What are some other e-commerce opportunities you can tap into to build the audience so that you can make e-commerce worth it<\/a>? That\u2019s the focus of this article.<\/p>\n\n\n Use these links to jump to a topic:<\/p>\n\n\n\n We ran two PickFu polls to get a sense of how e-commerce consumers feel about marketing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Our first poll asked 100 people whether e-commerce businesses should make an effort to market to them. Or would people rather not<\/em> be marketed to?<\/p>\n\n\n\n 58 percent said they didn\u2019t want or need businesses to market to them<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n In the comments section, several respondents pointed out that it\u2019s not that they disagree with the principles and goals of marketing. Rather, it shouldn\u2019t feel intrusive or relentless.<\/p>\n\n\n If e-commerce brands do invest in marketing \u2014 and 42% of respondents believe they should \u2014 they have to make sure they know their audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There’s no point in spending money on ads shown to uninterested folks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think that as long as it is targeted towards a product or service that I would enjoy then marketing is very useful,\u201d one respondent wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n Start by identifying your customer\u2019s needs<\/a> so you know what makes them tick. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Then, make sure your marketing is targeted to the demographics that want or need your products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In our second poll, we asked 100 people to rank four factors \u2014 social media content, ads, personalized emails, and loyalty or reward programs \u2014 in terms of influence on their buying behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The majority of respondents said loyalty programs have the biggest influence<\/a> on their purchasing decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n Consumers don\u2019t feel like they\u2019re being marketed to when they\u2019re earning points or rewards for their purchases. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As one respondent put it, \u201cIf I’m getting points and rewards every time I purchase goods from your store, then chances are I’ll keep on coming back. It makes it feel like a game that is easy to win.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A rewards program is an effective way to build repeat business as part of your digital marketing strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This doesn\u2019t mean ads, emails, and social media content aren\u2019t<\/em> effective. <\/p>\n\n\n\r\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n But what is clear from our polls is that people don\u2019t enjoy being marketed to when online shopping \u2014 at least overtly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It all goes back to making sure your e-commerce marketing strategy<\/a> is unique, authentic, and helpful to your audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now that you have the consumer\u2019s perspective, let\u2019s talk about opportunities in e-commerce to connect with them using these 7 marketing tactics.<\/p>\n\n\n Amazon dominates e-commerce sales in the U.S.<\/a> If you\u2019re a seller and you\u2019re not on Amazon, you\u2019re missing out on a huge segment of potential customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That said, the days of selling on a single e-commerce website or platform are over. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Even social media platforms have built-in storefronts allowing customers to purchase natively within the apps. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sales topped $3 trillion<\/a> in 2021 across the world\u2019s top 100 online marketplaces. Every e-commerce marketing plan should involve a multi-channel approach to capitalize on this growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By selling on Walmart<\/a>, eBay, Google Shopping, or other e-commerce platforms, you gain exposure to new audiences.<\/p>\n\n\n Managing multiple platforms can be a headache. Consumers still expect a seamless customer experience, wherever they shop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fortunately, tools like Ecomdash and ChannelAdvisor link and manage your storefronts and online sales in one place. (Want to learn more about specific software tools? Read our guide to 19 of the best e-commerce tools<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before you expand and start selling on Etsy<\/a> or another platform, do your research in these areas:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\uded2 Marketplace traffic<\/strong>. Find out the customer base and the types of products that sell well on each platform. For example, eBay is better for selling collectibles while Etsy<\/a> is perfect for selling crafts and vintage items.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udcb0 Fee structure. <\/strong>Research the costs of selling on each platform. Are there listing, commission, or referral fees? Also, consider other expenses for using the platform, such as inventory costs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udcaa Marketplace support. <\/strong>Many marketplaces offer support to sellers, whether with Amazon PPC advertising<\/a> or other marketing tools.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udcd6 Rules and regulations. <\/strong>Know the rules of the platform. As a third-party seller, you have less flexibility and control of your storefront, making it more difficult to build brand awareness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83c\udf0e Geographic popularity. <\/strong>How popular is the marketplace in your target selling location? If you sell in the U.S. to American consumers, it doesn\u2019t make sense to sell on Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba instead of Amazon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To help you decide which e-commerce platform to choose, we\u2019ve created this table comparing the most popular options.<\/p>\n\n\n Loyal customers tend to spend more<\/a> and recommend your products to friends and family. <\/p>\n\n\n\n One way to keep these valuable customers around? Get them into a loyalty or VIP program. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As you\u2019ll recall from our poll at the beginning of this article, loyalty programs are more influential<\/a> than ads, emails, and social media when it comes to a customer\u2019s buying decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are different types of customer loyalty programs to consider: <\/p>\n\n\n\n The key to choosing a loyalty program is to determine what will incentivize your customers to continue buying. