What does growth marketing mean for the growing and highly competitive eCommerce domain? It means a relentless focus on attracting, engaging, and retaining their customer base. eCommerce marketing is no longer about “traditional” marketing activities like sending out an email blast to all customers or launching an online campaign.
Successful growth marketing is not just about growing your user base – but also about reducing customer churn and increasing lifetime value. For instance, personalization in eCommerce marketing has reduced customer acquisition costs by 50% and improved revenues by 15%.
Despite the industry’s emphasis on digital transformation, the overall success rate continues to lag. While 47% of the companies are yet to get started on their digital transformation, fewer than 30% of the companies have tasted success.
So, what are we doing wrong that is making growth marketing so challenging in the eCommerce domain? Let us discuss 5 leading challenges – and why eCommerce marketing needs to be tightly integrated with digital technologies.
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5 Challenges of Growth Marketing in eCommerce
1. Undefined business goals or strategies
A 2020 Digital Marketing report found that nearly half of the companies do not have a clear or well-defined goal (or strategy) from their marketing programs. Besides that, only 12% have a digital marketing strategy that is integrated with their overall marketing plan.
Companies without a clear digital strategy do not have any understanding of what they want to achieve – like acquiring new customers or build loyal relationships with existing ones. Depending on your business goals, effective growth marketing strategies can be developed around key business metrics including customer-centric metrics like acquisition rate and cost, retention, and conversion rate, and lifetime value.
2. Not knowing your online customers.
Personalization is now the new “must-have” experience for online eCommerce customers. Over two-thirds of online shoppers believe retail brands must personalize their offerings, while over 40% of consumers “switch off” when presented with irrelevant information. To deliver a personalized experience, online eCommerce brands must first know and understand their target audience. As pointed out by Ryne Higgins of Peacock Alley, “successful eCommerce companies will be those which can most efficiently market to potential customers on a case-by-case basis.”
While tools like Google Analytics can show the rise (or drop) in website visits, they do not reveal customer sentiments or what they truly feel about your brand. As an eCommerce retailer, identify the right demographics to tap into and identify their needs through their online behavior.
3. Not keeping pace with evolving technology
eCommerce marketing is often unable to keep pace with digital technologies that are determining how online brands connect with customers. An example of this trend is the growth of social media platforms for online shoppers. Going by industry statistics, an estimated one in four American consumers (between the age of 25 and 34) use the “Shop Now” feature in Facebook to make online purchases.
At the same time, 45% of business executives feel their companies do not have the latest technology to achieve digital transformation. eCommerce players need to keep pace with the latest technology trends – such as mobile retail that is projected to reach over $3.5 trillion globally in 2021.
4. Lack of multi-channel integration
According to 2020 statistics, companies with an effective multi-channel marketing strategy in place were able to retain nearly 90% of their customers. Similarly, customers shopping over multiple marketing channels are found to have a 30% higher lifetime value.
Most often, eCommerce companies operate their digital marketing in multiple channels but fail to integrate those channels to provide a seamless and consistent user experience. Among the many truths of modern-day retail commerce, digital platforms work best when integrated with traditional media channels. This is the reason behind the growth of omnichannel marketing in the eCommerce domain.
5. Lack of optimized analytics
Thanks to the availability of technology, eCommerce businesses are competing to analyze customer data to understand their preferences and buying habits. The 2019 Global Consumer survey reveals some interesting trends in consumer buying trends like:
- 9% of survey respondents mentioned using voice technology at least once a week when shopping.
- 61% of consumers do not compare online shops – once they have found a product that they like.
- 17% of shoppers never purchase from an online retailer if they do not offer free shipping.
Effective analytics can help in driving the right traffic to eCommerce websites based on the right targeting and apt messaging. But eCommerce marketers often struggle to understand which sales channel to tap into to drive their target audience. A robust analytics strategy can help in optimizing website content, social media presence, and the type of campaigns you to run.
Why eCommerce needs to integrate their marketing with digital technologies
Effective digital transformation is only possible using the latest digital tools and technologies. With the constant shift in digital technologies and services, online store owners must be conscious of the latest technology trend.
The integration of eCommerce marketing with powerful front and backend development, robust customer analytics, and technologically superior platforms can now be leveraged for business benefits like:
- Designing relevant online campaigns for your target audience
- Devising the right pricing strategy that is attractive to consumers and works for your business
- Improving internal operational efficiency through automation
- Offering personalized services and custom options to consumers based on their interests and buying patterns
Conclusion
The good news is that most eCommerce retailers realize the importance of growth marketing and how it can drive them towards online retail success. What is missing is a unified and integrated approach to eCommerce marketing that covers digital marketing, customer analytics, and digital technologies. A full-service (or one-stop) technology partner can cover the entire gamut of what your eCommerce marketing requires for succeeding.
This is where Ignitiv can play a role with its expertise in eCommerce technologies, customer analytics, and customer experience. Do contact us today to learn more about how we can help in your digital transformation process.
