Elevate Your Ecommerce Marketing: Proven Strategies for Success in Any Market

If you build it, they will come, or so the adage goes. That was the assumption in the early days of the internet. For starters, websites represented such a new technology that there weren't many. Today, there are over a billion websites on the World Wide Web.

Having a website isn't enough, especially for online stores.

The unique communication power of websites transformed how businesses reach and engage customers. The exponential growth of ecommerce stores paved the way for innovative ways to market online. Ecommerce marketing focuses on how to drive traffic to ecommerce sites, converting visitors into customers and customers into brand evangelists.

An all-encompassing ecommerce marketing strategy is the backbone of any successful ecommerce business. It covers everything from optimising your website and promoting products on social media to launching targeted email campaigns and paid advertising. This comprehensive approach sets thriving ecommerce businesses apart in the competitive online market.

It's no wonder ecommerce brands invest in marketing. In 2023, advertising and marketing spending worldwide grew by around five percent (5%) to over $1.65 trillion US dollars.

While ecommerce marketing remains a significant investment for online businesses, ecommerce advertising grabs the lion's share of marketing budgets. Major ecommerce stores in the United States collectively spent $3.5 billion on advertising in 2023.

Despite the appeal of investing heavily in paid ads, it's important to remember that each digital marketing channel serves a different purpose.

A fully formed ecommerce marketing strategy works to build brand awareness, foster customer loyalty and, ultimately, increase online sales.

Create a successful ecommerce marketing plan.

There's a saying in business: You can't manage what you don't measure.

All marketing efforts should align with a well-defined strategy that begins with an actionable marketing plan with clear objectives, goals, and key results. Successful marketers build an ecommerce marketing strategy on thorough market research, a strong presence on the proper marketing channels, and, most importantly, data-driven decision-making. 

This approach ensures the effectiveness of your strategies and helps you stay ahead in the dynamic ecommerce landscape.

Set objectives and define KPIs.

Ecommerce marketing tactics help achieve business goals. First, define these goals, whether increasing revenue, expanding market share or launching new products. Objectives provide direction and purpose, while KPIs are yardsticks for measuring progress toward your goals.

Determine the KPIs for measuring progress for each objective. Most digital marketers use the SMART framework: specific, measurable, actionable, realistic and time-based. For example:

• Goal: Increase ecommerce sales by 20% in the next six months.

• KPIs: Total sales revenue, conversion rate and average order value demonstrate that you have reached this goal.

• Goal: Boost website traffic by 30% in three months.

• KPIs: Increased unique website visitors, page views, bounce rate and organic search traffic show that customers are more engaged than in previous periods.

• Goal: Improve customer retention by increasing repeat purchases by 15% in one year.

• KPIs: A change in customer retention rate, repeat purchase rate and customer lifetime value points to customer loyalty.

Allocate budget.

Decide the total budget allocated to marketing. Consider factors such as business size, revenue and available resources. Generally, established online retailers spend less on marketing as a percentage of revenue because they have the advantage of brand awareness, which drives repeat business.

Identify the target audience.

There is no one-size-fits-all marketing tactic for your online audience. Taking a blanket approach to marketing will alienate your customers. Studying your target audience to understand their online shopping habits and make them feel valued and integral to your business is crucial. 

Start by examining your current customer database. Identify shared characteristics such as demographics (age, gender, location), behaviours and purchase history.

Develop detailed buyer personas — fictional representations of your ideal customers. What is their typical buying journey? Why would they choose you over a competitor or vice versa? Combine analytics from your website and social media channels to enrich your CRM data. 

Conduct market research.

Look beyond your internal customer data and survey the market at large. Market research provides a rich information source regarding your target audience, industry and competitors to guide your ecommerce marketing strategy.

Standard data-gathering methods include surveys, interviews, focus groups and online research. Alternatively, outsource market research to a firm specialising in digital marketing because your online competition may be different from who you think.

Here's an overview of what market research entails:

• Competitive analysis: Learn about competitors' strengths, weaknesses and market positioning. 

• Customer surveys: Ask about customer preferences, pain points and product feedback. 

• Industry trends: Understand market dynamics and emerging technologies that could impact an ecommerce business. 

• SWOT analysis: Identify internal strengths, weaknesses, external opportunities and threats. 

• Pricing strategies and distribution channels: Research pricing strategies across the industry and determine the ideal distribution strategy, e.g., ecommerce websites and third-party marketplaces. 

Select marketing channels.

