur, do you often wonder how to sell on eBay, social media, and other popular retail marketplaces? Well, each platform requires a unique advertising strategy, and each platform will empower you with a plethora of tools. For instance, Facebook offers simplistic shop features that make the buying process convenient and straightforward.
Selling your products on Amazon, eBay, and other digital marketplaces will help you build a strong industry presence. Potential customers will feel encouraged to learn more about your brand after spotting your products on eBay and elsewhere. It’s crucial to make your brand accessible to your audience by targeting multiple platforms.
Don’t limit yourself to your website. Use all the platforms available to generate sales and acquire new customers.
Cultivate & Reinforce Brand Identity
Each buying decision brings a customer closer to the lifestyle they envision for themselves. Buying decisions aren’t just about products and services. They are much larger and deeper equations that stem from the emotional depth of a consumer.
Consumers connect with and buy from brands that offer them a better lifestyle. If your e-commerce brand doesn’t have an identity and only products, it will whither away unnoticed despite generating sales. It’s essential to cultivate a distinctive brand identity that sets you apart from your competitors and carves out a niche.
How do they see your e-commerce brand? Are you a brand that promises affordability and quality? Or perhaps, your brand offers a youth-friendly take on fashion and home improvement?
Once you’ve cultivated this identity, you must reinforce it with advertising campaigns, brand promises, and marketing techniques. The goal is to position the identity firmly within the minds of your consumers.
SEO & Organic Traffic
In 2021, Google’s ranking algorithms and bots are increasingly unforgiving and demanding. That’s right because ranking systems are now powered with highly sophisticated bots and AI tools. So, how can your e-commerce business compete against bigger rivals who’re spending enormously to maintain their SEO rankings?
Search engine optimization and keyword research will help you build organic traffic and connect you with your audience. It’s crucial to incorporate user-generated queries in your content and blogs to communicate with potential customers. Acquiring high-quality backlinks from reputable magazines and publishers will help you gain new customers.
Keyword research is of the utmost significance in generating organic traffic. Keywords allow you to connect with potential customers who are actively looking for your products. As an e-commerce business, you must regard SEO as an ongoing initiative that demands consistency to deliver results.
Influencer Marketing
E-commerce businesses, particularly startups, have much to gain by collaborating with social media influencers. In recent years, consumers have lost faith in the credibility of brands and their advertising campaigns. Consumers regard advertisements as fallacious gimmicks to win their trust and generate revenues.
Modern-day consumers can find digital research tools to verify legitimacy and authenticity before investing their hard-earned money. So, how will influencer marketing help your e-commerce brand win over consumer trust?
It’s simple: consumers trust their favorite influencers and seek their advice on product recommendations. Collaborating with an influencer will help you create trends and influence your target audience without direct engagement. Content that comes from influencers carries an aura of trust and honesty that inspires consumers. It’s wise to collaborate with influencers who enjoy popularity across your target audience.
Loyalty Programs & Discounts
Consumers adore discounts and special offers, even if they are bathing $100 bills every day. An e-commerce business must take the initiative to inspire brand loyalty and build lasting connections. Loyalty programs make consumers feel special and cherished, thereby encouraging them to make more purchases.
Running discounts and special offers during the holiday season or special occasions will help you secure brand loyalty. Discounts always guarantee a memorable shopping experience, encouraging customers to return for more retail therapy.
You can also run loyalty programs that incentivize customers to bring in new customers. For instance, you can offer a loyalty discount voucher for bringing in a new customer with a link that tracks activity. With such a strategy, it’s crucial to deploy analytics and obtain insight into how many new customers your brand has acquired.
Conclusion
E-commerce brands have a thriving digital infrastructure to grow sales and revenues and expand into new audience segments. However, if you’re waiting for consumers to land on your website miraculously, the wait will never end. You have to actively generate, nurture and convert leads by targeting consumers on multiple platforms.
Entice them with your products as they browse their Facebook feeds and skim through their Instagram stories. Engage them on YouTube and TikTok, and respond to their search queries with higher search rankings and personalized content. Curating personalized consumer experiences is the key to growing as an e-commerce brand.
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