It is easy for some of us to remember a time when the only way to buy an outfit for work or a present for your niece or nephew was to go to that store on the corner of Main Street. The thought of going on Amazon or Ebay to find the clothes you wore or the presents you bought didn’t cross your mind. As the internet began to evolve in the 90s the world became a little smaller. The 2000s brought more of the same as consumers and businesses alike started to use this luxury for their benefit.

Every single day becomes even easier for consumers to buy products without ever physically seeing or feeling the item that they desire. This paradigm shift has unlocked unprecedented opportunities for thousands of SMBs and retailers around the world. Instead of being limited by their physical locations, now any business can market and sell to virtually any country in the world.

A virtual presence is more important than ever even for your well established brick and mortar businesses. The ease at which it has become to sell online also continues to draw more competition as well. With this in mind, we’ve put together 5 marketing ideas to help you get started and grow your store's revenue online.

1. E-Commerce Website A Must

With over 54% of the world's population being online and the number growing by the day, it has never been more important to establish and online presence.

As the internet started to become more mainstream it was hard to sell things online. Websites were less user friendly to make as they needed to be coded by hand. Aside from this organizing the logistics of shipping from the online retailers was a new frontier.

What was once a costly, difficult and time consuming process  has been made incredibly friendly by the many e-commerce platforms that are now available. Companies like ShipStation and Webflow make it easy to build an extremely efficient and attractive website that can help fulfill and ship orders. Online payment options such as PayPal  and Stripe have revolutionized online payments. But, as we all are well aware now a great website is only part of the battle in building an online brand and business. If you need help with a Webflow website build we recommend Orange Cattle.

2. Bloggin’

Although producing a podcast or YouTube channel is great, it also draws a lot of resources that some ecommerce folks just don’t have. A blog is a great way to start establishing a virtual presence without breaking the bank. As you become established you can then begin to venture towards a podcast or YouTube channel and start cross promoting your different forms of communication to give the consumer the choice to consume your important information however they choose.

Possibly more important that all of that is the organic traffic that will be created to your website through SEO. This is another way to drive views and sales without paying for advertising.

3. Engagement Via Social Media

Social Media is an extremely important tool that can’t be over utilized.  Since the creation of social media in the mid 90s, it has managed to infiltrate approximately half of the world’s 7 plus billion population.  Consumers want that personal connection to a product or business and social media fills that void. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and TikTok can offer the human side to your brand that normal advertising may not be able to.

The different social media platforms do not all NEED to be utilized but it is important to consider the target audience you are going after. Make sure the messaged you are giving is the message that will be CLEARLY received. 

4. Offer Free Shipping

The idea of free shipping is appealing to anybody. Close to 80% of the consumers in the US said that free shipping would help sway them towards one product over another. Not all of your shipping options must be free but that option is appealing. Many consumers are completely fine with paying a little more in order to receive their items quicker just make sure the option to waive shipping is available.

5. Use Email Marketing

Virtually every brand or business engages in email marketing. When going to a brick and mortar store you cannot check out without the cashier trying to acquire your email address to obtain a loyalty card and account. The same happens when someone is checking out on the online store as well. Email marketing is a great way to engage with customers and make them become fans of your brand. 

There are many ways to acquire emails. One way is to simply use the information you’ve received when someone makes a purchase on your website, but make sure customers are open to receiving promotional emails from you first.

Having opt-in forms on your website for people to simply subscribe is an easy way to build a marketing campaign list. You can have an option on your website or blog for visitors to subscribe to receive notifications when new items are available, special sales are taking place or blog posts are up. 

A tool such as Mailchimp is a great way to manage and send emails to your audience. Be sure to make sure customers are agreeing to receive promotional emails from you before putting them on your marketing campaigns.

Gaining an Advantage with Strategic Marketing 

As almost every small, medium and local business is beginning to shift their operations online, it’s important to note that competition will only rise. Unfortunately, it’s no longer enough to create a product or service and have a successful business with minimal branding or marketing involved.

Take Action!

Looking to start or expand your own e-commerce business? We'd love to help. Selery Fulfillment is a unique one-stop 3PL logistics provider for small to medium sized businesses. Personalized and convenient multi-channel ShipStation order fulfillment, 2-day shipping, kitting and warehousing in Dallas, Texas.