The Guide To Inbound Marketing Basics For ECommerce

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The Guide to InboundMarketing Basics foreCommerce CompaniesMARCH 2018THE GUIDE TO INBOUND MARKETING BASICS FOR ECOMMERCE COMPANIES1/11

IntroductionRetail eCommerce sales are expected to increase to 4.058 trillion by 2020,making up 14.6 percent of the retail sales for that year.With this influx of competition, it is crucialfor your eCommerce company to stand outfrom the competition with a solid inboundmarketing strategy.Long gone are the days of offering quick online discounts with the goal ofskyrocketing sales. Today, eCommerce companies must rely on inboundmarketing to educate, convince, and convert leads into paying customers.THE GUIDE TO INBOUND MARKETING BASICS FOR ECOMMERCE COMPANIES2/11

What is Inbound Marketing?Inbound marketing is defined as “the process of attracting customers throughrelevant and helpful content and adding value at every stage in your customer’sbuying journey.”This approach to marketing was derived from a change in customer behavior due tothe abundance of information available on the Internet. Customers now want to dotheir own research and purchase on their time.In fact, 61 percent of Internet users research a product online before making apurchase.According to Hubspot, inbound marketing has four distinct phases, which are: Attract. Convert. Close. Delight.Marketers rely on engaging and informative content along with strategic marketingtactics to move potential customers through these four phases.Your goal as an eCommerce company is to transform a website visitor into a happy,loyal customer through your content and conversations.For example, eCommerce companies can attract potential customers through aneducational blog post. You then convert the visitor into a lead through an emailsubscription form or onsite chat. To close the lead, you must entice the potentialcustomer to make a purchase on your website. Finally, to delight the customer, youcontinue offering top-notch content and providing exceptional customer service longafter the transaction.As you’ll soon learn, every step of the inbound marketingprocess requires well-crafted content, from blog posts to productdescriptions.THE GUIDE TO INBOUND MARKETING BASICS FOR ECOMMERCE COMPANIES3/11

What Inbound Marketing TacticsShould eCommerce Companies Use?To introduce potential customers to your company and help themthrough the inbound marketing phases, consider using these fourmarketing tactics:Content MarketingThe Content Marketing Institute defines content marketing as:“ a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable,relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience —and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.”With this definition in mind, it is easy to see how content marketing fits into theinbound marketing funnel. eCommerce companies must create and promote contentthat attracts a target audience, with the goal of converting those individuals intopaying customers.There are numerous types of content that eCommerce companies can leverage aspart of a content marketing plan, including: Educational Blog Posts. Press Releases. Product Descriptions. eBooks and White Papers. Interactive Content.According to Hubspot’s research, over 95 percent of website visitors do not make apurchase on their first visit. Instead, they do their research, think about their options,and finally, make a decision.Content marketing helps educate and build a relationship with a potential customer.Creating content for every step of a visitor’s purchase process increases your chanceof a sale and ultimately, a long-term customer.THE GUIDE TO INBOUND MARKETING BASICS FOR ECOMMERCE COMPANIES4/11

Search Engine OptimizationWhile creating valuable content for your audience is a vital aspect of inboundmarketing, your audience needs to be able to also find that content online. Searchengine optimization (SEO) is the process of “increasing the quantity and quality oftraffic to your website through organic search engine results.”Considering that 93 percent of online experiences begin with a search engine, it isimperative that your website, content, and products rank well on top search engines.To decide the search result rankings, search engines send bots out across the Internetto crawl websites for information and data. The bots take a series of factors intoconsideration, including (in no order of priority): The quantity and quality of links to and from the website. Content length. Keywords and phrases. Social signals. Context of website pages. User data, such as clicks, navigation, and path.As an eCommerce company, you want to optimize your product descriptions, productand service pages, website content, and marketing assets to rank higher on searchengines for the appropriate keywords. Without such optimized content, you’ll have adifficult time attracting an audience, which will lead to a lack of interested buyers inyour inbound marketing funnel and poor sales metrics.One common tactic for improving your eCommerce search rankings is leveragingcustomer reviews. It has been reported that 80 to 90 percent of shoppers read onlinereviews before buying a product.Wondering how to get started with SEO? Check out this quick beginner’s guide fromMoz.Social Media MarketingRemember, inbound marketing is about attracting, converting, closing, and delightingthe customer. Fortunately, social media marketing fits into several of these phases.For instance, you can use social media marketing to distribute your written contentto the right audience through targeted posts and ads. You can also promote youreCommerce products (with expertly written ad and product copy, of course) with adson the social networks your audience uses. When a visitor clicks on an ad, you’vemoved them from the Attract to the Convert phase.THE GUIDE TO INBOUND MARKETING BASICS FOR ECOMMERCE COMPANIES5/11

