Top Five E-Commerce Best Planning Practices to Propel Sales in 2017

This is a guest post by Dorit Sasson whose author bio will be at the end of the article.

 

Benjamin Franklin supposedly once said, “if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail” and this notion applies to E-Commerce marketing. If you want to stand out among the competition, start planning now.

77% of marketing professionals are in favor of a planned approach that combines analytics and continued SEO optimization - the most effective way of managing digital marketing. These top five E-Commerce trends will change the face of marketing in 2017 and help in driving sales.

1 Send an Email Campaign to Nudge Mobile Browsers to Convert

Research is showing an interesting trend: consumers are using their smartphones to place orders only to close the sale on their desktops. This is great news for E-Commerce driven mobile revenue which will continue to surge by at least 50% by the end of 2017 according to Think Tank Gartner.

Create an email strategy to reflect this growing trend by showcasing products users browsed on their mobile devices. Encourage them to open it later once they are on their desktop and ready to convert.

2 Offer Integrated Payment Systems such as Apple Pay

Approximately 70% of the U.S. population is using smartphones which implies an increasing number of mobile checkouts. A growing trend right now in the growth of e-commerce is the one-touch mobile payment.

This means integrated e-commerce platforms are needed to support a wide variety of mobile users. Since Apple Pay made online shopping extremely easy, the e-commerce infrastructure and software must support both forms of desktop and mobile payments.

3 Provide Innovative Content that Gets Prospects to Convert

Good E-Commerce marketers know they have to consistently stand out by producing exceptional content to attract and convert prospects into customers. Use the 70:20:10 rule of content marketing.

Spend 70% of the time on developing content that will bring lasting results. Spend 30% on developing new content that could result in a significant payoff. Always measure the performance to understand the return on investment. Keep in mind the following:

There are certain types of “content” that your target audience needs and is willing to pay for (Blog posts, infographics, videos, tutorials, GIFs, etc)

There is a variety of places where you can distribute this content (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, Snapchat, Reddit, LinkedIn, Pinterest, etc)

There needs to be a clear focus of who you are targeting (Google AdWords, Facebook Ads, Twitter Ads, etc)

Your content needs to be distributed consistently (Buffer, Hootsuite, etc)

4 Capitalize on the Trend of Social Selling

According to this article by Jay Baer, social selling will dominate the future of E-Commerce. The key is to get social without getting too promotional with “buy my stuff” type-talk. Aim for the winning combination of commerce and content.

Social selling means choosing the right products to prominently display on your Facebook store. Offer your customers “an exclusive shopping experience” using these strategies:

Let your customers know you are giving them exclusive sneak peaks before listing new products elsewhere.

Do a close-out of old inventory at a special low price that is exclusive to a specific audience, like your Facebook fans for instance.

Encourage your fans to take part in a social conversation without soliciting product reviews.

Develop your marketing strategy to cater to your customers’ buying needs.

Integrate the “Buy Now” call-to-actions using the Facebook and Twitter buy buttons and shop platforms. This “buy now” option means that users can purchase products without shopping on another platform.

5 Pay Attention to E-Commerce Growth in Asia

The newest trend of growth that is shifting from the United States towards Asia implies opportunities for E-Commerce brands to go international. With shipping rates cheaper and international delivery more common than ever, a digital brand has no reason to be hesitant or intimidated. But it’s important to invest in a well-translated website that does not include VAT charges to minimize international shipping costs.

Conclusion

As you can see, these social media and marketing strategies help propel sales. Plan your marketing initiatives right, and you are sure to see sales growth in 2017.

Author Bio:

Dorit Sasson is the founder of Giving Voice to Your Courage podcast and website. She supports heart-centered business owners and authors build visibility and increase engagement as thought leaders. Her groundbreaking memoir Accidental Soldier: A Memoir of Service and Sacrifice in the Israel Defense Forces is a finalist for the next Generation Indie Book Awards, USA Best Books Awards and Santa Fe Literary Awards and is also a widely read handbook on how to become more courageous in life.

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