Top 5 eCommerce Retail Marketing Strategies [Shopify Marketing]
There’s no doubt that COVID-19 (Coronavirus) has put the plans of a lot of brands on hold. Where you might have once had ideas to market your Shopify store one way, the COVID-19 global pandemic has likely caused you to take an entirely different direction. And that’s okay!
As eCommerce marketing strategists, we understand that things are really at a pivot point. But that isn’t a bad thing. Now is a great time to take action and put solid retail marketing strategies in place to grow your online store – especially with so many shoppers buying everything they need entirely through the internet.
That’s where this post comes in. Our CAKE team understands what it takes to grow your online brand, which is why we’ve decided to help you out. Here are five top retail marketing strategies for your Shopify store.
1. Understand Your Overall eCommerce Brand Position
The first thing you really need to do to cement your eCommerce marketing strategy is understand your overall brand approach. This requires determining how you can position the product you’re offering in a way that will attract new buyers.
Some people will need to hire an eCommerce based retail marketing company to get the job done, and that’s fine. But really, this part involves just making a list and focusing on what your product brings to the table that others in the same niche do not.
To make this happen, you need to ask yourself:
- Who is this product for? Create a few buyer personas to really nail down the exact type of person you’re trying to target.
- What does this product do? More specifically, you want to be able to describe the primary function of the product in only one to two sentences.
- How does this product differ from what’s already on the market? If this is something unique or exclusive, be sure to know the details so that you can use them in your retail marketing.
- How does this product make the customer’s life easier? This needs to be the big reason that you’ll use when creating a retail marketing plan to drive sales of your product.
Essentially, this process all comes down to learning everything you possibly can about your target audience, including where and how they shop online. Most consumers are very loyal to the brands and products they trust, so it is important to get out there in front of them by using the channels they’re regularly on.
And that’s where the retail marketing strategy comes in. Understand your brand position and have a very diverse marketing plan that takes into account your customer’s needs, what they’re already used to seeing in the marketplace, and how your business and products can help fill the gap.
2. Market Your Products Through Instagram Using Influencers for eCommerce
Once you have your brand positioning clear, it is time to start promoting your Shopify store and specific products on Instagram. One easy way to do this? With influencer marketing.
However, before you use popular Instagram accounts to grow your eCommerce store, you’ll want to research what types of content your audience enjoys and set up social media accounts for your brand for the influencers to link back to. Once you’ve done this you can then find these promoters to help draw attention to your Shopify store.
How do you find Instagram influencers? Start by searching for micro-influencers (people who have expertise in niche areas and a more modest follower number than celebrities), who tend to have better engagement rates and more targeted audiences. When researching influencers, you should study the number of users reached, the engagement rate achieved, the ratio of value, and the results of your campaign. You’ll also want to check out influencers that get the largest number of responses and the influencer’s rating on output.
Once you’ve done this, then you can start direct contact with them to work out the details of your product promotion. Be sure to be very clear in your expectations as to what they will provide, influencer rates, and who will do what in this partnership.
3. Form a Solid eCommerce SEO Strategy
Another tip for growing your online brand? Have a solid eCommerce Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy. After all, your Shopify store can be ah-may-zing, but if nobody can find it on Google, you’re in trouble.
This does take a bit of work, however. You’ll need to do keyword research to find the words and phrases that your target market is actively searching for while also setting up your website with the proper site architecture.
And then it gets a bit more detailed. For example, it’s important to learn the differences between on-page SEO and off-page SEO, which essentially means whether your optimization efforts are directly on your Shopify website or on another company or individual’s page. Then there’s content marketing. This means building trust with your audience and improving your reputation by creating articles, blog posts, and videos that display what your product can offer.
Can you see where SEO for eCommerce gets really complicated in a hurry? That’s why most startups opt to hire a trusted eCommerce SEO agency like our team at CAKE to handle this level of digital marketing. (Psst. We’ve even put together a list of Shopify SEO tips to help get you started.)
4. Utilize eCommerce Consulting Resources & Attend eCommerce Conferences
Another tip? Utilize eCommerce consulting resources and attend eCommerce conferences to keep your knowledge base up with the latest best practices for your Shopify store.
Most consulting firms will happily give you tips and tricks on how to increase sales. Meanwhile, these conferences offer a ton of access to some of the top marketers in the industry, which you can definitely work to your advantage. Plus, most of the large eCommerce marketing conferences in 2020 have switched to a digital format, making it easy to enjoy the benefits while still social distancing.
5. Create a Solid eCommerce Email Marketing Plan
What else can you do to grow your Shopify store quickly and effectively? Email marketing, of course.
Make sure to personalize all of your automated emails including checkout messages, invoices, shipping notifications, restocks, and abandoned cart messages. You should also use plugins to add minor “pop-ups” to encourage customers to subscribe to your email lists. Furthermore, you should also run ad campaigns for specific products, such as selling a particular item from your brand or a lead magnet freebie.
What if writing isn’t your jam? Well, that’s when it comes time to hire an email marketing specialist, which is a digital marketing expert that focuses on building email lists, creating emails, and nurturing leads through written communication. (Hint: Our CAKE team can do all of this and more!)
Retail Marketing Strategy Wrap Up!
Working with an eCommerce web store development firm like CAKE can help ensure your Shopify site looks great and hits many of the digital marketing strategy goals mentioned above.
If you’re ready to take your Shopify store to new heights, now is the time to have a discussion. We offer a wide range of eCommerce omnichannel marketing services. Get in touch with us today to start the conversation.