The best practices for eCommerce retailers are always evolving, and today we’re keeping you up to date with 17 of the small business marketing ideas that retailers can’t miss in 2023. So whether your store is brand new and you want to start off with a bang or give your established business a boost, don’t miss what we’re sharing today!
Why Is Online Marketing Important?
Before we get into how to do it right, let’s talk about what makes online marketing so crucial in the first place. In today’s world, retail businesses need to have an online presence. With more and more consumers turning to the internet for their shopping needs, having a website or storefront that allows customers to purchase your products is absolutely necessary.
Online marketing also helps you reach a wider audience than traditional advertising, allowing you to build relationships with potential customers worldwide. Additionally, by utilizing different eCommerce marketing strategies like email campaigns and social media posts, you can interact directly with potential customers in order to increase brand recognition and loyalty and stand out from the competition.
If your store isn’t getting any online sales, there could be a variety of reasons, but more than likely, it’s because there hasn’t been a strategy developed that will help you get from point A to point B.
This is where the three Cs of marketing come in.
What are the three Cs of marketing, you ask?
The company, the customer, and the competition. When you’re marketing your business online and applying the tips we’re about to share, keep these three elements in mind to ensure you’re marketing effectively and efficiently.
Now that we know how important online marketing is for retailers in 2023, let’s get into making sure you’re great at it.
Perfect the Basics
First, you need to cross two big things off the list:
- Understanding your unique selling proposition
- Perfecting your elevator pitch
Here’s how.
Unique selling proposition
A unique selling proposition is how you differentiate your business from competitors. What makes you stand out? Think about how your products, services, or customer service are different from the rest – and emphasize that in your marketing efforts. To do that, you need to research your competitors and analyze how they are positioning themselves so you can find your unique angle.
Elevator pitch
An elevator pitch is a short description of what makes your business special, usually delivered in the time it takes to ride an elevator. This should be around 30 seconds long and give potential customers a snapshot of why they should buy from you. Make sure to include how your product or service benefits them, how it’s different from competitors, and how easy it is for customers to purchase from you.
15 Effective Small Business Marketing Ideas
Once these two areas are taken care of, you can utilize our other 15 eCommerce marketing strategies for small businesses.
- Post valuable blog content
- Google My Business
- Network with others
- Organic social media
- Email marketing
- Promote a free consultation
- Make a useful infographic
- Join local business groups
- Partner with other businesses
- Try a customer satisfaction survey
- Publish testimonials
- Speak at events
- Focus on SEO
- Create how-to guides
- Use social media advertising
Post valuable blog content
When you create content that’s helpful to your customers (rather than just focused on sales), they will be more likely to trust and purchase from you. For example, use a blog or website page to share how-tos, tips, and advice related to your products. Keep the content fresh by posting regularly – at least twice a month for optimal results. Additionally, make sure your content is SEO friendly so potential customers can easily find it—we’ll tell you more about that later in this article.
Google My Business
Creating a Google My Business account allows people searching for businesses in your area to find yours quickly and easily. This free platform lets you manage how your business appears on Google Maps as well as how it shows up when customers search for related terms like “clothing store near me” or “local jewelry store.”
Network with others
Networking with other small businesses is a great way to gain exposure and build relationships that can lead to more customers. Join professional associations, attend digital networking events, or join relevant Facebook groups for the chance to connect with others in your industry. And remember, networking isn’t just about making connections – it’s about being helpful and providing value so potential customers can remember you.
Organic social media
Creating content that resonates with your target audience can increase your organic reach. For example, posting valuable, helpful content that solves their problems will help you gain followers and build relationships with potential customers. Additionally, ensure you’re active in responding to customer questions or comments on social media – this lets them know you’re concerned with their needs.
Here are five essential social media tips to get you started:
- Post regularly and consistently—your efforts will pay off!
- Use visuals like videos, photos, and infographics in your posts
- Utilize hashtags to increase visibility
- Engage with other accounts in your niche
- Measure the success of your social media marketing efforts so you can adjust as needed
Email marketing
Email campaigns are an effective way to stay in touch with customers and grow your list of leads. Create newsletters or promotions for subscribers to receive discounts or special offers when purchasing from your store. Make sure the emails are personalized so customers feel like you’re speaking directly to them, and use A/B testing if possible to optimize how effective each campaign is.
When crafting emails for marketing your small business, be sure to personalize them to each customer. Personalization helps build trust and encourages customers to purchase from you repeatedly. Additionally, always include a call-to-action (CTA) so customers know how to take the next step in their buying journey.