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If your brand is focused on affordability, you could offer a program with discounts and free shipping. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Conversely, a luxury brand might focus on community building and providing exclusive perks that make members feel like VIPs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Sill<\/a>, a plant company, offers a tiered loyalty program with perks for customers based on their annual spend. <\/p>\n\n\n If you\u2019re a plant obsessive who spends more than $300 a year on plants, you\u2019re a fit for the Sill\u2019s VIP (very important plant person) tier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A well-run loyalty program ultimately creates a community around your brand, which boosts customer retention and lifetime value.<\/p>\n\n\n The average conversion rate for an e-commerce store is barely 2%<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That means for every 100 website visitors, 98 leave without buying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A\/B testing, a.k.a. split testing<\/a>, is a tactic every e-commerce seller can use to tackle the problem of low click-through rates, abandoned carts, and high bounce rates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In A\/B testing, you present two versions of a webpage, ad, email, or ad, to users to see which performs best. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can run A\/B tests across your business as part of your e-commerce optimization<\/a> strategy: to improve your checkout process, email campaigns, landing pages, pop-up banners, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One thing to note is that A\/B testing happens live with actual customers or users. So, you risk losing traffic and sales with the lower-performing option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But with a testing tool such as PickFu, you eliminate that risk.<\/p>\n\n\n PickFu is like a virtual focus group. It enables you to test in a sandbox environment with a target audience of real consumers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With PickFu, you have the advantage of getting feedback before<\/em> launch, which can save you time, money, and headaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The online platform lets you quickly and easily test product photos<\/a> and Amazon product descriptions<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n It’s helpful for message testing<\/a>, too. You can pre-test headlines, email and ad copy, call-to-action (CTA) text, and other marketing assets, as well as product concepts, variations, and packaging designs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since e-commerce optimization<\/a> is an ongoing process, testing with PickFu can help you at any stage of your selling journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A headphone brand increased the conversion rate<\/a> for one of its products by 5 percentage points after testing its Amazon main images with PickFu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The company learned from the feedback that its audience doesn\u2019t want to spend a lot of time reading product pages. They want a high-quality product that looks good at a great price. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As you can see, split testing will help you deliver relevant content, capture your audience’s attention, and ultimately increase sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Boost your sales with audience feedback. Start A\/B testing today<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n Video is a dynamic form of content marketing that influences brand perception<\/a> and can open your e-commerce business to further opportunities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Videos capture your audience\u2019s attention and breathe life into your products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whether it\u2019s TikTok shorts or product reviews, videos have a strong ROI. Nine out of 10 consumers<\/a> say they\u2019ve been convinced to buy a product or service after watching a company\u2019s video content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blog.pickfu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/ezgif-5-0d052df06f.gif\")
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Research insight: Marketing works best when it doesn\u2019t feel obvious<\/h2>\n\n\n
![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/blog.pickfu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/ecommktgPoll1.png\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/blog.pickfu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/ecommktgPoll1Comments.png\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/blog.pickfu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/ecommktgpoll1pins.png\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/blog.pickfu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/ecommktgPoll2.png\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n![](\"https:\/\/blog.pickfu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/PICKFU-First-Ads-Horizontal-Banner-2a-1.jpg\")
![](\"https:\/\/blog.pickfu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/PICKFU-First-Ads-Mobile-Ad-2-2.jpg\")
<\/a>\r\n<\/center>\r\n\n\n\n\n7 e-commerce marketing tips and opportunities for online retailers<\/h2>\n\n
Tip #1: Expand to other e-commerce channels<\/h3>\n\n\n
![\"Infographic](\"https:\/\/blog.pickfu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/E-commerce-optimization-1-970x647.png\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n![\"PickFu](\"https:\/\/blog.pickfu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/ecomtipsMarkets.png\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\nTip #2: Offer loyalty or rewards programs<\/h3>\n\n\n
\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/blog.pickfu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/ecomtipsSill.png\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nTip #3: Optimize your store through A\/B testing<\/h3>\n\n\n
![\"PickFu](\"https:\/\/blog.pickfu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/ecomtipsABtesting.png\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/blog.pickfu.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/ecomtipsPFcombo.png\")
<\/a>Tip #4: Develop video content<\/h3>\n\n\n