How an ecommerce marketing agency can catapult your ecommerce website growth
Every e-commerce store aims to boost its website traffic and conversions. However, choosing the most suitable ecommerce marketing tactics can still be daunting, even with an essential strategy.
To assist with this, the e-commerce team at Blu Mint has compiled a comprehensive overview of effective marketing tactics and various ecommerce tools and ideas to aid in implementing each approach.
These ideas cover a broad spectrum, from straightforward acquisition techniques to strategies to generate more repeat purchases from your existing customer base. With this guide, you can optimise your ecommerce marketing efforts and achieve your business objectives more effectively.
What is ecommerce marketing?
Ecommerce marketing employs various promotional tactics to attract visitors to your online store, convert them into paying customers, and foster long-term customer loyalty post-purchase.
A comprehensive ecommerce marketing strategy encompasses both on-site and off-site marketing tactics. By implementing a well-crafted marketing plan, you can enhance brand awareness, foster customer loyalty, and boost online sales.
Leveraging ecommerce marketing tools allows you to effectively promote your online store and drive increased sales for your entire business or specific products. Embracing these tools can significantly elevate your online presence and revenue generation.
What is an ecommcerce marketing agency?
An ecommerce agency operates as a B2B entity, providing a diverse array of professional services to assist ecommerce companies in achieving their business objectives. These agencies offer valuable expertise in digital marketing, content creation, SEO strategy, and social media management to support businesses' growth in the online marketplace.
A niche ecommerce marketing agency, on the other hand, focuses on accomplishing specific sales funnel goals. For instance, a niche agency might specialise in generating leads through an ecommerce SEO strategy or catering exclusively to companies within a particular industry, such as fashion. Some niche agencies might also specialise in developing ecommerce websites, particularly platforms like Shopify.
20 ecommerce marketing tactics for ecommerce websites
1. Invest in ecommerce SEO
Ecommerce SEO involves optimising an online store's presence on search engines. The objective is to secure product pages among the top 10 results on platforms like Google, Yahoo, and Bing, driving organic (non-paid and free) traffic to your website. According to Backlinko, the #1 organic search result is ten times more likely to be clicked on than a page in the #10 spot.
There are several ways to invest in SEO, including performing keyword research and incorporating relevant keywords into your page URLs, product descriptions, and blog posts. Optimising your website's structure and enhancing user experience is also essential. Additionally, building backlinks from reputable websites contributes to SEO success.
By implementing effective SEO strategies, you can improve your visibility for popular search terms related to your products.
Whilst SEO may seem daunting initially, you do not have to tackle it alone. Explore the following articles to optimise your ecommerce website for search engines and enhance your online store's performance.
2. Run an influencer marketing campaign
Utilising influencer marketing is a clever strategy to boost your ecommerce business in the online realm. It facilitates reaching new audiences, building brand awareness, and collaborating with creators who can drive sales for your brand.
Influencers, akin to internet celebrities, serve as brand ambassadors. You compensate them for endorsing your products, offering incentives such as free items, cash, or discounts.
According to a recent study by Mediakix, 80% of marketers attest to the effectiveness of influencer marketing. Instagram stands out as the most popular channel, with 67% of brands leveraging its potential. Other influential marketing channels include YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, and Twitch.
Influencer marketing proves excellent for connecting with relevant customers.
How often have you seen an influencer's Instagram post, admired their outfit, and desired to purchase it?
By promoting products through influencers, the sales cycle is shortened. With the advent of more social commerce features on platforms like Instagram and TikTok, shoppers can now conveniently make purchases directly from the platform.
3. Sell on marketplaces
It is no secret that marketplaces are where people shop online. The top online marketplaces sold $5.5 trillion in goods on the world's largest marketplace in 2023.
Marketplaces like Amazon and eBay offer a valuable opportunity to enhance your brand's visibility and reach a vast global audience. Millions of people frequent these platforms, and there is a higher likelihood that dedicated marketplace shoppers will purchase from familiar channels. However, it is essential to consider the substantial selling fees and other potential limitations associated with using such marketplaces.
For ecommerce brands, a recommended approach is to use marketplaces to complement your branded store rather than relying solely on them. Listing some of your bestsellers on the marketplace can boost exposure while preserving your independence.
Ensure you create compelling listings that showcase your brand's uniqueness. Moreover, consider adding branded packaging inserts to marketplace orders, encouraging customers to shop directly from your website, thus fostering a closer connection with your brand.
4. Use a TikTok marketing strategy
Incorporating TikTok for business into the marketing plan of every ecommerce entrepreneur is imperative. With its impressive user base of over one billion monthly active users and a staggering 247 million first-time installs in 2023 alone, TikTok holds tremendous potential comparable to other social media marketing platforms.