Social media can also be used to entice audience members to Close or make apurchase. Have you ever been on a website and didn’t make a purchase, only to seean ad on Facebook for that same product? These are known as remarketing ads.Once the customer makes a purchase, they are in the Delight phase. Here, you mustcontinue to provide relevant and engaging content via social media.Social media marketing also offers eCommerce companies a wealth of opportunities,including: Customer research. Community building and engagement. Customer service. Content distribution.With 23 percent of online shoppers stating they are influenced by social mediarecommendations, social media plays a pivotal role in an eCommerce inboundmarketing strategy.Email MarketingSimilar to social media marketing, email marketing works with every phase of theinbound marketing funnel: Attract: Ask website visitors to sign up for your email newsletters. Convert: Send subscribers relevant blog content that informs and entertains. Close: Send subscribers exclusive deals, discounts, and promotions for youreCommerce products. Delight: Continue sending customers valuable emails containing pertinentinformation and exclusive offers.When emailing subscribers and customers, remember to offer content that will addto their experience with your brand, not detract from it. Never bombard subscriberswith numerous emails and always follow the 80/20 rule: 80 percent entertaining/educational content and 20 percent sales-related content.Now that you know what tactics to use for inbound marketing,you’ll need to gather a few assets to get started.THE GUIDE TO INBOUND MARKETING BASICS FOR ECOMMERCE COMPANIES6/11

6 Assets eCommerceCompanies Need forInbound MarketingFor a comprehensive and successful inboundmarketing strategy, your eCommerce companywill need the following tools and necessities.THE GUIDE TO INBOUND MARKETING BASICS FOR ECOMMERCE COMPANIES7/11

1. Sales CRMTo follow the user’s path through the inbound marketing cycle, you’ll need a customerrelationship management (CRM) program. These sales and marketing tools allow youto track a wide set of customer information and a multitude of data points, such as: What products a visitor has viewed on your website. Where a visitor is in the sales cycle. What content a visitor has interacted with. What sales professional is assigned to a specific customer.These relationship management platforms help you determine where a user is withinyour inbound marketing cycle and identify what tactics or processes must be used toguide them to the next step.2. Effective Product DescriptionsProduct descriptions can make or break a sale.Potential customers can’t go up to a sales counter to learn more about a product whenshopping online. With this in mind, your product descriptions must tell a customereverything they need to know, from why they should purchase the product to theproduct’s specific features.Product descriptions are a crucial piece of content for your inbound marketingstrategy. From the Attract to the Delight phase, product copy can be used for searchengine optimization, on social media, and in email marketing messages.Ideally, you will want to enlist the talents of a professional eCommerce copywriter.These experts have the know-how and experience necessary to understand yourtarget audience and write flawless copy that creates customers.3. Marketing AssetsThroughout your inbound marketing strategy, you’ll also need a variety of marketingassets. Three main assets to possess are content, a marketing budget, and the righttechnology.As you now know, an eCommerce inbound marketing strategy requires a wealth ofcontent, from instructional product videos to inspirational blog content. Take timeto sit down with your marketing team and discuss the various types of contentyou can develop for customers at each phase of the inbound marketing cycle. Themore valuable content you can provide to help them with their purchase decision,the better.THE GUIDE TO INBOUND MARKETING BASICS FOR ECOMMERCE COMPANIES8/11

You’ll also need a defined marketing budget. This budget can be used for social mediaads, pay-per-click search campaigns, email marketing credits, and so much more.Understanding the ins and outs of your marketing budget will help you make wisedecisions regarding the direction of your inbound marketing strategy.Lastly, you need the right technology to execute your inbound marketing plan. Froma fully functional website to customer relationship management software, make surethese programs and tools are in place before you begin executing your strategy.4. Social Media ProfilesIf you plan to use social media marketing as part of your eCommerce inboundmarketing efforts, you need to fill out your profiles in their entirety. Take advantageof every relevant section of your social media profile, including the imagery,descriptions, and links.Also, your eCommerce company does not need an account on every social mediaplatform available. Instead, use the networks your audience is most active on.5. Optimized Website ContentAs search engine optimization is likely also part of your inbound marketing strategy,your website must be optimized accordingly. Everything from the URL structure tothe product description must be created and optimized with search engines in mind.Be sure to reference the Beginner’s Guide to SEO from Moz to get started.Without optimized content, you’ll have trouble attracting the audience using searchengines to find your products online!6. Messaging PlatformsTo help the customer through the various stages of inbound marketing, you needto be in constant communication with them. Messaging platforms are the perfectcommunication tool for eCommerce companies. In fact, research shows that 48percent of consumers would rather connect with a company via live chat than byany other means of contact.From chatbots on networks such as Facebook Messenger to on-site instantmessaging platforms, there are many tools that allow you to spark a dialogue withyour customer at any point in the purchase cycle.With messaging apps and chatbots, you can: Ask if the customer needs assistance. Deliver relevant and timely content.THE GUIDE TO INBOUND MARKETING BASICS FOR ECOMMERCE COMPANIES9/11

Answer customer questions. Help customers with support problems. Create an engaging dialogue with interested website visitors.Plus, many of these chat platforms integrate seamlessly with sales CRMs for datadriven inbound marketing opportunities.With these inbound marketing assets in your toolbox, you’ll beready to execute your strategy and drive online sales.THE GUIDE TO INBOUND MARKETING BASICS FOR ECOMMERCE COMPANIES10/11

Content is Key foreCommerce InboundMarketingFor a successful eCommerce inbound marketing strategy, you needexceptional content. From attracting website visitors with enticingwebsite content to aiding their purchase decision with insightful productdescriptions, content is the centerpiece of your strategy.No matter how you organize your eCommerceinbound marketing plan, make sure you have wellwritten content for every step of the way.THE GUIDE TO INBOUND MARKETING BASICS FOR ECOMMERCE COMPANIES11/11

Throughout your inbound marketing strategy, you’ll also need a variety of marketing assets. Three main assets to possess are content, a marketing budget, and the right technology. As you now know, an eCommerce inbound marketing strategy requires a wealth of content, from instructiona

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