The rapid development of e-commerce in recent years has affected the theory and practice of promoting products on the World Wide Web. Marketing has not just developed new ways of Internet trading. On the basis of traditional marketing, repeatedly described in textbooks, "e-commerce marketing" was formed, the distinctive feature of which is that all network participants are in equal starting conditions. It has the same structure as traditional marketing but operates at a qualitatively different level of economic relations.
What Is E-Commerce Marketing?
E-commerce marketing represents a whole range of activities aimed at achieving high results in sales in the network. This complex includes all the phenomena, from the development of the e-commerce strategy and ending with the methods of retaining customers.
Trends E-commerce Marketing in 2018
COMPLETE TRANSPARENCY OF BUSINESS
Today, because of the huge amount of advertising on the Internet, it is perceived by many users as white noise. Large-scale advertising companies lose their effectiveness every year and do not lead to increased sales. The fact is that the consumer gradually loses interest in brands and it is useless to lure him with shares and discounts. That is, do it, but in other ways. Marketers working on brand promotion will need to create such cases and models that will make the company interesting for the consumer. And this means that maximum transparency of business will be required.
FEEDBACK
This trend is not new - today many companies working in the B2B and B2C segments are constantly monitoring the Internet, trying to find out the users' opinion about the quality of their goods and services. As a rule, there is a search for negative feedback and this is a big mistake of marketers. Ideally, companies need to strive to interact with the maximum number of consumers by offering them products or services that they need. Today, technologies quite allow it to be done, so marketers should develop cases that take into account the interests of each consumer.
APPEARANCE OF MARKETING TECHNOLOGISTS
Many experts predict that soon in the field of e-commerce marketing technologists will be in great demand. What is the difference between a marketing technologist and a marketer? Usually, marketers tend to present the product in the most attractive light to as many potential customers as possible. That is, their task, figuratively speaking, is to beautifully wrap the product and put it on the right shelf. The task of the marketing technologist is to make the product as useful as possible. He is focused not on the channels of information delivery, but on the quality of the product and its conformity to the expectations of consumers. Specialists who have "digital DNA" will be very much in demand in e-commerce, because they feel the needs of the audience and thus help marketers in developing e-commerce marketing strategy.
ACTIVITY IN SOCIAL NETWORKS
Not so long ago the company's site was a powerful tool for marketers. Today the situation has changed dramatically. For many users, the Internet is represented by Facebook or Twitter. Today, a huge number of potential consumers spend their time on social networks, scooping up all the necessary information and not going into the "external" Internet. Thus, in order to raise sales, marketers must develop such e-commerce marketing strategy that will ensure maximum traffic to the company's social network page. At the same time, it is necessary to take into account the fragmentary thinking of the modern consumer. Today, marketers should strive to work in real time mode because long-term marketing plan that requires months to create and implement it, almost does not work. Therefore, it is necessary to develop more flexible strategies that will provide customers with as much useful information in a very short time. Those companies that respond faster to the ever-changing needs of the audience will be able to get ahead.
What Is an E-Commerce Strategy?
The e-commerce marketing strategy is the company's program to achieve key goals and objectives, calculated for a certain period of time, taking into account all available means. In other words, this is a detailed plan of the company's actions to organize and manage all business processes.
How To Write an E-Commerce Marketing Plan?
Only after you have adequately assessed the current state of affairs, you can determine the main vectors of development and create a marketing strategy. Here are a few steps that will help you formulate your strategy for promoting your business online.
CREATE BRAND AND FIRM STYLE BEFORE YOU ENTER THE MARKET
The brand, logo and other elements of the corporate identity of the company are of paramount importance for its successful marketing activities. Thus, you create the face of the company, work on recognizing the brand.
STUDY OF COMPETITORS
Monitor and analyze the sites of your competitors - this will give you valuable information about their pricing policies and sales methods, sales scripts, and online promotion methods.
COPYING SUCCESSFUL SCHEMES
If, during the previous step, you found an efficiently working promotion strategy that really makes a profit - safely take it into service. The main condition is to do this meaningfully, finalizing and adapting the strategy to suit your own business.
ANALYSIS OF TARGET AUDIENCE
Do not try to reach all Internet users at once - choose the core of the target audience and do not try to grasp the immensity. Create a portrait of your ideal client and direct the main resources to attract him.
CONNECTION OF SERVICES AND UTILITIES FOR MEASURING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF CAMPAIGNS
Create a profile in Google Analytics. Track the effectiveness of the advertising campaign and adjust it based on the behavior of the target audience and draw conclusions.
PARTNERSHIP MARKETING
Think about the prospects of partner programs before the next advertising campaign. This is a good additional source of potential buyers and a simple, popular method of website promotion, which does not require large financial costs.