With e-commerce set to continue showing double-digit gains in the years to come, everyone –especially those working in sales– wants a slice of the pie. With the pandemic driving more customers to shop online, competition in e-commerce has never been fiercer, online marketplaces more fragmented, and customer expectations higher.
The emergence of “double-digit” sales seasons such as 11.11 and 12.12 has made it even more competitive for brands. Brands only have one chance to get it right and some do succeed. For example, Alibaba moved US$84.5 billion in gross merchandise value for its Singles’ Day campaign this year– the highest tally to date.
To stand out from the clutter, marketers will need to muster all their resources to make a big splash with customers and hit their sales targets. This means covering all their bases from campaign strategy, inventory planning, creative assets, and promotions, to fulfilment.
It’s no longer enough to be on a marketplace platform– how your storefront looks during sales season, how you engage with customers on special discounts and promotions, and how long it takes to deliver your products during the peak shopping season can make or break your brand.
To kick off a virtuous cycle of e-commerce growth, few tenets are more important than the 6Ps of marketing. Brands can start by laying out their plans by month, country, and platform across the significant tasks: orders, products, price, promotions, design, marketing, and customer service.
Also Read: How can European companies win in Indonesia’s e-commerce market?
A comprehensive campaign planning process will allow marketers to pivot and respond to sales performance in real-time.
Brands can increase their average order volume and conversion rates through competitive pricing, a complementary product assortment, attractive product pages, tactical promotions, positive reviews, and free delivery.
Here are three factors that marketers should keep in mind as they navigate the year-end sale season:
Content is king
First impressions matter, especially during the crowded holiday shopping period. Your content will play a big role in grabbing customers’ attention and converting casual page visits into checked-out carts.
A strong gimmick is something we highly recommend to brands. Consumers love a good deal, and gimmicks create a sense of extra value to incentivise them to make a purchase.
One way to do that is through Gift with Purchase (GWP). Free gifts may be the oldest trick in the retail book, but they work wonders online too. For every purchase (for example, an oven), consumers receive a freebie – whether that’s a complimentary item (a muffin tin or a whisk) or a product sample (instant cake mix).
GWP gives consumers an extra push to make the purchase and can be a key differentiating factor that provides an alternative to heavy discounting.
Gamification is another trick to create value and engage with consumers. Some brands like to use a leaderboard to encourage shoppers to spend more by awarding top spenders with a lucky draw, cash prizes, or even a new car.
Details matter in sales
Now that you’ve got consumers’ attention, it’s time to think about your product detail page.
When it comes to impactful visuals, don’t stop at still images– a good product video can have an outsized impact on conversion. And for product descriptions, think about how to demonstrate the value of your SKUs in a tangible way.
Also Read: Looking beyond the surface of optimising customer experience
Before-and-after images work wonders for cosmetics, whereas pictures of the product being used by consumers in a real-life setting help paint a vivid picture.
Dig into data
Data is indeed a powerful asset that can uncover valuable insights to support your e-commerce marketing efforts in three ways: decision-making, activation, and performance. Brands can start by looking at past campaigns.
You likely already have an abundance of data on page traffic, top-performing products, and ratings and reviews. Pick out some learnings and apply them to your next campaign.
The right audience segmentation also makes a huge difference. You may already have a target audience in mind, but data on your page visitors can show you who’s really clicking and interacting with your page.
Then you can tweak your messaging to speak to the right people who are more likely to engage and make that purchase.
To do targeting and personalisation more effectively, brands can leverage marketing technology and automation tools such as Data Management Platforms,s which can be used to monitor real-time customer behaviour and product preference and design customised messaging.
Customer-first
To build marketing strategies that deliver real outcomes, marketers will need to ensure they understand their customers’ needs and provide them with a seamless purchase experience.
Whether it’s refining your content approach, introducing a new gimmick, or diving deeper into analytics, stay true to your brand and always put the customer first.
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