Businesses flourish on TikTok by embracing authenticity in their content. Unlike highly polished and edited posts commonly found on Instagram, raw and genuine videos thrive on TikTok, garnering more exposure and engagement. This uniqueness fosters stronger connections with the audience, setting TikTok apart as a platform.
TikTok's distinct advantages further contribute to its appeal:
The algorithm prioritises content from creators you have never seen before, enhancing discoverability.
The user interface is designed to retain users longer than Meta's Instagram, Threads and Facebook platforms.
The platform's discovery engine aids videos in going viral, irrespective of follower counts.
Moreover, TikTok's impact on consumer behaviour is remarkable, with Adweek's research indicating that over half (51%) of TikTokers make purchases from brands featured on the app.
The platform also accommodates diverse niches, including fitness, goth, NYC, and LGBTQ+ TikTok, providing ample opportunities for businesses to engage with their target demographics. Additionally, TikTok offers livestream shopping and advertising features that facilitate effective product promotion.
5. Run PPC campaigns
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising stands as the forefront online advertising model for businesses, catering to both large enterprises and small ventures. Its effectiveness is grounded in data-backed strategies, easy scalability, and a commendable return on investment. Typically, PPC ads and digital media buying target online ad space on search engines, social media platforms, or websites.
For ecommerce PPC brands, PPC ads prove particularly advantageous, as they reach ready-to-buy shoppers, often yielding higher sales than organic marketing.
Meta and Google are the two leading platforms to run PPC ads. Google shopping ads, renowned among ecommerce brands, display detailed product information related to users' search queries. On the other hand, Facebook ads run on both Facebook and Instagram, offering the option to target specific personas and employ various ad formats to promote products.
One of the critical advantages of PPC ads lies in their precise targeting capabilities. Advertisers can select their preferred audience and tailor the ad types accordingly. Additionally, running retargeting ads allows reaching users who have viewed specific landing pages or previous ads, encouraging them to revisit the website for potential purchases.
For instance, imagine running a shoe store with a new line of rubber and water-resistant boots. You can create PPC ads targeting keywords like "best rain boots," placing your ads in front of individuals actively seeking the products you offer. For further insights on crafting compelling visual Display Ads, consult our comprehensive guide below.
6. Upsell your products
Most of us are familiar with the classic upselling technique, like the famous "Would you like to upgrade your order?" It involves offering customers a slightly more premium product than they initially considered.
For ecommerce businesses, upselling and cross-selling can prove more effective than acquiring new customers. Often, customers are unaware of the availability of premium products or need more information to understand how an upgrade or package better suits their needs.
For instance, if you have a product model made of higher-quality leather or a version with unique handmade components, emphasise these differences and inquire, at appropriate moments, if the customer wants to upgrade.
To increase sales effectively through upselling, consider two primary aspects:
Ensure your upsells are related to the original product.
Be mindful of your customers' anticipated price range.
Your upsell should align with the customer's original needs, and it is essential to be sensitive to the price range they have in mind.
Customers often have an anchor price, the first number they encounter and use to compare other price points. The upgraded product must be significantly better suited to their requirements to justify the additional cost.
An example of upselling in action is when purchasing a computer. After selecting a specific model, companies typically highlight performance upgrades (upselling) or suggest additional accessories (cross-selling) for consideration. This approach allows customers to explore more fitting options tailored to their preferences and needs.
7. Integrate Instagram
Instagram boasts over 500 million daily active users, solidifying its position as a rapidly growing social app that connects consumers, influencers, and brands.
To build a substantial Instagram following of people genuinely interested in your products, focus on capturing compelling photos, using hashtags strategically, and posting at optimal times. However, the key to mastering your organic Instagram presence lies in engaging with your followers effectively.
So, how can you engage with your target audience on Instagram?
Running contests and offering glimpses behind the scenes to showcase your product development process are practical approaches.
Additionally, you can explore paid options on Instagram for marketing purposes. For ecommerce marketing, integrating products into your Instagram posts, Stories, and Reels provides your followers with a direct path to purchase, thereby boosting online sales significantly.
It is worth noting that Instagram has evolved into an ecommerce marketplace of its own. By setting up an Instagram shop, you can leverage various valuable features, such as:
Product tagging in posts and Stories for seamless shopping experiences.
A dedicated Shop tab on your profile, streamlining product discovery.
Instagram Checkout, enabling customers to make purchases directly on the platform.
Shoppable stickers in Stories, offering another convenient shopping avenue.
Product launches to create buzz around new offerings.
By tapping into these features, you can optimise your Instagram presence, enhance customer engagement, and ultimately drive growth for your ecommerce business.
8. Reduce abandoned carts
Every time a visitor abandons their cart without making a purchase, you lose money. This well-documented phenomenon occurs when website visitors add items to their carts but ultimately abandon them during checkout. According to the Baymard Institute, 69.82% of shopping carts are abandoned.
