E-Commerce Marketing
From LoveToKnow Business
Once you’ve developed your e-commerce strategy, you can delve into the wonder that is e-commerce marketing. Is it really that different from the marketing you’ve currently been doing for your business? No. But e-commerce marketing does have its particular nuances.
As Always, Start with Knowing the Audience
Like with any other marketing plan, the first and major component to developing a marketing plan is to identify the audience you’re trying to reach.
Particular Nuance Number One: your customers shop differently online then in brick and mortar situations, mainly because of how they use the Internet. According to Barry Feig, author of Streetwise Low-Cost Web Site Promotion, there are general categories of people on the Internet.
- Simplifiers: want ease of access and use
- Surfers: expect evolving content and variety of products and services
- Newbies: need to be taken by the hand through the site
- Barginers: looking for price and product comparisons
- Traditionalists: into gathering and validating information
- Sportsters: stay longer on a site that’s entertaining
- Information mavens: want experts in the field/product/service
- Gamesters and interaction seekers: also prefer entertaining sites
If you specialize in gift baskets, your site will cater to a complete different online audience than, say, a manufacturer of customized snowboards. So before you tackle the site and how to promote it, intrinsically understand your target market and what matters to them.
Establish a Marketing Budget
Developing a sound marketing budget is critical to success. While some forms of e-commerce marketing are less expensive than traditional methods, as we’ll soon cover, a company’s bottom line should more than aptly support marketing efforts.
Here are three general sources for your budget:
- A gross amount set within normal operating costs by month or year.
- A percentage of estimated annual gross sales, usually two to ten percent, depending on the status of the company (new vs. established, for example) and purpose for marketing.
- As needed/as available, within the general operation of the business.
E-Commerce Marketing Channels
Particular Nuance Number Two: e-commerce marketing, at its core, is just maximizing another marketing channel, not replacing the old guard of marketing. So we’ll talk about both.
Traditional Marketing
There was a time when proponents of the Internet thought that traditional forms of advertising and retail would disappear entirely. However, there’s actually been an integration of methods.
That’s why it’s very common to see Web sites listed on brochures and in print ads, as crawls during television commercials and at the end of radio ads. Guerilla marketing efforts also seem to stimulate e-commerce marketing objectives, depending on the product or service, and can be particularly effective, especially from a minimized cost perspective.
Traditional channels will always be more expensive, but depending on the patterns of your audience, they’re still necessary for viable consideration.
Online Marketing
You may have noticed the ads at the top of this page: they are a perfect example of e-commerce marketing. When better to capture online purchasers than when they’re already on the sites that relate to your business?
By placing ads through mass-market gateways like Google, your marketing will incorporate a more shotgun approach: by spreading the word widely, the return on investment will more than likely be reached.
Banner ads are another popular form of online marketing. Development is key with banner ads, as you’d hate to be the business that customers remember only because your banner ad was an annoying pop-up monkey. Banner ads have proven to be effective to driving site visitors, and there are various companies like DoubleClick that specialize in research and assisting with specific placement.
Prices for line ads like Google Ads or banner ads vary widely. Some line ads don’t cost anything until a viewer clicks on them, while banners ads range from $50-$1,000, depending on design and placement, with a different schedule rate based on click factors.
You can also take advantage of free banner exchange programs like Link Exchange and SmartClicks.
Measure the Results
A good marketing plan always has a measurement component. It’s necessary to determine the rate of return, e.g. sales vs. marketing dollars spent; as well as understanding the effectiveness of the marketing channel.
E-commerce marketing isn’t that different from general marketing. With a little research and effort, companies should see the benefits in no time and have the flexibility to adjust as needed to accommodate expanding business goals.
External Links
- Internet Advertising Bureau: offers resources for online marketers
- Women’s E-Commerce Association International: a networking one-stop
- Web Trends: breaks down analytical information and offers marketing assistance
- eMarketer: a comprehensive resource of all things related to e-business and e-commerce
Related Business Marketing Links
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