Promote a free consultation
Offering customers a free consultation is an excellent way to demonstrate how knowledgeable you are and how much expertise you have in your field. Customers can learn more about how your products or services can benefit them, and you’ll gain valuable insights into market trends and customer needs that can inform future business decisions.
Make a useful infographic
Infographics are a great way to share complex information in an easy-to-digest format. Use visuals like graphs, charts, or illustrations to explain how your product works or how it benefits customers. This will make it easier for potential customers to understand how they can benefit from what you offer. Additionally, infographics are often shared on social media which helps spread the word about your business.
Join local business groups
Joining local eCommerce business groups or chambers of commerce is another useful way to meet other businesses in the area and build relationships that can help you grow your small business. Attend monthly meetings, introduce yourself, and share how you can help others succeed. This will also let others in the group know who you are and what services you provide which could eventually lead to more customers for you.
Partner with other businesses
Building mutually beneficial partnerships with other organizations – like charities, non-profits, or other small businesses – can increase brand awareness while building relationships that could eventually result in more sales. Look for partners whose goals align with yours to make collaborations feel organic and authentic.
Customer satisfaction surveys
Surveys can be a powerful tool in understanding how customers are feeling about your business and how you can improve their experience. In your surveys, ask them about their satisfaction with the products or services they’ve purchased from you, what areas may need improvement, and how likely they would recommend your company to others.
When creating effective surveys, focus on finding out how you can provide the best customer service and make sure customers know how their feedback is used to improve your products or services. Additionally, consider offering incentives for filling out surveys so more people will be encouraged to participate. For example, you might offer a discount on their next purchase for completing the survey.
Publish testimonials
Sharing testimonials with potential customers can be a great way to showcase how others have benefited from what you offer. Ask customers for their feedback after purchasing from your store, and get permission before sharing their comments with the public. This will show them that other people trust your business, and it could generate more sales too.
Speak at events
While public speaking may not be your favorite thing, it could be just the thing you need for your eCommerce business to make a bigger splash. Attend local business events, offer to speak on how you’ve been successful, and share how others can benefit from what you offer. This gives you the opportunity to showcase your expertise while introducing yourself to a larger audience.
Focus on SEO
If you’re new to SEO, that’s okay — many resources are available to help you get started. With effective SEO, your business will be more visible in search engine results which can make a huge difference in how many people find and purchase from your store.
Here’s how to start:
- Identify keywords relevant to your small business: Use tools like Google’s Keyword Planner to find relevant keywords potential customers are likely to use when searching for your products or services.
- Write content with those keywords in mind: Create content — like blog posts, product descriptions, and how-to guides — that incorporate the keywords you identified as well as other long-tail variations. This helps Google better understand what your business does so it will be more likely to appear in search results.
- Optimize images and videos: Make sure all of the images on your website have alt tags that include relevant keywords. Additionally, if you create videos related to your business, make sure they have titles, descriptions, and transcripts that also include those relevant keywords.
- Link to other websites when appropriate: This can show Google that your website is full of helpful, relevant content and can help you rank higher in search results. Just be sure to only link to websites with high-quality content.
These strategies will boost your website’s visibility, drive more organic traffic, and hopefully generate more sales. We’ve got even more SEO strategies for eCommerce businesses in this post.
Create how-to guides
Creating how-to guides and tutorials can help educate customers about how to best use your product or services. Not only are these helpful for potential customers, but they’ll also make it easier for them to understand how your business can benefit them and why they should choose you over a competitor.
Advertise on social media
Organic social media reach is a wonderful place to start, but paid ads shouldn’t be overlooked! Social media advertising can be a powerful way to expose your business to new audiences and generate more leads. To get the most out of it, focus on how you can target specific groups of people — like those interested in a certain type of product or service — so you’re only showing ads to potential customers who are likely to benefit from what you offer.
Summary: eCommerce Marketing Ideas for Small Businesses
Running an eCommerce business comes with its own unique set of marketing challenges. But with these 17 marketing strategies, you can make sure your small eCommerce business stands out from the competition and reaches more of your target customers. From focusing on SEO to creating how-to guides and advertising on social media, there are lots of marketing ideas for small businesses to try in 2023.
Keep experimenting to find the combination that works best for your business!
Bonus Tip: Call Blue Water Marketing
As eCommerce marketing experts, we know exactly what it takes to get an online store up and running. We can help you create marketing campaigns tailored specifically to your small business needs, and we’ll even provide you with insights into how well they perform so you can make tweaks as needed.
At Blue Water Marketing, we’re a team of creatives, SEO managers, content writers, and media buyers who are committed to your success. And we have a proven track record of helping eCommerce stores (of all sizes) increase revenue, profit, and brand awareness. Get in touch so we can do the same for you.