Addressing this issue is crucial because many shoppers who abandoned their carts could be persuaded to complete their purchase if certain hesitations were addressed. For example, offering incentives like discounts or free shipping may be the nudge they need to convert.
To tackle cart abandonment and reduce its frequency, consider implementing a simple yet effective ecommerce marketing idea: an email recovery campaign. Crafting a compelling email that entices your visitors to return to their carts can remind them of the products they were interested in and why they considered purchasing in the first place. This personalised approach may persuade them to return and complete their original transaction.
9. Send text message campaigns
SMS marketing, also known as sending promotional SMS messages to existing and potential customers, is an effective strategy for businesses to inform shoppers about special offers, updates, alerts, promotions and product information.
Currently, the ecommerce industry has found remarkable success with SMS marketing. Approximately 70% of consumers consider SMS a valuable way for businesses to capture their attention. Research by Marketo shows that multimedia texts boast a 15% higher click-through rate (CTR) and increase campaign opt-ins by 20%.
For ecommerce store owners, SMS marketing offers numerous valuable applications, including:
Abandoned cart recovery
Cross-selling and upselling
Sales promotions
Exclusive offers
Soliciting reviews
Providing customer support
The top Shopify apps you can use to start SMS marketing today are:
10. Capture more email subscribers
Regarding effectiveness, pound for pound, euro for euro, and dollar for dollar, email marketing is one of the most potent channels for driving sales and fostering repeat customers. Recent statistics reveal that 87% of marketers utilise email marketing to distribute content.
With the overwhelming influx of Instagram posts and TikToks, email provides a more intimate and personal interaction with the audience. People tend to be more protective of messages in their inboxes than their social feeds. Moreover, email offers ample space to convey messages that might not fit within the constraints of a social media post.
To kickstart your email marketing efforts, actively promote your newsletter, blog, and any other initiatives to capture email subscribers. The larger your subscriber base, the greater the potential for reaching and engaging with your target audience effectively through email.
11. Improve your email campaigns
Merely collecting many email addresses is not enough; to make email marketing an effective ecommerce activity, you must consistently send valuable and engaging emails to your subscribers.
Numerous occasions present opportunities to send emails to your subscribers that will get more clients and customers.
Welcome Email: As soon as a customer makes a purchase, send a warm welcome email to express your appreciation and introduce them to your brand.
Exclusive Promotions: Offer exclusive promo codes and free gifts to reward your subscribers' loyalty and encourage repeat purchases.
Regular Newsletters: Keep your subscribers informed about new discount offers, product tips, and relevant company news through regular newsletters.
Helpful Content: Share valuable content that assists customers in maximising the benefits of their recent purchases.
BOGO Campaigns: Run "Buy One, Get One" (BOGO) campaigns during holiday seasons to promote self-gifting among customers.
Gratitude to High-Value Customers: Show your highest-value customers genuine appreciation by sending them a personal note.
Solicit Feedback: Engage with potential customers who visited your site but did not make a purchase. Ask for feedback on their experience and how you can enhance it.
By leveraging these email marketing strategies, you can build strong connections with your audience, enhance customer loyalty, and drive sales for your ecommerce business.
12. Make the ecommerce website easy to navigate
A poorly designed store can lead to significant customer losses. Nevertheless, what constitutes a poorly designed store?
Apart from an untrustworthy appearance, such a store might exhibit a combination of the following issues:
a lack of a clear value proposition,
hard-to-read fonts, or
confusing navigation.
Even after addressing the mentioned aspects, some design mistakes may still be rectified. Have you appropriately segmented your products, or are there too many products on a single page?
Have you struck the right balance between text and visuals to create an engaging and user-friendly experience? Ensuring these critical design elements are optimised can significantly enhance your store's appeal and customer experience.
These are just a few of the many things you should consider. If your theme is not converting well, consider other great themes available on Shopify (our recommended ecommerce website builder).
There are many examples of beautiful ecommerce websites, but consider Gwubi in particular. Take a look at how clearly the products are segmented.
13. Engage online store visitors with live chat
Besides email, several impactful ways exist to interact with site visitors and customers. One such method is utilising live chat to engage with shoppers on your website.
Live chat tools offer the flexibility to target specific browsers on particular pages, either after they have spent a certain amount of time on your site or even if they arrived through an email newsletter.
This approach enables you to have direct conversations with your customers, allowing you to promptly address their queries and concerns while they are in the process of making a purchase decision. This real-time interaction can significantly enhance customer satisfaction and boost conversion rates.
14. Start a content marketing programme
Regular blogging is a valuable strategy for every ecommerce store, serving as a powerful means to connect with customers and boost search engine rankings. If you are already creating content, it is highly beneficial to feature your blog on your online store actively.
This approach allows you to foster a deeper connection with your audience while enhancing your online visibility and attracting more potential customers through search engine optimisation (SEO).