With innumerable marketing channels, online businesses must prioritise those avenues most likely to reach their target customers. They must establish a presence in their favourite online habitats, (e.g., Facebook or Instagram) and use their customers' preferred mode of communication, e.g., email campaigns versus SMS alerts.

Next, consider the nature of your product. Some products may be better suited to specific channels. For example, visually appealing lifestyle products might excel more on Instagram, while technical products may benefit from content marketing or email campaigns.

Analyse data for insights.

Data analysis is not just a tool; it's the key to unlocking insights into the health of your marketing efforts, spotting trends, and making informed decisions. This process should make you feel secure and confident in your strategies. 

Common KPIs include conversion rate, revenue, customer acquisition cost (CAC) and average order value (AOV). Gather data from various sources, including website analytics, ecommerce platforms, email marketing tools, advertising platforms and CRM systems.

Review and adjust the plan.

Regularly monitor your KPIs to ensure you're on track with your ecommerce marketing plan. Be prepared to adjust your strategy based on the insights you gather. If a product launch doesn't meet expectations or a marketing campaign doesn't resonate with your audience, be ready to pivot.

This adaptability is critical to staying ahead in the ever-changing ecommerce market and should make you feel prepared and resilient.

Email open rates, website bounces and click-through rates require regular tracking. Search marketing managers must check PPC ads daily: Adjust copy and daily ad spend or swap out creatives to ensure the highest conversions. This proactive approach keeps you in control of your marketing strategy.

Beyond making these simple tweaks, pay attention to customer feedback, reviews and social media mentions. Review your website's conversion funnel to identify drop-off points. Identify recurring issues or concerns and address them in your ecommerce marketing plan, showing your customers that their feedback is valued and an integral part of the process.

Consider A/B testing.

With A/B testing, you let real-world data choose the best variation of two versions. Whether it's a web page, email or ad, this method helps you fine-tune your message for maximum impact.

A/B testing is crucial in ecommerce marketing as it allows you to experiment with different elements and strategies, and based on the results, you can make data-driven decisions to optimise your marketing efforts. You determine success based on predefined metrics, e.g., conversion or click-through rates.

Here are examples of A/B tests ecommerce businesses commonly undertake:

• Landing page testing: Experiment with variations in product images, descriptions, CTAs, and overall layout to see which combination yields conversion rate optimisation. Ensure websites are optimised for mobile devices.

• Product descriptions: Test different product descriptions, headlines and product copy. 

• Pricing and promotions: To maximise revenue while satisfying customers, try pricing strategies such as discounts, bundling or tiered pricing. 

• Digital advertising: Test ad creatives, ad copy, headlines and formats for paid advertising campaigns, e.g., Google Ads and Facebook ads. 

• Product visuals: Test different product images, including angles, zoom options and lifestyle images, to see which drives more sales.

Types of ecommerce marketing strategies

From social media to email marketing and paid advertising, digital marketers must understand each marketing channel's purpose, audience and limitations. Here's a list of possible marketing tactics you can experiment with to meet your business goals.

Content marketing.

Content marketing involves creating and distributing valuable, engaging content to attract, engage and convert shoppers into buyers. Content that meets customers' needs will help reduce shopping cart abandonment and increase sales.

Your customers want and expect educational, informational, entertaining, and even inspirational content. Weaving in your core messaging and benefits subtly promotes your brand and, by extension, your products.

Blog posts, podcasts, social media posts, abandoned cart emails and user-generated content (UGC) are all examples of content you can create.

Email marketing and SMS.

Remember when you used to get unsolicited mailers in your mailbox? Today, direct marketing has gone digital. Businesses send promotional messages, newsletters and product updates via email or SMS automation.

The goal is to build a list of subscribers who opt-in to receive communications from your business. Email marketing is also known as permission marketing because your customer has expressly given you "permission" to contact them. You can then segment the email list based on demographic, behavioural and engagement factors.

For B2B ecommerce, email communication represents a crucial step in lead generation.

Implement automated email sequences (drip campaigns) triggered by specific user actions or events, such as welcome emails, abandoned cart reminders or post-purchase follow-ups.

SMS requires a slightly different approach. Since you can't include images or other media, this is best used only for time-sensitive notifications or offers.

Social media marketing.

Social media marketing involves both paid ads and organic content. Businesses can leverage the reach and interactivity of social networks, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn, to make their content discoverable. The goal is to engage customers and build brand awareness by releasing a steady stream of content and including hashtags.

Search engine optimisation (SEO).

