Top eCommerce Digital Marketing Trends for 2019

Let’s call a spade a spade. You are not interested in the top digital trends which all web resources will scream about this year. What you really want to know is how exactly the new tools may bring your business a profit. The market already sinks in the abundance of solutions which you “SHOULD implement today, otherwise your business will die”. There is no point in searching for the new ones even.

The two key questions which you’ll most probably ask yourself in 2019 are: “Does my company have the budget for this?”, “Is this solution really suits my business needs?”. It’s good to keep in mind that there is no magic pill which will guarantee you a remarkable success in the upcoming year. Surely, there are certain measures which may bring quick wins. But it’s better to concentrate on the steps for a long-term strategy which will strengthen the company’s reputation and intensify the desire to choose your product/service unconditionally.

 

They will decide your success in the upcoming year

 

It’s not a secret that social networks will remain as the major channel for attracting the clients in 2019. But this channel will require more efforts and even more creativity this time. If you haven’t yet shown your competitive advantage in your social profiles, it’s high time to do this.

The key words for your social media strategy next year is authenticity and personalization. You will achieve this with the help of video marketing, photos of satisfied customers with your product and frequent news connected with your brand. It’s not the case when you post something once a month. Try to post two or three times a week and remember that posts should be both of an entertainment and promotional character as well.

Do you know what is the primary sign of a successful profile? The noise. It’s when you see that your subscribers leave positive reviews on the page when you don’t ask them to and when they bring their friends to “Like” your page. Maybe I’ll repeat the thought but it’s better to repeat, because you may easily forget this…Ask your customers to make a photo with your product if they liked it and award them with a small discount for the next purchase.

The more photos you have, the more new customers you’ll attract. But you already know that customer retention is cheaper than acquisition, right? That’s why it’s always the best option to improve the product itself. Believe me, when the product is good enough you don’t have to spend too much on advertising. Your product sells itself without your efforts! That’s the magic.

Content marketing requires new techniques

 

Just imagine, you have the tool for building trust, engaging your audience and attracting new customers absolutely for free. Content marketing is all about this and it should be omnipresent. It’s the language you are to speak with your audience. And the most important thing: they don’t notice the trick, but they feel comfortable and pleased. It’s a powerful tool in the hands of a person who knows the human’s psychology and it’s absolutely useless in the hands of the one who’ve just learned the content marketing theory. It’s a skill together with the theory and practice.

If you haven’t yet used it, the upcoming year is the high time to implement it on all of your platforms and tools. Otherwise, if it’s impossible to build a dialogue with the potential customers, what’s the sense in all other methods? The personal approach will no longer be a joke in 2019. If you fail to provide the customer with this “magic” feeling, he’ll prefer another place for shopping without a doubt. Your strength is in acknowledging the weaknesses. Guess why? It’s because when you know them you can fix them. When you are 100% aware of your customers’ demands you know which tool to choose and where it should be used.

One thing is certain. No matter what industry are you in. A customer becomes more demanding and capricious. And it’s ok. The world is changing it becomes even more digitalized and the competition becomes tougher. The choice is wide and an information glut is intolerable for the users. The advertisements in different channels of the web are being switched by the consumers like the channels on TV. I bet you don’t want your customers to ignore what you offer them. By the way, in 2019 more than 30% of Internet users will have their Adblockers turned on. Think about it.

That’s it. Stand out from the crowd and do not copy. Be creative, but know when to stop. You should speak the language of your audience. To do it wisely, ask what they like and what they don’t like about your product. A thorough marketing interview will help you to gather the insights. Remember what I told you that there is no magic pill? The methods are all the same through the years. How exactly you use them and whether you use them at all – that’s what really matters. Brands grow when they listen to what their customer is saying, not what the whole crowd on the web is screaming about ( I mean the trends and other things).

Do not underestimate referral marketing

 

Some claim that referral marketing is the strongest channel in your business. I would partially agree with the statement because it’s ONE of the strongest and the cheapest channels. If you succeed with improving the product/service and with exceeding the expectations of your customers, this channel will bring you a considerable number of new customers in 2019.

We both know that product improvement might take lots of time. So, while you concentrate on this, you can simultaneously plan attractive loyal programs or promotions for the whole year. This morning I saw a nice example of how to boost brand awareness and attract new customers. The company selling women’s clothes announces a promo with very simple conditions. You can get any dress for free if you follow a number of simple rules:

• Become a subscriber of the brand’s page on Instagram
• Like the promotional post
• Share a promotional picture on your page with a hashtag
• Show that the post belongs to the brand which offers the promo

Let’s be frank. The chances to win the dress are relatively low. But it’s a perfect method to increase the brand visibility for free. You don’t have to waste all your budget on advertising. Improve the platforms you already have.

A no-escape-implementation represented by marketing automation

 

If you haven’t yet implemented marketing automation in your online store…I have only one question: “What are you waiting for?”. If you are interested in impulse purchases, this is your number 1 pal. Modern email marketing tools give you the opportunity to fully personalize your letters on the background of the following criteria:

• Time since last purchase
• Items purchased
• The total dollar value of purchases
• Cart abandonment
• Number of orders
• Average order value

 

Don’t even think of sending plain text to your customers. They receive them every day and so tired of it. Send a beautifully designed letter with a creative copy which will arouse a desire to possess the product. You see, there is no need to invest your time and efforts into designing an email. There is an abundance of wonderful templates on the web.

Usually, I’m against of using templates or copying something ( you might have noticed that before if you read my posts regularly). It’s important for the brand to hold a single image in the customer’s eyes, to create brand attributes which will always remind the customer of your company. Something bright, memorable and unique. However, if there is no opportunity to create a custom design for your marketing efforts, you can always find email templates right inside the email marketing tools, like MailChimp or Active Campaign.

Here are the letters to be sent on an automated basis:

• Welcome emails
• Thank you for your purchase. Are you satisfied with it? Leave a review!
• Abandoned cart emails
• Educational content
• “We miss you! Look, what we’ve got!”
• Upsell offers
• News

 

It’s highly important to track the activity of users receiving these emails (open rates, click rates). If the figures are lower than you expect, it means that you should try a different approach. Change the subject lines, make them more interesting and intriguing. Pay more attention to the CTA’s and the marketing tricks inside the letter. Limited offers make wonders sometimes. It would be a good idea to show your backstage from time to time. Inform the customers that you are working on something very special these days and show the proof. A good dialogue with the customer brings fruitful results: loyalty and sales.

Total transformation in retail

 

To tell you the truth, I was rather skeptical when heard of AI and VR hype. But when I started analyzing the behavioral peculiarities of a new generation Z , I realized that such technologies are worthwhile investing. Why? If you follow the latest news and investigate the market, you will agree that AI is the future. According to Gartner, by 2021, early adopter brands that redesign their websites to support visual and voice search will increase digital commerce revenue by 30%. A considerable number of large brands already use the technology and they know that their competitors are behind.

Take Syte for example. The company provides product recognition technology to retailers, allowing their users to shop from any image. Once Syte’s camera button is live on an eCommerce site, shoppers can upload a photo of anything that inspires them and shop the most visually similar results from within that retailer’s inventory. As we go deeper into digital reality, customers will seek for a simpler, more exciting shopping experience. That’s why I decided to show you top digital marketing trends in eCommerce marketing. You should leave your competition behind.

And now I wish you to enhance your eCommerce experience, to have a fruitful year in terms of high sales and incredibly loyal customers. Thank you for your attention!