You have launched your e-commerce business; you have developed a great website, have begun a blog, and have even moved into social media, in order to promote your brand. As well, you have purchased some online advertising and are nurturing leads and customers through emails. Things are moving slowly, but you understand that this is normal at first. Still, there must be some more you could be doing.
Actually, there are some more advanced strategies.
- Start Capturing Big Data
While this activity was once reserved for data scientists that could be hired for big bucks by the “big boys,” big data is now available to the little guys too. There are many data services that will not break the bank to use. You will receive far more accurate information on your target customer than you can come up with manually. You will know where they hang out online, what times of day and days of the week are best for your marketing efforts, what they value, their purchasing behaviors, and much more. All of this information will allow you to precisely target those who are most likely to have an interest in your product or service.
- Video, Video, Video
In 2011, Michael Dubin and Mark Levine identified a consumer problem that they could solve – specifically shaving. Men were using disposable razors but were often caught without clean ones, having forgotten to stop to pick them up. They decided to launch the Dollar Shave Club, a subscription-based razor blade delivery service. They set up their website and “opened” with a hilarious explainer video that went viral within 24 hours. The end result is a billion-dollar company. The video, by the way, cost $2500 to produce.
While blog posts are great for providing education, entertainment, and inspiration to visitors, it is the rare consumer who wants to read walls of text. Video captures attention, and consumers can absorb it on the go, especially from mobile devices. It can provide the value of your product or service as well as the problems it will solve for that consumer. And some reports show that 64% of an audience is more likely to buy a product after watching an explainer or how-to video.
- Marketing Automation
As you develop an email list, you will need to segment your subscribers by where they are in your sales funnel. As you group them, you need to differentiate the email content that they receive. And you will want to automate the sending of those emails, based upon a schedule you devise. Save yourself a lot of time and use any of the many automated email services.
And automation can be used in many more marketing efforts, such as customer service before, during and after the sale, as well as personalization of SMS messaging.
- Use of AR/VR
Augmented and virtual reality used to be the stuff of the gaming industry. Not anymore. Businesses have come to embrace this new technology as a great marketing tool. Giving visitors these experiences is perhaps the most engaging and capturing thing you can do. Resorts and travel companies give visitors tours of facilities and destinations in real-time; online clothing retailers now “allow” visitors to try on pieces virtually to see how they would really look on them; customers can “place” furniture in their homes to see if it is a good “fit;” paint companies allow consumers to virtually paint their walls before deciding on the right color to buy.
If you can provide such experiences, not only will you engage current users, but they will share with their tribes, spreading your brand to a wider audience.
- Enhance Personalization Via Smart Content
Everyone expects it today. They demand a more personal relationship with companies they patronize and want to be treated as individuals. Personalization now means far more than remembering a customer’s name. It means that anyone who comes to your website should be presented with content specifically for them. Thus, a first-time visitor will see a different landing page than one who has been there before, than one who has already purchased from you. Your messaging becomes far more relevant and valuable.
- Build Influencer Support
You may be spending money on ads while your audience is using ad blockers. A better strategy is to establish influencers who are willing to promote your product or service to their audiences.
Influencers come in two varieties – popular and well-known individuals whose followers include your target demographic and happy customers who can be brand ambassadors with their communities.
Some major influencers are paid for their recommendations; others will recommend based on relationship-building that you do over a period of time; satisfied customers will share the value of what you offer, in exchange for an incentive. These things all provide what is known as social proof.
- Do the Analytics
Whether you use Google Analytics or some other tool, you do need to evaluate the success of each marketing campaign. This will tell you what is working and what is not, and you can get reports on a huge variety of metrics. Use these to improve your strategies. You will learn how many visitors you get, where they spend time on your site, where they bounce from your site, what products they have looked at, rates of conversions, etc.
There you have it. Seven more advanced marketing strategies to use, once you are established and ready to grow.