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help me understand why ecommerce marketing strategies work, please

by riskingmymoney
6 replies
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so i decided to get into ecommerce and i've been watching a ton of youtube videos, read a ton of articles and forum posts and i think i now have a pretty good idea of what it takes for an ecomm store to be successful or at least make enough money to break even. i came to the conclusion that you have to have a solid marketing plan. every successful ecomm store owner always say the same thing - that you gotta do email marketing, re-marketing, get people to sign up for newsletter, have an abandoned cart reminder, etc... and they have the numbers to prove that these techniques work.
my mind is completely blown as to why these techniques even work. can someone explain to me why these things work please. because when i think about my own online experience, none of these techniques have ever worked on me. for example, when i get a popup while on a site, i never even look at the content of the popup. the only thing i look for is the close button and i close it immediately because it's so annoying. Also when i do buy something online, i always do a price comparison between multiple channels to make sure i get the very best price from a domestic seller and i always, always make sure to uncheck the option to subscribe to the newsletter before submitting my order. and when the seller's newsletter gets through somehow, i either unsubscribe it or report it as spam if they don't unsubscribe me.
so it came as a big surprise to me that these marketing techniques would even work. am i the only one that does this? i assume most people are the same way, am i wrong? please help me understand.
#ecommerce #marketing #strategies #understand #work
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  • Profile picture of the author SARubin
    Originally Posted by riskingmymoney View Post

    so i decided to get into ecommerce and i've been watching a ton of youtube videos, read a ton of articles and forum posts and i think i now have a pretty good idea of what it takes for an ecomm store to be successful or at least make enough money to break even. i came to the conclusion that you have to have a solid marketing plan. every successful ecomm store owner always say the same thing - that you gotta do email marketing, re-marketing, get people to sign up for newsletter, have an abandoned cart reminder, etc... and they have the numbers to prove that these techniques work.
    my mind is completely blown as to why these techniques even work. can someone explain to me why these things work please. because when i think about my own online experience, none of these techniques have ever worked on me. for example, when i get a popup while on a site, i never even look at the content of the popup. the only thing i look for is the close button and i close it immediately because it's so annoying. Also when i do buy something online, i always do a price comparison between multiple channels to make sure i get the very best price from a domestic seller and i always, always make sure to uncheck the option to subscribe to the newsletter before submitting my order. and when the seller's newsletter gets through somehow, i either unsubscribe it or report it as spam if they don't unsubscribe me.
    so it came as a big surprise to me that these marketing techniques would even work. am i the only one that does this? i assume most people are the same way, am i wrong? please help me understand.

    Sure, those techniques work. Because, if you can get people to sign up for your newsletter, or email list, (or any vehicle for staying in communication with them) then you have a better chance of creating a connection with them, and possible building some trust.

    And "TRUST" is really the new currency online. (just for the record, it's always been the ultimate currency for some of us)

    Plus, with their contact info, you'll have a better chance of reminding them who you are... so they don't forget that you have something they want.
    We live in a world of electronically induced ADHD. And it's all too easy for people to forget who you are (10 minutes after they leave your website)


    So yes, those techniques work. And no, they don't work on everyone. And obviously (according to your post) they don't work on you.


    But, here's something for you to consider...


    Unless you plan on buying 100% of your own market share, then you need to consider what your "gosh darn customers" might respond to.

    For starters... you say you always do a price comparison between multiple channels to make sure you get the very best price from a domestic seller.

    Well, not everyone looks for the lowest price. Personally, I'd rather spend a few extra dollars and buy from someone who's offering better value (better warranty... better customer service... Better whatever?)

    And, you say you always make sure to uncheck the option to subscribe to the newsletter before submitting your order?

    Well, lots of people don't.


    Do you understand where this is going?


    Much of e-commerce marketing is a numbers game. There are many things you can do to improve your odds of hitting higher sales numbers, but you'll never get everyone. (or even most of them)

    So, if those other (successful) e-com guys are getting even 5% to 10% sales conversions, using some of those techniques, then they have every reason to be giddy with excitement. Because those are pretty good numbers (on average)

    And you are in the 90% to 95% of people they are NOT selling to, with those methods.


    Now, if you decide to use different (proven) marketing tactics for your business, you will likely lose some of those same people who respond to those other techniques... but, you'll pick up some of the remaining 90% to balance it out.


    I hope that makes sense so far?


    Anyway, if you believe in what those other marketers are telling you... then try what they're touting, and see if it works for your customer (target market) base...

    If they work, then keep using them. If they don't, then try something else.

    The point is - there's more than one path to the same destination. Find what works for you (and your market) and keep using it. Then add more marketing channels from there.

    I don't know if this answers your question? But I at least hope it doesn't confuse you even more?

    All the best,
    SAR
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    • Profile picture of the author riskingmymoney
      thanks for the explanation. numbers don't lie. if it works then do it, i guess. who cares why it works.
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  • Profile picture of the author McKellenzie
    Consider ecommerce as you would a real life store. Everyday people would stroll past your store, many of them would not even notice you have a store, others would not care about about any other product you sell apart from what they came to buy. In spite of all this, you do whatever you can to get prospective customers attention, or whatever you can to retain them. If you see it from that angle it easy to see why some ecommerce strategies are a business owners effort to attract and keep customers.
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  • Profile picture of the author MValmont
    You are NOT the market.

    The market doesn't care about you,

    Don't think because you feel a certain way , everybody else is thinking the same.
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    • Profile picture of the author riskingmymoney
      come to think of it, most people are probably doing what i'm doing, otherwise the conversion rate would be a lot higher than the 5%-10% stated in SAR's reply. and 5-10% could translate into 6 figures depending on your product. it's a numbers game i guess. mystery solved!
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