After toiling for several weeks and investing a lot of time, effort, and money, you’ve finally got your eCommerce business up and running.
Congratulations!
Now the real work begins.
Yes, you read that right. You’re still at the starting point.
Of all the various steps you’ll need to go through to start a business, one of the most critical steps in marketing it to your potential customers.
The reason is simple: Even if you have an exceptional product, if no one’s looking at it, you won’t get any sales.
Not having any sales means you won’t be able to pay your bills and keep the business you’ve worked so hard to build running.
That said, here are six simple, but effective, marketing strategies that you can start promoting your eCommerce business and attract customers to buy.
1. Ask your personal network for support
The chances are good that your family and close friends are going to be more than happy to support your eCommerce business.
All you have to do is ask.
You can start by sending them invites to like and follow your eCommerce business’ profiles on social media.
If you want to sweeten the deal, you can even set up a referral program on your eCommerce store. To give you an idea of how enticing this strategy can be, here’s an example don by Erin Condren.
Pretty sweet, huh?
With this strategy, you give something back to your family and friends for helping you promote your eCommerce business.
At the same time, you can get your customers to help you spread the word about your online store.
This is gold because your customers are more easily convinced to buy from an eCommerce store recommended to them by someone they know.
2. Invest in PPC ads
While running SEO campaigns can certainly bring in customers to your website, there’s a caveat — it often takes time before it can deliver results.
Pay-Per-Click (PPC) ads are a quicker and more effective way to attract and convert your target market.
One reason is that you get to choose who gets to view your ads based on the keywords you use and their location.
That way, you can be sure that those who’ll land on your eCommerce site’s product pages.
Second, Google displays all the PPC ads before organic web links on their search results pages.
And because the majority of people searching on Google tend to click only the first three links that they see, you increase the chances of your target customers clicking on your link.
3. Display reviews of your products
Customer reviews play a vital role in helping you generate sales. That’s because they serve as proof of the quality of the products you sell and the service you give.
Reviews also help you build a trusting relationship with your potential customers. This is crucial in today’s faceless digital marketplace.
That’s because your customers would only do business with you if they know that they can trust you.
The good news is, there are several eCommerce apps that you can install to put your online store on steroids.
There are even apps that trigger emails to be sent to those that recently purchased from your online store and request them to review their shopping experience.
If a customer replies with their review, the app would then upload this to your eCommerce website.
The more reviews you get to display on your eCommerce site, the quicker you’ll establish your credibility, and the more potential customers would be willing to buy from you.
You can also enhance customer experience and boost great reviews by investing in custom packaging. You want to make sure that your customers fall in love not only with what you’re selling but also with your brand as a whole. You can do this by capturing their attention the moment they receive their package. Many customers consider it a plus when their orders arrive in well-designed boxes. It also helps make them feel like they’re getting their money’s worth.
4. Add a blog to your eCommerce website
Blog posts help bring in more site traffic and customers to your online business in several ways.
First, you’re giving Google more pages and content to index and include in their results page when someone searches using your targeted keywords.
The more relevant your blog post’s content is to the keywords used, the higher your blog post will rank in the search results.
And the higher your blog posts ranks on search result pages, the easier it’ll be for your target customers to find you.
5. Upload shoppable posts on Instagram
Shoppable posts look very similar to regular Instagram posts. One difference is the little shopping bag icon found on the corner of your photo.
The other difference between a regular Instagram post and a shoppable post is what happens when someone taps the image.
Instead of giving it alike, the person who taps your shoppable post will see the different items featured in the image along with their prices.
And when that person taps any of the price tags, a screen will appear that’ll allow him or her to buy the item.
6. Build an email list
Email marketing may be one of the oldest strategies to generate sales, but it’s also one of the most effective.
Instead of posting an ad and hope that your customers would see it, email marketing allows you to send your offers directly to their inbox.
Second, you can segment your email list based on your subscribers’ buying habits, how much they spend, and their interests. You can then tailor an offer and send these to them via email.
More importantly, it helps you reduce your eCommerce site’s abandoned shopping cart rate by emailing them a reminder like this one from Etsy.
That way, these customers can go back to your eCommerce site and complete their purchase.
And as you can see, you can even upsell and cross-sell other products to encourage your customers to buy more from your site.
The success of your eCommerce site starts in your marketing strategy
You’ve just learned six different marketing strategies to promote your eCommerce site and get customers to buy from you.
To get the same results other successful eCommerce businesses are getting, you’ll need to plan your strategy carefully.
Start by having a distinct profile of your ideal customer. This will guide you in choosing which of these strategies would be the most effective.
Make sure you also set a clear marketing goal. That way, you can adequately evaluate the results your getting.
Above all, approach each strategy with a realistic mindset.
There’s no such thing as an overnight success. But for as long as you stay consistent, you’ll eventually reap the rewards.
