As a whole, today’s consumer is more educated about everything they buy. This change has largely come on the back of e-commerce sites, allowing users to get more information, compare products and prices and so much more. As a result, e-commerce has had a big impact on the way we market products to the public.
Here are a few of the biggest changes we have seen:
- Marketing To Consumers in Everyday Life – Today we see that marketing is no longer limited to TV commercials and print ads. It can be cleverly slipped into just about any area of the consumer’s life from their social media feeds to their e-readers. Marketing has largely extended into everyday activities at every turn.
- Making the Soft Sell – While digital ad space is abundant, e-commerce has forced marketers to build a better rapport with their customers than ever before and through e-commerce which allows to collect large data sets has changed the methodology of marketing. Therefore, marketing have been able to nurture leads with soft sell tactics like newsletters, blogs, and branding videos. Essentially, online marketers are expected to create complete personalities for their brands that go beyond just the products they sell and demonstrate what their company stands for.
- Geographic Regions – Internet has allowed marketers to geo target consumers who are searching for products online before they buy. Therefore, it is deem important for every store to have an e-commerce which can allow marketer to setup marketing campaign that can show ads to consumers based on what they are searching for at their exact location. These geographic targeting has really helped in converting impulse shopping into real sales.
- Customer Interactions – Word of mouth has gotten exponentially more important in the world of social media. Now a single tweet or Facebook post can reach thousands and thousands of customers, and most often, consumers only post about a company after they have had a negative experience. Responding to consumer complaints has become a public affair, where marketing teams are taking an active role. This isn’t just about customer service agents offering refunds over the phone. It’s about managing the company’s reputation full-time, across many platforms, and always responding in a timely and appropriate manner. Almost half of consumers read online reviews and company responses before they make a purchasing decision, which means that your everyday responses also need to be a part of your marketing plan.
- Overwhelming Your Customers – Finally, e-commerce has put consumers in a bit of a bind when it comes to engaging with your brand. They are often spammed with newsletters and other ads everywhere they go. Companies need to be very cognizant of the barrage of images and ads their customers are facing, and take more creative steps to cut through the clutter.
E-commerce continues to grow and change over time, and at each new advancement, it has an impact on marketers worldwide. These are just five of the areas in which we have seen major changes to our marketing plans, and we expect to see further changes in the future.