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7 Signs You Need To Rethink Your Ecommerce Marketing Strategy

There comes a time when you need to step back and look where your business is currently at in terms of your long-term objectives. Are you still on track to achieving a total income growth of 20% in 5 years? Have you increased your e-commerce company’s market share? Have you successfully built a community of loyal customers and brand advocates? 

The above-mentioned questions are some of the things that you need to ask yourself when reviewing your overall business strategy and performance. With cutthroat competition and an ever-changing e-commerce landscape, you need to regularly review your marketing plans to gather insights about which tactics are still working and which ones need updating. 

How To Know If Your E-commerce Business’s Current Marketing Strategy Isn’t Working Anymore

E-commerce is a multibillion-dollar industry with several key players that are already dominating the market. For a startup, it can be intimidating to even think about penetrating the market and getting their share of consumers. However, it’s not totally impossible. 

With the right digital marketing strategies in your arsenal, you can effectively launch your small e-commerce business and keep up with the competition in the online marketplace. There are many ways you creatively promote your e-commerce brand online, such as developing blogs, starting a social media page, or sharing videos. 

In fact, a report shows that 89% of marketers who’ve invested in digital marketing have reaped its benefits for their business. But for the 11%, they’re getting the opposite of what they expected from online marketing. If you’re a startup e-commerce brand, you don’t want to be part of the 11% of marketers who end up failing at digital marketing.

So what do you need to do to avoid falling in that number? Three words: Don’t be complacent. If your current digital marketing strategy is working for you, that’s great. But with the evolving trends and marketing landscape, it’s only a matter of time before you see drastic changes in your business. Here are some signs that you need to reevaluate your ecommerce company’s marketing strategies: 

1) You’re not meeting your desired business goals or outcomes

One of the most obvious warning signs is that you aren’t achieving your intended business goals and objectives. Review your current sales data and check if it’s still aligned with your goals. It’s possible that a decrease in sales may be related to the ineffectiveness of your online marketing campaigns to push your target consumers to make a purchase. It can also be a factor that your digital marketing content isn’t in line with your specific business goals. 

2) You’re not attracting the right audience to your business  

Digital marketing is supposed to be targeted and should attract your specific niche. If you’re noticing an increase in bounce rate on your website or low engagement in your content, it could be that you’re attracting the wrong audience to your business. No matter how engaging your content is, it’s essentially irrelevant if it reaches uninterested consumers. 

3) You have low conversions 

Having a significant decrease in conversions or seeing no conversions at all is a big red flag for your e-commerce business. One possible reason is that your consumers can’t see a clear call to action that will encourage them to make the final purchasing decision. Another factor is that your content isn’t compelling enough to push them to convert into paying customers. 

4) Your target consumers aren’t getting your message 

You may successfully deliver your content to the right audience, but there’s no engagement from them. This can be because your content message isn’t clear for them or you’ve failed to showcase the value that your business brings in your content. Another reason is that your content just doesn’t resonate with their beliefs and interests. 

5) Your e-commerce website isn’t getting enough traffic

Every e-commerce business desires to see regular activity and traffic on its website. However, if your current marketing strategy is outdated, you may notice a significant drop in website visitors. It’s also possible that your website doesn’t have enough high-quality content to show up in search engines and attract viewers. 

6) You’re not seeing ideal ROI numbers  

Although digital marketing is cheap, you still have to invest a significant amount of your company’s budget to produce and distribute content. Of course, you want to get your money’s worth over time but if you’re running a wrong marketing strategy, it’s possible that you won’t see your expected return on investment. 

7) You’re falling behind your competition

Finally, you’ll know that your digital marketing strategy isn’t working anymore if your competitors are getting ahead of you in the market. If you’re losing your consumers to other e-commerce brands, it can be that your content isn’t enough to keep them interested in your business. Additionally, you may notice that your marketing efforts aren’t sufficient to distinguish you in the industry and strengthen your online presence. 

What You Need To Do To Improve Your Ecommerce Marketing Strategy 

As an e-commerce business owner, the responsibility falls on you to always keep an eye out for the best practices that you can adopt to make your company stand out in the market. If your current marketing strategy isn’t working anymore, don’t be disheartened and fall into thinking that you should just quit your business.

Here are some ways that you can correct your digital marketing strategy: 

1) Refocus your content strategy for your target audience

Review your initial strategy and see if it meets the needs and characteristics of your target audience. Often, marketers make the mistake of not having a clear understanding of who they’re developing content for which is why they’re not seeing optimal results. Always research your audience so you can tailor your content messaging to ensure that it resonates with them. 

2) Align your digital marketing strategies with your overall business objectives

At the end of the day, the reason why you’re doing content is to improve your e-commerce business’s position in the market and foster lasting relationships with customers to help you achieve your long-term goals. That’s why it’s vital that your marketing strategies and tactics are based on your goals. You should also have a well-defined approach for measuring your content performance to see if it’s generating your desired results. 

3) Optimize your e-commerce website for a better user experience 

A website is an important channel for e-commerce businesses and it strengthens your digital presence so your brand is more discoverable by prospective customers. However, there are several things you need to remember when developing a business website: 

  • Make sure that your website has a user-friendly design and interface so that it's easily navigable by your visitors. 
  • Incorporate best SEO practices in developing your site content to ensure that your pages are indexed and show up on the search engines.  
  • Always have a strong call to action on each web page to entice your visitors to make a purchase.  
  • Use high-quality videos and images in your blog posts and listings to encourage customers to add to their cart and check out. 

4) Engage your leads and existing customers with email campaigns

If you haven’t included email marketing as part of your e-commerce digital strategy, you’re missing out on the opportunity to nurture new leads and get more conversions. Running email campaigns is a great way to notify your current clients about new products and updates on your store which can drive more sales. 

You can also have an opt-in form on your website where potential customers who wish to know more about your products can leave their email information. 

5) Select your content distribution channels strategically 

When making a content distribution plan, you should consider your target audience and find out the digital platforms where they’re the most active. This will help make sure that your content is delivered to the right place and engages your intended audience. For example, you find out that your target audience is frequenting forums to gather opinions about a particular brand. You can then post your e-commerce content on online communities and forums to reach more people.

Stay On Top Of The Industry With An Effective Marketing Strategy   

There’s no guarantee that your digital marketing strategy will be effective forever. The e-commerce industry is always changing along with your consumers’ preferences which is why it’s important to be in tune with the market, watch your competitors, and assess your growth. This will help you pivot your marketing campaign as necessary so your business stays relevant and profitable.

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