Everything you need to know about ecommerce marketing

“The Promotions tab of My Gmail inbox is always full! Colourful mailers with creative subject lines all screaming out loud, to be opened.  I can’t believe I have subscribed to so many of these ecommerce stores! There’s Zovi, StalkBuyLove, Chumbak, Lenskart, Myntra, Urban Ladder……uff the list is never ending!”

They all seem to be promoting something new or having a sale! But is this the only way they are reaching out to their customers? No ways! Ecommerce Marketing has now become a Hercules task and as the number of businesses grows and competition strengthens, the marketing strategies are getting more and more creative if not expensive!

Email marketing is one of those small ‘day-to-day’ activities that almost all ecommerce businesses indulge into. Even though many tricks of personalisation have been tried and tested, on an average, the impact of email on e-commerce sales is decreasing. It is becoming clearer that users need more relevant experiences on any channel through which they connect to brands and retailers.

The King of ecommerce marketing- Social Media!

So when we talk about experiences, interactions and engagement. There is one word that is the answer to all- Social-Media! Social Media marketing is another Biggie when it comes to ecommerce marketing trends and spends. Vivek Prabhakar, Founder and CEO, Chumbak Design Pvt. Ltd says “Social Media is one of those things that work really well for start-ups. In fact we rely solely on social media for our marketing. It accounts for quite a significant percentage of our web store traffic and revenue. No other media can get such amazing returns.”

Contests on social media and otherwise is also a great marketing technique that is working wonders for Ecommerce businesses. ‘Post a picture and win goodies’; ‘Hashtag a phrase and stand a chance to win’ ‘Tell us your story and win a surprise gift’ are all ways of interacting with customers and engaging them with your brand. “I keep a look out for interesting contests on twitter and facebook to win awesome gifts from online sites. I even get my friends to take part in these fun contests” says Deepthi, a college student.

Burning a hole in the pocket

ATL advertising seems to be the new trend that is catching up quite well with most ecommerce businesses. Television ads are crisp, creative and engaging with the customers. Most of them include children as well as senior citizens which makes the marketing communication have an emotional connect with the audience. The flipkart ads with kids acting like grown-ups made the rounds. Who can forget the cute girl from the Zansar advertisement on TV?

The latest Bluestone.com TV ad challenges the convention that jewellery is only purchased for special occasions, festival and marriages. Gaurav Singh Khushwaha, Founder, Bluestone.com was quoted in an afaqs article saying “We want to give the message to our target audience that Jewellery is a women’s best ornament which needs no occasion or festival. It can be purchased anytime, anywhere to enhance the beauty.” Businesses know where their audience are and how to reach out to them; so there is nothing stopping them from getting their message across whether it’s on Facebook or Star World!

“Television ads like those of Flipkart build a very strong recall value. Whenever I think of buying something online I automatically think of Flipkart. I think many ecommerce sites are coming onto the mainstream platforms to be able to capture mass audiences. It also builds a level of trust on these brands and sites compared to those who only market on social media or elsewhere”says Bharath Belur, an online shopper.

Make a difference with effective marketing

Today, Ecommerce businesses are betting big on Content Marketing. Whether they are selling gold jewellery or colourful hairbands, they are creating ‘free valuable content’only to build trust and keep their audiences informed. This content is available in places many, Social Media, Blogs, Magazines, Books and what not. Content that is not text based is also being created by ecommerce businesses in the form of rich media- Videos, Audio clips, Images, Infographics and many more. Not to forget, this content becomes the heart of all the SEO campaigns that they are banking upon. One can learn from sites like Marketing Profs and Copyblogger how to build valuable content

Ecommerce sites also invest heavily on content writers and the job market for these talented people who can weave stories that pull audience to their brands are thriving. There are many many interesting ways in which Ecommerce Sites Are Killing it With Content Marketing

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket

“Marketing is one of the most important functions for any business. It is not only a means to acquire new customers, but also to bring back old ones by creating brand recall.” Says Vani Munjal, Social Marketing Head, StalkBuyLove.com. With more competition businesses are fining innovative ways of getting their message across to customers. Sometimes they are using the customers themselves as marketing tools. “The best way is to have a product that your customer wants, and service that they are happy with. Once you acquire a customer, they should want to themselves come back and order. Regular communication and engagement helps in recollection.” adds Vani.