By consistently providing valuable and relevant blog posts, you can establish your store as an authoritative source in your niche and build trust with your customers, ultimately driving growth and success for your ecommerce business.
Do not forget that there are more ways to take advantage of content marketing than merely corporate blogging:
Start a podcast to feature your expertise or build a stronger community.
Guest posts on other websites and blogs to build awareness and generate backlinks, which also help with SEO.
Create long-form content and guides to help customers use your products more effectively.
Read more:
15. Embrace personalisation
Personalisation is another effective marketing tactic to drive online sales. Using behavioural data, personalised experiences are served to the visitor according to their past actions and preferences.
According to BCG, personalisation can lift sales by as much as 10%, but the opportunity is more significant than that. Only 15% of companies are using the technology to its fullest extent.
You can also account for location in personalisation to create an experience catered to where your customers are in the world. Someone in southern California may be looking for bathing suits in October, whilst your Estonian customers will need coats!
16. Leverage user-generated content
User-generated content (UGC) is a great way to generate social proof. When prospective customers see that people just like them are regularly purchasing your products, they will feel more confident in doing the same. Nearly nine out of 10 (89%) consumers worldwide make an effort to read reviews before buying products.
User-generated content (UGC) can come in various forms, with even product reviews falling under this category. However, one of the most impactful forms of UGC is when customers share pictures of themselves using your products.
A great example is Pepper, a store specializing in bras, which showcases pictures of content and satisfied customers happily wearing their bras. This authentic and engaging UGC promotes the products and fosters a sense of community and trust among potential buyers.
17. Think local
The local movement isn't limited to brick-and-mortar businesses; online retailers can also embrace this approach to boost their ecommerce marketing and increase online sales. To tap into the local market effectively, consider the following strategies:
Identify Customer Concentrations: Determine areas where you have large concentrations of customers and tailor promotions specifically for those locations. Analyze customer buying patterns and spending behaviors to align promotions with local events or seasons, maximizing their relevance and impact.
Leverage Warehouse Proximity: If you have a warehouse or multiple warehouses in certain regions, offer promotions with free, discounted, or expedited shipping to nearby customers. This approach not only facilitates seamless order fulfillment for your operations team but also helps you promote sales in a cost-effective manner.
By taking a local approach to your ecommerce marketing tactics, you can create a stronger connection with your target audience, enhance customer satisfaction, and drive greater online sales for your business.
18. Optimise your product pages
Conversion rate optimisation (CRO) is a strategic practice that aims to optimise your website for on-site conversions and boost sales. By implementing CRO techniques, you can identify and address problem areas on your site that may hinder sales.
Through CRO, you can answer critical questions such as:
Where are you losing sales?
Who is dropping off, and what are the reasons behind it?
How can you seize missed opportunities to increase conversions?
To achieve this, CRO involves both qualitative and quantitative research, providing you with a comprehensive and unbiased understanding of how conversion-focused your site currently is.
Once you have conducted the research and identified challenges and opportunities, you can conduct tests to determine which approaches yield the most significant increase in sales.
This data-driven approach enables you to optimise your website effectively, driving better conversion rates, boost e-commerce SEO rankings, and ultimately enhancing the success of your online business.
19. Optimise for mobile
Optimising your store for mobile means more than having a responsive design. It means you are designing your site with mobile visitors in mind from start to finish.
Perhaps you have a more significant Add to Cart button on all mobile product pages, making it easier for visitors to add to the cart without zooming in. You might also present your images in a different format, making it faster for mobile visitors to load product photos and easier to zoom in.
20. Reward loyal customers
Focusing on customer retention is a cost-effective way to increase online sales. According to Stitch Labs, return customers account for 22% of a retailer's revenue while making up just 11% of the total customer base.
They also spend 15% more over a year.
Implementing a customer loyalty program is a fantastic approach to reward loyal customers and big spenders. This program brings benefits to both your customers and your business. It entices customers with extra incentives to make purchases, encourages referrals, and keeps your brand at the forefront of their minds through automated reminders.
With a customer loyalty programme, you can choose how to reward customers, the frequency of rewards, and the actions that qualify for rewards.
For instance, you can opt for a point-based system where customers accumulate points that can be redeemed for free shipping, discounts or free gifts. This customisable approach allows you to tailor the rewards to align with your business goals and provide a delightful experience for your valued customers.
Start marketing your ecommerce store today
A well-crafted marketing strategy is critical to reaching potential customers, enhancing average order value, and ultimately driving sales.
Improving these aspects is crucial for the growth of your business. By implementing the ecommerce marketing tips mentioned earlier, you can establish a successful store that provides a seamless customer experience for shoppers while also creating a rewarding and fulfilling experience for you as the business owner.
With a strategic approach and a focus on customer satisfaction, your ecommerce website is poised for success and prosperity.