It’s no secret that e-commerce has grown exponentially in recent years. As more and more consumers embrace mobile technology and online e-tailers as a primary means of shopping for a multitude of products, due in part to both convenience and competitive pricing, the online shopping marketplace is only going to get more crowded.
That’s why it’s vitally important to have a strong e-commerce marketing strategy in place. With more than 80 percent of consumers conducting online research regarding the products they are seeking to purchase, an e-commerce marketing strategy will help guide potential customers towards your site, rather than that of a competitor. And since nearly 50 percent of consumers begin a product search on Amazon, competitive pricing and an attractive website just aren’t enough.
Developing Your Advertising Campaigns
Plan quarterly advertising campaigns that align with your customer’s interests and capitalize on holidays and events. Advertising that appeals directly to your target market by focusing on their wants and needs will deliver a stronger ROI. Being consistent helps to improve brand awareness, and capitalizing on marketing opportunities surrounding events and holidays captures a larger share of the market at critical opportunities for potentially higher sales.
How to Decide Which Channels to Advertise On
Finding the right online channels to focus your advertising on can make a big difference in maximizing your ROI. Depending upon your industry, one particular channel might serve you better than another, so it pays to research competitors to see where they are focusing their advertising dollars.
Various channels include:
Google—ideal for service providers and niche businesses that can utilize highly targeted keywords.
Google AdWords—ideal for targeting potential customers or clients that might not be aware you exist.
Facebook—ideal for companies that are seeking to engage their audience, as well as attract a local target market. Facebook also allows for very specific targeting and budget controls, making it an optimal marketing tool.
LinkedIn—ideal for B2B companies. Using LinkedIn, you can source leads, engage in networking, and advertise to specific professions, companies or industries.
Keep in mind that you might benefit from cross-channel advertising, utilizing one or more of the above channels to cast a wider net, subsequently improving your conversion rate.
Analyze and Revise Your E-Commerce Marketing Strategies
Consistent analysis of your marketing strategy to determine whether it is effective or if it needs revision is key to ensuring you continue to reach sales goals. A marketing strategy that was highly effective one month can deliver less than optimal results the next month due to changing trends, consumer behavior and competitor marketing strategies.
There are several ways to gauge the impact of your marketing campaign. For starters, installing tracking pixels on your website will enable you to see which parts of your e-commerce advertising campaign are leading consumers to your website, and, ultimately, making a purchase happen. Google AdWords makes this process relatively simple, and other channels, such as Facebook, also enable you to set up conversion pixels.
Second, using analytics to measure your conversion rate from your ads can give you additional insight into your campaign and consumer behavior. Google Analytics offers a suite of tools and products that you can use to improve your engagement, track and analyze website traffic, increase your click-through rate, and much more.
And lastly, you can experiment with different creative content and ads in order to increase conversions through A/B testing on your website. This is the process of trying out two similar ads or pieces of content to see which one works better—conversion pixels and Google analytics can help you track and compare the effectiveness of either ad.
With the data you collect from analytical tools, conversion pixels, and A/B testing, you’ll be able to fine-tune your strategy on a weekly basis, as needed, in order to keep an optimal ROI.
