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eCommerce businesses continue to grow in popularity. One of the reasons for this is that they are relatively easy to set up. There are now many tools that can help you set up an eCommerce store in practically minutes and you don’t need any prior web design or web development skills.
However, once you have your website running, you then need to figure out how to get customers. Customer acquisition strategies are often what separates thriving eCommerce businesses from ones that fade away. Below, we’ll outline some of the best eCommerce customer acquisition strategies you can use for practically any eCommerce business.
Improve Your Website Experience
The first thing you’ll want to think about is how to improve your customer experience. Customers have so many options these days when it comes to eCommerce sites that if yours doesn’t offer an amazing experience, they may simply leave for another one. If this happens, all of your other customer acquisition strategies will not be as effective.
There are a few simple things you can look at to improve your customer experience. One thing to look at is how easy it is for customers to buy something. You should look to remove as many steps as you can in your checkout process and offer as many payment methods as possible.
Another thing to consider is using a customer experience management platform. This will allow you to collect broad feedback from your customers in order to learn more about them, including what keeps them on your site and what drives them away, so that you can make more informed decisions.
Run a Paid Advertising Campaign
If you have room in your budget, a great way to bring in new customers is through a paid online advertising campaign. These campaigns typically consist of running text ads on other websites or in search results, along with video ads. Which method you choose will depend on your audience and how much money you have to spend on advertising.
For an easy place to start, look to Google AdWords. Through Google AdWords, you can run advertisements on millions of websites based on specific audience criteria. You can also control how much you spend per advertisement, ensuring you don’t go over budget.
If you don’t have the time to run the campaign yourself, or if you want to get the most out of it, consider working with an AdWords agency. An agency works with you to find the ideal audience and get the most value for your investment, helping to bring in visitors who are more likely to convert to customers.
Another popular eCommerce acquisition strategy is to work with social media influencers. Social media influencers are people with large or highly engaged audiences across various social media platforms. If you can find an influencer in your niche, you may be able to hire them to promote your eCommerce site.
For example, let’s say you have an eCommerce site that sells beauty products. You could find an Instagram user who often provides makeup tutorials and has a large following. Then, in exchange for a fee and perhaps some free samples, the influencer mentions your brand to their followers, who are more likely to need an eCommerce store that sells cosmetics. Working with social media influencers is often a great way to reach a highly targeted audience on a budget.
Develop a Content Marketing Strategy
Finally, research developing a content marketing strategy for your eCommerce business. A content marketing strategy is when you create useful content that appeals to your target audience, then use it to draw in people to your website. The goal of most content marketing strategies is to increase brand awareness while simultaneously boosting brand authority.
Going back to our previous example, an eCommerce brand that sells beauty products could write a blog post about how to properly care for your skin. In this article, they will provide useful tips while also promoting their products. Someone who searches for skincare tips in a search engine or on social media could then come across your blog post, learn about your brand, and become a paying customer as a result.
Start Implement Your New Customer Acquisition Strategies
For your eCommerce business to thrive, you need to regularly bring in new customers. There are several strategies you can use to do this and some may work better than others.
The best way to determine which methods work best is by trying them all out and analyzing the results. Start researching and implementing the strategies mentioned above and you’ll be well on your way towards bringing in customers for a long time to come.
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