Your own JTL-Shop is up and running, the item data has been neatly entered into JTL-Wawi and the retailer can start selling. However, professional online business requires more than just a well thought-out infrastructure. In this blog post, we want to show you how you as a store owner can develop a suitable online marketing strategy for your own online store. This will not only help you to generate additional traffic for your online store, but also to achieve sustainable conversions (sales).
All beginnings are difficult
Similar to brick-and-mortar retail, an online store also lives from its level of awareness. Experts often use terms such as search engine optimization, Google Adwords, affiliate marketing and newsletter marketing to ensure that the desired target group finds its way to your website. However, if you only use these tools half-heartedly, you will only achieve moderate success. It quickly becomes apparent: The retailer has not formulated an appropriate marketing strategy, even though it can have a major impact on sales success.
Marketing for your own online store
Even before you launch your first online store, you should start thinking about a possible marketing strategy. This is nowhere near as complicated as it sounds:
The development of these concepts enables you to subsequently define a pricing strategy that can influence your success on marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay in particular. After all, the price war there is a decisive factor in guaranteeing success.
Next, set yourselves marketing goals. The top priority is, of course, to sell your goods. All other goals support this core of your business. In professional marketing, experts like to talk about branding – in other words, the awareness and image of your store. If you continuously work on both aspects, you can sustainably reduce your search engine marketing costs, for example. Customer loyalty plays another key role in marketing, as satisfied customers not only bring you repeat purchases but also positive word-of-mouth recommendations.
The possibilities
So what can you do to achieve these marketing goals? There are various tools and channels available to you. We highlight these below:
Search engine marketing (SEM)
Search engine marketing is made up of the components of search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine advertising (SEA). If you want to increase your conversions, i.e. visitors who become buyers, SEM is your weapon of choice.
Search engine optimization (SEO) describes the optimization of your own website for on-page factors. This increases your search engine rankings, which in turn brings you more traffic. SEA refers to search engine ads placed via Google Ads or Bing Ads. With ads and banners, as well as the documenting of individual search terms, you can work massively on the awareness of your store.
For you, this means that no matter whether you are a small or large retailer, no one should ignore search engine marketing. The chances of improving awareness and therefore conversions are very high.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is first and foremost an affiliate program. Other websites and reach providers advertise your store, but remuneration is based on success. For example, you can give the partner a percentage of the average shopping cart generated. Affiliate marketing is therefore an opportunity for every store operator to increase their sales without having to make large investments.
Newsletter Marketing
When used correctly, newsletter marketing ensures customer loyalty. You have the opportunity to provide customers with your own content. Promotions from your store, listings, new goods, but also little stories about your business – it is always important to provide the customer with added value with your newsletter. You should also pay particular attention to finding the right mailing frequency, because nobody likes to receive spam.
Social Media Marketing
Retailers can use social media marketing to strengthen customer loyalty in particular. Of course, the reach of your store also increases when fans and followers share and like your content. Social media ads (SMA) offer store owners another opportunity to attract new customers. But be careful: using all available channels across the board quickly results in too much cost and effort. Instead, pay attention to which channels your target group primarily uses. Are they predominantly Facebook users or is Instagram the right tool? Accordingly, the majority of social media marketing should take place on this channel.
Conversion optimization
More reach – all well and good. But what happens if the store has a lot of clicks but few sales? If the ratio of clicks to sales is not right, adjustments should be the consequence. Confidence-building measures such as the Trusted Shops seal can help to demonstrably improve the conversion rate. However, the problem may also lie in the store design or menu navigation. A critical look at your own site helps to identify weak points in the sales channel.
Curious about more online marketing content? Take a look at the SaphirSolution blog!