Search engine optimisation boosts website visibility, making search engines more likely to surface the website in search results.

A study by Backlinko found that a page ranked in the top spot in Google is ten times more likely to be clicked than a page at the bottom. 

Here are the key elements of an SEO strategy:

• Keyword research: Use keyword research tools to identify keywords and phrases potential customers use to search for your products. 

• Search intent: How customers search will influence your content marketing strategy. Determine if they are in the informational gathering stage or transactional stage. One customer needs more information; the other is ready to buy.

• On-page SEO: Optimise product descriptions, meta tags, URLs and header tags using target keywords. Ensure product images are labelled and optimised for search. 

• Off-page SEO: Improve technical aspects of your website, such as site speed, mobile responsiveness, security (HTTPS) and XML sitemaps. Insert plenty of backlinks and ensure your website's code is clean and search engine-friendly.

• Content creation: Blog posts, buying guides, and how-to articles will attract organic traffic and establish your site as an authority in your niche. 

• Site navigation: A user-friendly website with logical navigation makes it easier for users and search engine crawlers to understand your site's purpose.

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising.

Pay-per-click (PPC) ads appear in search engine results and partner websites. Advertisers bid on product- or industry-related keywords. When users search for those keywords on search engines or visit related websites, ads from the highest bidders are displayed.

PPC ad platforms include search engines — Google Ads and Bing Ads are considered popular — and social media platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram. 

Affiliate marketing.

Affiliate marketing is a performance marketing strategy where an affiliate (an influencer, business or publisher) promotes a product on a company's behalf in exchange for a sales commission. 

For example, a food blogger might link to your cookware product page in a recipe. If a reader clicks the link and buys an item, the blogger receives a commission from that sale. 

Affiliate networks broker relationships between businesses seeking promotion and suitable affiliates. Each affiliate gets a unique affiliate link or tracking code, enabling merchants to attribute sales to them. 

Affiliates can promote the partner merchants' products in blog posts, social media posts, email campaigns or reviews. 

Influencer marketing.

Influencers often have access to niche audiences that brands covet. Brands can collaborate with well-known "taste-makers" or trendsetters to promote their products to a captive audience that already trusts the influencer. 

According to a Hubspot survey, 22% of Gen Z consumers prefer discovering new products via influencers over friends and family, and 29% of Millennials do.

Influencers are skilled content creators who can produce high-quality, engaging content for brands while being mindful of what their audience wants. 

Video marketing.

They say, "A picture is worth a thousand words." When it comes to moving pictures, a video is priceless, and its popularity continues to grow.

YouTube ranks #2 worldwide for traffic, with 28 billion monthly visits! Their engagement rate is off the charts, with the average visit duration at 20 minutes.

Unboxing creates anticipation; explainer videos help customers learn more about your product; customer testimonial videos communicate your brand value.

Unsurprisingly, video marketing has become an essential tool for marketers.

Reviews and testimonials.

Online reviews have become table stakes for online businesses. Negative reviews can hurt sales and reputation. Even if a company receives a bad review, the owner should address the issue and act in good faith.

For ecommerce websites, including reviews on product pages can impact sales. With app integrations like Yotpo and Judge.me, BigCommerce helps businesses generate product reviews, photos, videos, Q&A and other user-generated content.

Effective use of customer testimonials provides further social proof. You can tailor the review based on topics that resonate with your customers. For a B2B ecommerce site, that might be how your product solved a technical problem; for a B2C ecommerce brand, the focus might be quality and value.

Things to consider when marketing in other countries

Global companies headquartered in other countries can consider the above ecommerce marketing strategies as tools in their online toolbox but with a few distinct tactics.

To reach a global audience, you must localise your product offerings, messaging, and overall marketing strategy to suit the tastes and customs of each target country. 

Localise content and translate languages.

Be mindful of the prevailing tastes, expectations and customs of your audience's locale. Truly global brands adapt their product mix, marketing tactics and messaging to each target country. 

For example, audiences in countries with limited broadband internet might be unable to use location services or reliably watch 4K videos. 

Translate your website content to the local language, including product descriptions, category pages, and user interface elements. Ensure all text, buttons and labels are accurately translated. Change product images, colours or graphics to align with local preferences and customs.

Understand currency and payment methods.

Display product prices in the local currency. If your ecommerce platform supports it, consider offering multi-currency functionality that lets customers switch between currencies. 

Adjust pricing to reflect local market conditions, factoring in taxes, import duties and competitor pricing. Additionally, investigate the most popular payment methods for different locales.

