How can new ecommerce companies compete with established brands? That’s the question facing marketers in the crowded ecommerce sector, which adds 576,000 new websites every day, in a report by Response Marketing Association. Although it’s not easy for new brands to make a name for themselves in ecommerce, there’s a big payoff for those who do: Ecommerce is projected to account for 22% of global retail sales by 2023 with 95% of all purchases occurring online by 2040. Even B2B buyers are overwhelmingly shifting toward online purchasing, with 75% reporting they prefer to shop online.
How to position ecommerce brands for success
New ecommerce brands face a lot of barriers. It’s not enough to deliver a quality product. Ecommerce brands have to understand buyers’ needs, win their trust, and differentiate themselves from the competition.
- This starts with market research. Market research provides crucial information on demographics, demand, and competition. Without adequate market research, businesses risk sinking money into products no one wants to buy.
- Market research is also tedious and time-consuming, one reason many businesses skip this step. That’s an expensive mistake, however, especially considering the affordability of freelance market research services.
- Marketers also need to know where a brand’s target audience spends time. There are a variety of tools for uncovering information about a target audience’s online habits, including social media analytics, competitor analysis, and social listening tools.
- Ecommerce brands facing outsized competition may need a narrower niche. While smaller niches come with smaller audiences, it’s easier to stand out and find loyal customers in a niche market.
The components of successful online stores
Ecommerce brands today don’t limit themselves to a single channel. From giant marketplaces like Amazon to local listings on Facebook, there are plenty of places to market goods. Yet the online store remains a cornerstone of ecommerce.
- The most successful online stores are visually engaging, content-rich, and offer a smooth checkout experience. A website’s design should also reflect its branding.
- Hitting all of those benchmarks plus fast site speed, searchability, and mobile-friendly design calls for an expert. Work-from-Home Depot offers advice on hiring the best web developers and graphic designers for the job.
- Online shoppers also have high standards for customer service. 24/7 multi-channel support is challenging for small companies, but there are strategies to streamline customer service. These include self-help tools, automated responses, and customer relationship management platforms.
Marketing strategies for ecommerce brands
A great website ensures a positive first impression, but before customers ever click on an ecommerce site, they need to find it. How can ecommerce brands effectively reach their target audience?
- Traditional marketing focuses on finding customers through outbound marketing. For ecommerce brands, however, getting found via inbound marketing is more effective.
- Content marketing is a perfect example. By producing content relevant to customers’ needs, brands position themselves as the solution to shoppers’ problems. Ecommerce brands can employ content marketing on their own websites as well as social media, blogs, podcasts, and online communities with a mutual target audience.
- Search engine optimization is another way new brands boost visibility. From choosing the right domain name to writing meta descriptions and building backlinks, a lot goes into ranking in search results.
- As one of the most affordable yet effective forms of direct response marketing, social media is a great fit for small brands and big businesses alike. However, it’s not enough to post on social media. You need a social media strategy to make the most of this marketing channel.
New ecommerce brands have an uphill battle ahead of them. In order to reap the rewards of the booming ecommerce industry, businesses need to be strategic about how they position and market their brands. Use these tips and resources to propel your clients’ brands to success.
