In recent years, the advent of e-commerce has changed the way we shop. Instead of going to the store, we have the option of ordering anything from the comfort of our home. However, an e-commerce store to be successful in such a competitive environment will depend on its ability to generate leads and nurture them to fruition. Given the fact just how lucrative the future of online shopping is, achieving this will become increasingly difficult as new players enter the market in search of e-commerce stardom.
And yet, there is a way to stay competitive. To drive the lead generation process, you will not only need to incorporate email marketing and content marketing strategies but also choose the right e-commerce platform and turn your social followers into proper leads. Let’s take look at how the following six lead generation strategies can help your business flourish and have stunning revenue.
Understand what kinds of leads exist
An e-commerce marketing lead is a person who is interested in your e-commerce products or brand. They might have liked your Facebook post, landed on your online store, and investigated a couple of your products. Yet, you don’t have their contact information. To remedy this, collect email addresses with lead magnets and other incentives. However, this is only the beginning, as lead generation is often more about on-page optimization than email collecting.
Then we have a target lead – someone who is likely, willing, and can afford to purchase something from your online store. A marketing lead is someone whose contact information you actually have acquired – latter you can communicate with them through email and other communication channels to nurture them towards a future purchase. The key is to understand them all.
For example, a sports apparel store has target leads that include fitness junkies, athletes, gym newcomers, etc. It’s all about defining your target leads. Find out what qualities and characteristics they have.
Nurture them with email marketing
Emails aren’t dead. Digital marketing “experts” predicted their demise in the wake of social media and other digital forms that offer direct communication. They were wrong. Email marketing is becoming one of the most important lead generation tools for e-commerce businesses. They can complement your entire digital marketing strategy and help your brand connect with its customers on a more personal level.
For instance, you can reach out to your potential customers via email by sending out promotional materials or newsletters or even promoting your stories and blog posts directly tied to your products. Whatever approach you adopt for email marketing, don’t forget to include your social media links in the header and footer to incentivize customers to follow you there. A compelling CTA shouldn’t be neglected, as it can easily encourage them to visit your online shop.
Offer value through great content
Even online shop owners have reason to create content. It was never about flashy pages – but about giving people information, inspiration, solutions, and news. Let’s imagine a clothing e-commerce store that has a blog about fashion for its visitors – advice, history, trends, news, etc. What happens? This shortens the buyer’s journey. A customer can travel from the beginning to the end of the sales funnel in just a couple of minutes, even if the idea of purchasing a product didn’t exist before the visit:
- A prospect searches Google about sun-protective clothing – they’re just collecting information.
- They find a search result that seems to match their interest.
- They click on the link and read a post. In the middle, they stumble upon a perfect solution.
- Imagine that – there’s a convenient link to a product. They click it and visit the sale page.
- The product appeals to them – the rest is history.
Although the whole process took only a few minutes, content needs to be a part of your lead generation strategy. Attract people, engage, and educate them all the way to the point where you want them to go.
Analyze user behavior on your e-commerce site
The more you understand how users navigate in your online store, the more likely you will know how to lead them through the lead generation cycle. Does your visitor click on some links in the navigation bar more often? On what page do they arrive first?
Answering these questions will let you gather data, which you can then use to update your e-commerce platform store design, so it focuses more on the areas that your users find interesting. For instance, if a link in your navigation bar receives more attention according to Google Analytics, make it more visible and separate it from others, or move it up on the bar.
In many cases, when it comes to e-commerce lead generation, visitors can become customers during their first visit to your store. The key is to keep them around for a bit. Give them what they’re looking for so they have a reason to stay.
Create time-sensitive offers
Whenever there is a lead generation offer that is about to run out, it suddenly becomes more appealing. We value things that are more likely to disappear or those that are rare and limited in number, while we underestimate stuff that is abundant and easier to receive. That’s is the way our brains are wired – seeking rewards which are harder to come by.
However, the product or service needs to be useful, valuable, or important – otherwise, this technique won’t be effective. If a person doesn’t want the offer, it won’t matter how urgent it is. Also, if everything is always on sale and about to run out, as time passes, your visitors will stop believing your urgency claims. Therefore, use this technique in moderation. The language you use is also crucial, the right phrases and expressions create an atmosphere of urgency and scarcity. Some of the most common ones include:
- Speed – now, act now, hurry, don’t delay, rush
- Time – last time, limited time, today only, deadline
- Scarcity – once in a lifetime, one day only, last chance
- Fear of missing out – price going up, offer expires, now or never
Transform social followers into leads
Those following you on social media are already interested in your offers. That’s why it’s easy to convert them into leads. Although you can add links to your latest campaign to your social media bio, this is pretty non-specific. To receive most of your social audience, you will need to advertise.
All major platforms include ads and collect data about your audience. This means that you can target social ads particular to the demographics and audience interests you want to appeal to the most. For instance, fashion retailers can build different ads for women’s and men’s fashion, and for different age groups and products.
In the e-commerce world, lead generation is king. How else would you find new customers to grow your business? You cannot convert every visitor who lands on your site, but that wasn’t the point either. It is about converting a part of them – those who can later become your brand’s lifelong followers.
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