There are many helpful articles, blog posts and online courses that help businesses understand the most effective marketing techniques and how to go about it. It is also always good to be updated with Ecommerce Marketing Trends that will dominate generation after generation.

Here is a quick look at ecommerce marketing in 2014; what to expect and what to consider.

Source:http://www.demacmedia.com/infographic/2014-ecommerce-trends/

Marketplace support is a help indeed

With growing number of marketplaces, and growing number of brands being sold via these marketplaces, the retailers need support from the marketplaces itself to be able to communicate their marketing messages to the users. Few retailers are starting the trend of opening out sales and making brand launches by exclusively tying up with a single ecommerce marketplace/store. For example, recently, Chinese mobile handset maker Xiaomi made its India debut on July 22 with online-only sales of the Mi3 phone on Flipkart.com. Before that, Motorola had adopted the same strategy with recent phones being sold only on Flipkart. While Xiomi was overwhelmed with so many registrations for the handset; Flipkart encountered website crashes owing to the huge number of users logging into the site on the days of the sale.

By doing this, both the brand and the marketplace share responsibility of marketing to users and it becomes easier to track orders, know who the users are, get their feedback and genuine reviews. Both the brand and the marketplace benefit mutually.

Many marketplaces also send in e-mailers promoting specific brands on their stores; and this helps as many users who are brand loyalists would come into the ecommerce stores just because of these brands. “I love Biba clothes and when I saw an email promotion mentioning a discount on Jbong.com for the Biba collection I was thrilled. I logged onto Jabong.com only to check out this collection” says Swati Singh, a Biba lover!

It becomes very important for marketplaces to help out retailers and in turn benefit by acquiring the loyalty of users. Indian ecommerce marketplaces must standardise helpful marketing services like those of Amazon.

In-house marketing v/s Outsourcing

“The best way to manage marketing in-house is to develop a strong profiling of consumers in order to target them better, give them relevant information that interests and engages them and doesn’t waste their time. Marketing should always have a consumer focus. If at all there is an agency involved, transparency in marketing efforts and the ability to deliver goals on time is an expectation they have to live up to” says Vani.

While you can gain operational efficiency and bring in new perspectives into your marketing strategies by hiring an agency, most ecommerce start-ups are more comfortable managing their marketing efforts in-house; mainly because most agencies come at high costs and lesser flexibility.

“Marketing is very important in our business. Being a start-up, we have to use our funds really well. The best way to do this is to do it yourself. No agency will ever understand your brand better than you :)” says Vivek.

Here are 7 not-so-usual ways you can market your brand across channels

So you have it all in the plan- Advertising, PR, SEO, Social Media, Content Marketing, Email-Marketing. But there is always scope for trying something new, especially when you are a multi-channel brand having access to your customers at various touch points.

Branded Merchandise– Get your logo printed on common articles that your customers can use like T-shirts, caps, mugs etc.., use these as corporate gifts! Add a QR code to get more eyeballs on the digital platform!

Coupon Marketing– Customers are always on the look-out for freebies and discounts. Give them coupons that are valuable and will get them looking out for your brand whether online or in stores.

Freebies for referrals– Reward every referral you get from your customers. Give out gifts, perks, offers, discounts and samples for helping your brand grow. This way you will reach out to more people through the ones who believe in your brand. It will help you build a genuine loyalist base.

Community Marketing– it is a strategy to engage an audience in an active, non-intrusive prospect and customer conversation, usually done with existing customers to strengthen your bond with them. Try a feedback session with customers, a round table with top users of your product/service etc…

Online Idea forum– Crowd-sourcing is not just a buzzword. Big brands are leveraging online communities to generate customer ideas through programs like My Starbucks Idea, American Express OPEN Forum and Power of Ideas by ET etc… Create online forums, open contests and encourage open discussions to reach out to the right TG.

Word of Mouth– Word of Mouth Marketing is the oldest and probably the most credential marketing strategy. Get your customers to spread the word by being creative, giving an incentive or simply requesting them to do so. A happy customer will definitely oblige.

Ask for Testimonials/ Recommendations– Every customer/client has a story to tell. And every happy customer’s story is your fairy-tale come true! Don’t lose out on the opportunity to let others know these little anecdotes. Integrate them on your website, blogs & social media sites. Testimonials and recommendations are extremely important with respect to both old and new customers.