Five Ways for Online Brands to Better Engage Shoppers
As e-commerce continues to grow, but at a slower pace as shoppers return to physical stores, smaller-sized e-commerce retailers and brands must find ways to stand out and engage customers in order to remain competitive.
WWD looks at five strategies that SMB e-commerce brands can deploy to engage their customers better.
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Social Media Marketing
Social media is essential for SMBs to succeed. Everyone is on one platform or another, and e-commerce brands need to be there, too. To increase brand awareness and reach the right shoppers, brands must create engaging content and use targeted advertising. Social media also allows brands to interact with their customers while answering questions and responding to feedback. This fosters the relationship between a brand and the customer.
Personalization
Another approach to engaging online shoppers is to invest in personalization technology. Data analytics and artificial intelligence solutions can help smaller-sized e-commerce brands create a more personalized shopping experience. This could include recommendations based on a shopper’s past purchases or their browsing behavior. Personalized email marketing and personalized website content can also help engage shoppers. By making the shopping experience more personalized, shoppers are also more likely to feel a connection to a brand and evolve into repeat customers.
Shopper Reviews
Shopping reviews are also a powerful way for SMBs to attract consumers to their sites. By encouraging shoppers to leave reviews, e-commerce brands can bolster their credibility while building trust. Positive reviews can drive conversions as shoppers are more likely to hit the “buy” button on a product with a positive review. In addition, responding to reviews (positive and negative) is essential as it shows that your brand values the customers’ feedback.
Loyalty Programs
Loyalty programs are another great way for SMB e-commerce brands to engage with their customers and incentivize future purchases. Brands that offer rewards, discounts, or exclusive content to loyal customers experience increased customer retention rates and higher lifetime customer value. Loyalty programs also allow brands to collect customer data, which can be used for personalization, marketing and improving the overall shopping experience.
Interactive Content
Finally, offering interactive content can elevate the online shopping experience. Think product demos, games and online quizzes. If a brand’s site is more interactive, shoppers will stay on the site longer, therefore increasing the rate of conversions. Interactive content can also help forge a strong connection between the customer and the brand.
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