Marketing Tips for Online Retailing
Digital Relationship Marketing Tips for Online Retailing
Written by Jeremy Glass, Managing Director, Permission
The word is out. Online retailing is proving to be successful for many Australian businesses and as e-retailing gains momentum, many traditional retailers are caught out by not understanding the major differences between online retail and in-store retail.
Some retailers build a website and expect it to work successfully alongside their physical store without putting any real thought into their online marketing strategy. Others don’t appreciate that the relationship you build with your customers online is very different to the one you have with customers in person.
Understanding these differences is a key component to building a successful online retail business and building a strong digital relationship with customers is essential to success.
Digital Relationship Marketing Tips for Online Retailing
- Understand your customers and tell them what they want to hear.
Watch how your customers interact with your website. Figure out what they want and give it to them. Learning what they want will involve research and tracking how they respond to communications. Once you know what the customer wants respond by providing preferences that suit the customer.
- Increase Customer Lifetime Value with valuable lifetime relationships.
Be aware that customers’ needs change over time and the way you communicate with them and the information you provide them with must change with them. Map out how their needs change and tailor your messaging strategy to suit them at different stages of their life.
- Engage customers with your brand in a timely, relevant and motivating manner.
Remember that stronger relevance equals better value in the eye of the customer and therefore this makes a sale easier to close. If a customer is pleasantly surprised with your relevant and timely message they will be impressed and more likely to buy.
- Employ behavioural targeting to increase opportunities for engagement and sales.
The focus is on watching and learning from your customer’s shopping and browsing behaviour then turning that into an engagement opportunity. What did the customer respond well to? Just as importantly, what didn’t they respond well to? Even a disengaged customer can be targeted with the right form of communication that may reignite their interest.
5. Develop a social media and networking program.
Although direct sales are not always evident through building up a social media strategy, social interaction is definitely impacting Online Retail. Just as IRL (in real life) social influence has a strong impact on purchase decisions and brand identity online. Harness the advocates who are already engaging with your brand and are your loyal customers, especially those who already choose to be active in social media.
If you like this article, please click on the BUMP IT icon on the top left hand corner of the page!
Jeremy Glass
Jeremy is one of the Managing Directors of Permission, a full service Digital Relationship Marketing agency that harnesses the power of relationships and leverages digital technologies to maximise customer lifetime value for companies.
Permission create and implement tailored digital marketing campaigns that build bonded customer relationships and achieve an outstanding return on investment. Permission’s core competencies include Digital Strategy, Email Marketing, Digital Marketing and Data Management.
Jeremy has expertise in digital relationship marketing strategies and email campaigns with strong experience in the online retail sector. Jeremy will be speaking at the Online Retailer Expo on Customer Loyalty: Relationship Marketing for E-Commerce Success in July.
For more information on Permission please visit www.permission.com.au
Comment Manually
You must be logged in to post a comment.
No comments