Commerce as a whole has been around for thousands of years, ranging from the exotic street-side bazaars, to the dark underground world of black markets. While commerce is an antiquated concept, it has survived ever since, evolving and adapting to fit the modern technologically-savvy society we live in today. However, I think it is safe to say that commerce isn’t just a physical marketplace anymore.
Enter ecommerce…
Quite simply put, ecommerce is short for “electronic commerce,” which basically just consists of virtual shops and marketplaces. The past decade or so has seen a massive surge in online shoppers, creating a thriving ecommerce world brimming with whatever products or services your imagination can conjure up. This ecommerce boom has created an oversaturation of sorts with literally hundreds of thousands of online shops vying for the #1 spot.
So for those of you looking for ecommerce success, one of the most crucial factors that can either make or break your business is marketing. While the practice or marketing is abysmal to say the least, the ultimate goal is to get your business in front of as many potential customers as possible. To help you, I have included five simple marketing trends that are simple, as well as effective.
Think Mobile
The use of mobile devices has skyrocketed over the past few years. Tablets, smartphones, and other portable devices are allowing people to shop as practically any store online and on the go. This surge in mobility has pushed many ecommerce webmasters to go mobile-friendly. To do this, your ecommerce shop needs to be optimized to function flawlessly on mobile devices. While this is often easier said than done, many hosting platforms have added built-in features to optimize specific pages or entire sites for mobile devices.
Free is Key
It doesn’t matter if you’re young, old, male or female, everybody loves getting free stuff! While this is a simple concept, many ecommerce shops are applying this principle to their marketing campaigns. For those seeking to keep things simple, try hosting a random giveaway on your shop’s homepage of blog. For example, you could give away free company hats or gadgets to the first 100 subscribers to your newsletter. Another option is to host a larger giveaway with one primary winner (and perhaps a 2nd and 3rd place prize).
Get Social
Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and many others have completely revolutionized the day-to-day lives of folks around the world, and a large number ecommerce shops are capitalizing on it. If you have not done so already, create a page/profile for your shop on several popular social media platforms. This will allow you to communicate directly with new and existing customers, as well as give you a perfect platform for major announcements, contests and giveaways, and any upcoming sales or discounts.
Prompt Delivery
At some point I’m sure you have ordered a pizza online, right? Well that type of convenience is highly desirable for customers. Now Amazon has cutting-edge drones delivering packages to customers. The delivery landscape is changing rapidly and it might be time to jump on the bandwagon. While drone deliveries may not be practical (yet), incorporating an online portal for customers to design, personalize, and order products is something you can do fairly easily. Moreover, if your ecommerce shop has a physical store, allowing customers to order products online and then pick them up in-store would also be a desirable option too.
Make Friends
In other words, try networking with other ecommerce webmasters and niche-specific blogs. It is amazing how effective this simple tactic is. A good example of beneficial networking is simply exchanging links. For example, if you’re selling cookware, then you might want to exchange links with a cooking blog. This not only helps in terms of search engine optimization (SEO), but it also puts your shop in front of a new audience.
The post Ecommerce Marketing 101: 5 Simple but Effective Tips appeared first on Web Design Blog | Magazine for Designers.
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