2020 was the year of unprecedented growth for e-commerce. We’re talking about an exponential 44% increase in online retail sales when the figure couldn’t get past 20% for the past 10 years. Those who already had their e-commerce platforms set before the pandemic blew up were the ones who fully benefited from this sudden trend. In contrast, some followed suit as they more seamlessly met customer demand by bringing their storefronts online. With the elevated convenience online shopping offers, we can see how this is steadily becoming the norm, and it’s but natural for businesses to bring their businesses online.
One e-commerce solutions champion cites the growth of e-commerce, changing customer behavior, branding, and order fulfillment as major drivers of competition this year, and that’s in the online playing field. As if managing an online shop isn’t hard enough, you now have to strive to stand out among your competitors in terms of offering the best shopper interface, which is, if anything, equivalent to the most excellent customer service you can imagine for the brick-and-mortar setup. If this got you trying to figure out just how you can set your company apart, then keep reading.
Before the customer even lands on your homepage, chances are he’s already dead set on what he wants, but not necessarily on the exact item. He knows his current issue, and he’s really itching to resolve this. So, he searches for it on Google to be redirected to a results page that’s filled with countless options, even links to online stores. Usually, he doesn’t immediately click “Add to Cart” then “Proceed to Checkout.” He might want some more time to either weigh his gazillion options or just delay himself the gratification. As you can see, capturing customers isn’t easy either.
That’s where digital marketing tools will come in handy because, let’s face it, the traditional ones won’t work anymore. Hire a team or do it yourself. You’ll notice how this makes all the difference. For one, you can run ads on social media sites where your target market usually lurks. Running online ads and campaigns has been a thing for years now. Find out other methods you can use to get your unique brand more known and consequently advance your online business this year.
Online Content
Simply put, content keeps you relevant and credible to your target market and ups your chances of appearing on the customer’s searches or passive online surfing. For this reason, it’s best to invest in quality social media content, whether you get a top-tier photographer for your products online, a social media manager or copywriter who can engage with your prospects in a timely and personalized manner, a graphic designer to create engaging infographics, or a video editor for easy-to-consume short-form videos. Moreover, you can use social media marketing tools to run your content effectively during your target market’s most active hours and on social media sites they’re most active in.
Through newsletter subscriptions, take the chance to nurture a connection with your audience by constantly sending niche-relevant write-ups, making your newsletter visually pleasing, and linking your subscribers to on-site links, such as your Shop, Contact Us, or Blog pages. Look for tools that can assist you in customizing your newsletter templates and guiding users to target-specific content.
Podcasts have become increasingly popular these days, as people are more wired to their mobile devices these days. Discussing in detail the topics that are useful to your market is another way to present your credibility, more so if you invite experts in the field. It’s also a great avenue to announce your promos or to launch new products.
Influencers and User-Generated Content
More than ever, influencers now dominate the online world. Their marketing prowess exceeds that of search engines and email marketing, which is why it only makes sense for any business to sign one to be their brand ambassador. They can do so much to promote your products. For instance, you can send them a PR kit so that they can unbox it on one of their YouTube videos or tag you in their Instagram posts.
Similarly, encouraging the users of your product to tag you on their social media posts will benefit you. It spreads brand awareness to their circles, and it’s an opportunity for you to connect with them.
Image and Voice Search
Image searching is gaining massive popularity for the convenience it provides to users. If they want a dress they’ve seen in a movie, they simply take a picture of it and let Google Lens do the job of finding the exact piece online. This brings us to the point of maintaining high-quality shots of our products and optimizing these with relevant alt texts and descriptions.
Voice searching is also picking up pace with the popularity of voice assistants, and it is bound to dominate product searches years from now. It will also be wise to create voice equivalents to your online assets as early as now.
The convenient world of online shopping presents new challenges to businesses. But, we are here now, and we could only shape up to avoid the risk of perishing amid the competition. Marketing is still worth investing in, after all.