Provided by Triple Whale
E-commerce marketing is a complex and ever-evolving landscape. As an e-commerce business owner or marketing manager, it’s your job to keep up with industry trends and best practices and implement them to drive revenue for your store. You can use a variety of marketing channels to reach your customers and grow your business.
In this article, we’ll focus on some of the most effective and advanced e-commerce marketing strategies you can use to boost your business performance, sales and ROI.
1. Launch paid advertising
The most common way to drive prospective customers to your e-commerce store is through paid advertising. Advertising allows you to reach a broad pool of potential customers, while targeting your ads specifically to people most likely to convert.
You can use several different advertising platforms, but some of the most popular options for e-commerce stores include Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Google and YouTube.
2. Use attribution modeling to measure and maximize your paid advertising efforts
Attribution modeling is a method used to measure which marketing channels are the most effective at driving sales for your store. Attributing revenue back to the proper channels is essential, as these insights are critical for understanding which marketing efforts (down to the unique ad level) are most effective for turning prospective buyers into customers. These insights are also critical for determining the most efficient use of marketing spend.
Several different attribution models are available for use these days, but some of the most commonly used include last-click attribution (the last marketing asset a buyer clicked before converting), first-click attribution (the first marketing asset a buyer clicked before converting) and linear attribution (a model that “splits the credit” equally across all touchpoints the buyer experienced before converting).
Enabling a first-party pixel is the most common solution for gathering attribution data. Think of a pixel like a sophisticated video surveillance camera on your e-commerce store. The pixel tracks consumer behavior so you can identify where customers are coming from and which channels/advertisements are most effective at driving revenue.
3. Launch influencer marketing campaigns
Influencer marketing involves working with widely known individuals in your brand’s industry to promote your products. It’s an effective way of engaging with a large audience of potential customers, and allows you to tap into the trust that these prospective consumers have with the creators they follow. Some of the most popular channels for influencer marketing include Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
When it comes to tracking the efficacy of your influencer marketing efforts, implementing discount codes and/or post-purchase surveys will allow you to attribute revenue generated back to the influencers you’ve worked with. It’s critical to review the revenue generated from your influencers in relation to the expense of working with them, as you only want to keep spending on the influencers who deliver the most ROI for your business!
4. Create email marketing campaigns
Email marketing is a tried and true e-commerce marketing strategy. In an era of super-crazy inboxes, it can feel like email marketing is dead — but the data shows otherwise!
Email is an especially effective tool for communicating with potential customers who have previously expressed interest in your store. Offer website visitors a juicy discount for entering their email address, and invite them back to purchase when new products or product bundles are released. Additionally, email marketing can be used to re-engage former customers in a similar way! There is a strong correlation between quality email marketing and high customer retention rates.
5. Launch SMS marketing campaigns
Similar to email marketing, text message marketing allows you to send targeted messages to both prospective and previous customers. It’s a great way to keep folks in your customer network updated on new products, sales and special offers. You can use SMS marketing to send special offers, abandoned cart reminders and even delightful customer service messages.
The data has shown that personalization increases the effectiveness of text message marketing, and you can automate SMS messages to send to your customers based on their behavior. Think strategically about the best time to send text messages, how to segment your recipient list, how to optimize your copy for the short character count and how you can pop into someone’s inbox and make them smile.
6. Retarget missed customers to drive sales
Retargeting is an online advertising practice that allows you to target people who have visited your website without purchasing. By serving paid social advertisements, sending emails and texting these consumers, you can keep your brand top of mind while closing easy sales to drive revenue. Most paid advertising platforms have easy tools for retargeting prior website visitors, as well as the people (and people similar to those) on your email marketing list. In tandem, sending custom email and SMS campaigns for these potential customers can get them back on your website to make that purchase!
7. Develop an affiliate marketing program
Affiliate marketing is a form of performance-based marketing in which your brand recruits affiliates to promote your products or services. It’s an excellent way to bring new people to your store, while capitalizing upon the strength of your selected affiliate’s respective network.
Affiliates are typically paid via commission on their sales generated in the form of a percentage of revenue share. This is most simply tracked via a custom URL link using UTM tags or through a special discount code.
8. Develop an organic social media presence
Social media is extremely effective for interacting with your customers, sharing your brand story and showing off your products. You can use social media to announce new products, offer special deals, show prospective buyers how to use your products or show off happy customers!
When using social media to promote your store, it’s essential to post high-quality content that is relevant to your audience. Do so regularly, and make sure you talk with your followers to create lasting connections with them.
