MARKETING - STEP-BY-STEP SECRETS TO STARTING AN E-COMMERCE STORE

32. Marketing
 
This may well be the biggest secret to your business success. Marketing gives you leverage.
“If you get 10% better at marketing, this can have an exponential or multiplying effect on your bottom line.”
“The marketing plan ended up being the 20% part of the business planning process that produced 80% of the result.” Allan Dib - The 1-Page Marketing Plan: Get New Customers, Make More Money, and Stand Out from the Crowd
 
You can target B2B (Business to Business) or B2C (Business to Consumer) or both.
There are many different ways to market your Product:
 

• Word-of-mouth
• Paid Media
• Advertising
• Advertising on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google
• Paid search display ads
• Affiliate marketing
• Digital signage and advertising
• Earned Media
• Trade Shows
• Partner networks
• Publisher editorial
• Influencer outreach
• Social networks
• Social Media Strategy
• Social media shopping
• Social presence
• Social Planning
• Community Management
• Owned media
• Digital properties
• Website
• Blogs
• Mobile apps
• Brand Positioning
• Comms Strategy
• PR & Comms
• Events
• EDM - Electronic Direct Marketing includes a number of media channels that can be used to communicate your marketing message to your customers. For example  printed marketing materials, social media, text message marketing and even out-of-home (OOH) advertising. Remember to comply with any rules that your country may require your to follow. For example, GDPR in the United Kingdom.
• Mailing lists (pop up subscribe – Poptin). Use an Email templates – hubspot or Mailchimp.
• Art Direction
• Creative Production
• Contest Marketing
• Retail Consultation
• Clinical Trials
• Customer Testing
• Search engine free listings
• IPO - Initial product offer. You will create a series of offers. An offer could be a free item where you only charge for shipping but the cost of the freebie is covered in the shipping fee. This offer can help drive traffic to your more significant items where you would make a good margin of profit.
• Testimonials
• Reviews
• private membership plan
• Printed catalogues and price lists

 
Helpful marketing features are

• Free shipping
• Time limited discount coupons
• Donation of a cut of the sale to a charity or cause
• Upselling
• Time limited coupons
• cart abandonment software
• A free or low-cost bonus product included with the purchase
• Include information that aids solving their problem

 
There is often a language or lingo associated with your niche. Learn this language as a means to better communicate with your customer.
 
Add information and info sheets to your product and on your website. For example, how to hang wallpaper when selling wallpaper.
 
 
The key points to use in marketing are:
Who is your Target Market. What are their needs and wants and even what are their fears.
What message do you want to send to your Market. Work out the problem that people consistently have in relation to what your product can solve.
How do you deliver a world class product or service. What are your opportunities, strengths, weaknesses and threats.
What media / method will you use to reach your Market. How can you drive the traffic you generate to your website and social media.

1. The Hook – get their attention. draw them in. What is the pain that your product can solve. The key emotions to hook into are: I Feel …..; I Felt …..; and I Found that …..

Irresistible offer: your credibility (product reviews help with gaining your customer’s trust) use clear and descriptive images of your product, provide an image of the product being used, offer customer support; the emotion you evoke. Provide a logical explanation – your customers want a justification for buying the product and a reason to feel good about the purchase, money-back guarantee
 

1. Describe the physical pain and emotional frustration of the problem you are trying to solve. Describe the toils of the customer in trying to resolve this problem.
2. What was the breakthrough and change. How can this product solve all the pain points.
3. Now things are so much better. Describe the sense of relief this solution can bring your customer.
4. Describe the emotional relief. I can finally ..
5. Tell them the price
6. Call to Action CTA. Buy or download. How do you convert sales. Quantify the timescale of your offer so that it has scarcity value.
7. Social prove your product then add scarcity and urgency and add guarantees and even bonuses.

 
Initially you may just want to interact with your potential customers on say social media to create customer awareness.
The aim is to convert a lead into a sale.
How can you improve on the lifetime value you will provide to your customer.
How can you get other people / companies to refer you to new customers.