Know shipping and logistics.

International shipping is a complex logistical endeavour involving shipping regulations, customs procedures and taxes or import fees for each target destination.

Partner with a reliable shipping company that understands each target country's customs, regulations and documentation requirements. Set expectations for international delivery times and account for the time needed to clear customs.

Master local market dynamics.

Conduct thorough market research to understand the competitive landscape, social and cultural norms, and consumer expectations, including their ideal checkout process.

Adhere to import-export regulations.

Import-export regulations can introduce unexpected costs, limit what types of products you can sell, or impose quotas on imports. 

Keep detailed records of all export transactions — invoices, shipping documents and customs declarations — which may be required for compliance and auditing. 

Implement global SEO practises.

When you translate your website into another language, you must target the relevant SEO keywords to ensure your website is discoverable in other countries. Conduct keyword research for each target market and use it for on-page and off-page optimisation. Choose a consistent URL structure that facilitates international SEO.

Remember to implement hreflang tags on your website. This HTML attribute tells search engines what language your website content is written in.

Use geo-targeting techniques.

Geo-targeting lets you deliver localised content based on a user's IP address. For example, based on the user's geolocation, you can display country-specific websites with localised product offerings, currency and pricing, payment methods, contact information and customer support. 

You can also configure the ecommerce store to display region-specific banner ads or messaging announcing local promotions, events or product launches. 

Provide multilingual customer support.

Identify the most prevalent languages spoken by your target customers. Focus on markets with the highest demand. Recruit support reps who are fluent in the languages you intend to support or implement a multilingual chatbot. 

If the bot can't resolve an issue, you must hire support reps for necessary escalations. Offer support through multiple channels, including email, live chat, phone, and social media. 

Finally, establish a multilingual knowledge base or FAQ page on your website to help with customer support.

How BigCommerce supports your marketing efforts

Every business's goal is to become profitable, and every website aims to attract new customers and reward loyal customers.

To that end, any ecommerce platform, like BigCommerce, aims to provide the tools to help grow your business and enjoy a bigger bottom line.

Integrated marketing tools.

The digital world has opened up endless ways to connect with customers, and getting lost in the possibilities is easy. Integrated marketing tools seamlessly unite multiple digital platforms to provide a consistent message wherever your customer lives online.

BigCommerce integrates with popular platforms like Klaviyo, Mailchimp, Attentive, and Omnisend for email marketing, Google Analytics for data analysis, Google Ads for PPC and retargeting, and social media to help you scale your marketing efforts.

Omnichannel management.

Connect and manage multiple channels from your store. From third-party providers like Walmart and eBay to pre-built integrations for Amazon and TikTok, you can sell everywhere with Channel Manager, all from the backend.

SEO-friendly out of the box.

Say goodbye to developer bottlenecks. BigCommerce auto-populates SEO-friendly URLs, automates 301 redirects and offers sitewide encryption.

Microdata or rich snippets are built in. Adding microdata to your product pages will enhance your search results with information that matters to your customers. They will see star ratings, pricing, brand names and stock levels, increasing the likelihood that they will click through to your website.

Personalisation and automation.

Ecommerce personalisation is a powerful tool in the online marketer's arsenal. Combined with marketing automation, it creates perfect harmony among all marketing efforts.

Audience segmentation is essential to your ecommerce personalisation strategy because you can target your messaging to the exact person or audience you've defined.

From on-site targeting with personalised recommendations to identifying VIP customers with the highest lifetime value to setting up automated emails for abandoned cart follow-ups, you control it all from within the BigCommerce platform.

Analytics and flexibility.

If you're looking for flexibility in reporting on data, BigCommerce offers the Swiss army knife of analytics. Its advanced integrations, like Google BigQuery and flexible APIs, serve as a vital bridge that helps businesses connect people, places, systems, data and algorithms, allowing them to share information and make transactions happen.

API integrations can make shopping easier, create a seamless omnichannel customer experience, streamline business operations, foster customer loyalty and boost profitability tailored to your business needs.

The final word

Ecommerce marketing is a complex beast that yields manifold rewards if you get it right. Cultivating a thorough understanding of your customer base is essential to ensuring you use on-point messaging, meet customers in their preferred channels, and provide offerings that convert. 

This feat becomes more convoluted for businesses venturing into international markets, where localisation is critical. Consider hiring local experts to give you localised marketing tips and undertake end-to-end market research for each market you intend to enter. 

FAQs about ecommerce marketing