Additionally, maintaining a presence across multiple platforms encourages people to buy from you more often. Dig into your purchase data to identify trends in age, gender identity and location of origin across your customers. Typically, platforms like Facebook and Instagram tend to perform best with millennial audiences, while Facebook performs best with older audiences and YouTube and TikTok are where many Gen-Z’ers spend most of their time.
9. Offer financial incentives
Financial incentives, like discounts and coupons, go a long way in encouraging people to shop at your store — particularly for hesitant first-time buyers. You can use these incentives to guide consumers toward purchasing specific products or leverage them to encourage shoppers to buy more frequently.
All that being said, be careful about how liberally you use coupons and discounts! You don’t want to risk devaluing your products or services, and you definitely don’t want to cut prices too often, as people will stop taking your offers seriously. And, of course, it’s critical to make sure the numbers always work out. Discounting too heavily and selling at high volume can cause a cash loss.
10. Create a customer referral program
You’re likely familiar with these! Referral programs allow you to offer incentives to people who direct new customers to your store. You can use these programs to encourage existing customers to promote your products or services. Some examples of referral incentives include “points” to be exchanged for purchases, free gifts, special discounts/offers and exclusive product launches.
11. Implement a customer loyalty program
Similar to referral programs, customer loyalty programs reward recurring customers for purchasing multiple times from your store. These are your most valuable customers — they deserve some rewards! Loyalty programs can encourage customers to spend more and do so more often, as well as refer new people to your store. Loyalty rewards are typically similar to referral rewards — points toward a purchase, free gifts and more.
12. Offer free shipping
We all live in the world of Amazon Prime — and consumers’ expectations likely now include free shipping. One major purchase objection for customers visiting e-commerce checkouts is an additional shipping fee beyond the cost of the products they’ve added to cart.
One of the most effective techniques is to require a minimum order value (for example, $50.00) to “unlock” free shipping. This is a tried-and-true incentive that encourages customers to purchase more from your store, thus increasing your brand’s customer Average Order Value (AOV).
13. Add social sharing buttons to your website
By adding “share to social” buttons on your website, you encourage site visitors to share your content and products with their friends and followers! Your customers likely interact with people similar to their persona, making this an awesome way to get your brand in front of high-intent prospective customers, while spreading the word about your brand.
14. Implement a search engine optimization strategy
Search engine optimization (SEO) involves designing your website and content for a high ranking on search engines like Google and Bing. An understanding of core SEO principles is essential for generating high-quality website content that improves the visibility of your business within search results.
15. Use live chat to improve customer communication
A live chat feature on your e-commerce site will allow you to offer customers immediate support through real-time interactions. You can use the service to answer questions, resolve issues and provide information about your products or services. While automated services and emails are effective, there’s really nothing that beats human interaction for building strong relationships with your customers!
16. Create a brand blog to drive website traffic
A blog provides opportunities to get your brand and industry knowledge in front of prospective customers in a new way! Share information about your products, pro tips for your industry, news, tips and advice and more through the blog to connect with customers. Directly linking relevant products within blog articles can help boost that revenue! A blog that’s been optimized by an SEO specialist can dramatically drive website traffic as well.
17. Create an email newsletter
An email newsletter gives customers a reason to think more often about your store, ultimately driving them to make more purchases. You can use a newsletter to announce product news, offer discounts, post reviews/testimonials and more!
18. List your brand in online directories
Online directories improve your store’s visibility while promoting what you’re selling. Getting listed in online directories can help you attract new customers and build links to your website, ultimately boosting your search engine presence.
19. Submit your brand/products to online publications
Online publications can get your products in front of new customers. For example, for a skincare brand, it may be worth the investment to pay for a product mention in a BuzzFeed article on the “Top 10 Hottest Skincare Products of the Year.”
Depending on the publication, you can either offer your products for review or pay for a listing/mention. Specialized publications for your product niche are stellar for getting in front of high-intent prospective buyers.
20. Submit your website to search engines
Submitting your website to search engines is a great way to improve your store’s visibility and attract new customers. Submit your website to Google, Bing and other major search engines to help improve your store’s ranking in search results.
21. Participate as your brand (or brand founder) in online communities
Like blogs, online communities provide the opportunity to connect with potential customers to promote your store. By posting in forums or answering questions about your product in various communities, you can direct interested customers to the information and resources they need to feel confident in their purchase.
22. Offer contests and giveaways
Contests and giveaways are an extremely effective tactic for increasing the word-of-mouth buzz around your business, getting some awesome product content or partnering up with another awesome brand — all while deepening your relationship with your customers! Encourage your social media followers or email subscribers to share a selfie with their favorite product, tag their friends on a social media post or repost your brand’s content on their own social media profiles for a chance to win something awesome. While you’re gaining new followers and customers, you’re also providing exciting opportunities for your brand advocates!