How a sound brand strategy jump-starts your E-commerce online business.

 
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Marketing professionals across the world know and have come to realize that consumers are more attracted towards a brand as a whole rather than one particular product from it. Branding is the deciding factor of your product being noticed and your product actually being bought regularly. In what is an already very crowded E-commerce space, it is effective branding that helps you cut through the clutter and noise of competition and helps you differentiate your brand from others in the same or similar space. As a relatively new online entrepreneur, it is a valid question to wonder where to start with effective branding. The secret is to have a brand identity that speaks of your brand and products and services the same way that your personality would speak of you as an individual. The goal is to brand your business in a way that’s unique but which also most importantly helps in driving sales.

The Need to Stand Out

E-commerce revenues just in the US are slated to hit $4.9 trillion by the year 2023. To effectively function in the E-commerce market, a well-defined and thought-out brand strategy is an absolute must to drive brand awareness and increase sales. Benjamin Franklin very correctly stated that a failure to plan is pretty much a plan to eventually fail. The need to have a thorough and in-depth understanding of your E-commerce market coupled with a focused and achievable branding strategy helps you achieve your marketing goals and your sales figures when otherwise you are just shooting for the stars but in the dark.

Your brand strategy will need an executive summary where you have outlined from the very beginning what it is that you would like to achieve not just in terms of sales figures and numbers but at a more macro level with your target audience. Every strategy also needs to be goal-oriented which means defining relatable and achievable goals beforehand in your brand strategy is the next step. There is no harm in altering your goals as your journey progresses, however not having a specific target to work towards can be damaging for the growth of your brand and your E-commerce business.

Summarizing A Potentially Effective Brand Strategy

Developing a mission statement and a value proposition that differentiates you and your brand from the incredible amount of competition in your market is what forms the very foundations of an effective and a long-lasting brand strategy. It is usually headlined by a mission statement that addresses the many different languages that your brand stands for and how you intend to conduct business with the right set of morals, objectives, and intentions not just for you and your brand but also for the community at large that you will be functioning in. Being able to conduct a thorough situational analysis is also an important part of your brand strategy in general.

The ability to identify potential obstacles and possible gaps even before you launch in what is otherwise a well thought of process is an essential and economical way of saving on unnecessary heartburn at a later stage when you as the online business owner will have several other things on your plate.

Your research will enable you to best understand pricing and positioning for your products and services. It is crucial that both work towards adding value for the end-user; and getting the pricing and positioning of your brand right could eventually be a make-or-break step in the journey of your business.

There is little worse than your marketing plan working overtime to get you an order that you cannot fulfill. Do your very best to ensure that the distribution and back-end processes that any successful and scalable E-commerce business will need, are in place and are working smoothly.

Establishing a Brand Story

As mentioned earlier, consumers tend to fall in love more with the brand rather than just the products and services of the brand which is why it is important for your E-commerce online store to have a discernible and viable brand story - one with an upright and loyal presence. According to Celinne Da Costa, Brand Story, and Life Design Coach, the most successful companies in the world tend to also have profound stories built in behind them and usually tend to get connected with their founders. These stories instill a sense of bigger purpose and meaning into what they do.

You can go through the list of the biggest Fortune 500 companies in the world to understand how relevant this statement is. Companies like Apple, Tesla, and Google are all relevant illustrations with a brand story that has captured the imagination of the world even before they seriously started conducting business. These companies became household and legacy brands thanks to the immeasurable influence of the visionary founders who aspired to change the world through the ethos of their brand. 

Relevant Social Media on Relevant Channels

We all know that social media is a powerful tool but some of these statistics are absolutely astounding, to say the least. Globally, over 3.6 billion people use social media and the number is only projected to increase to 4.41 billion in 2025. The top social media networks ranked by the number of active users are Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger. Relevant social media-driven campaigns to establish a brand presence, brand stories and trusts, seasonal sales messages and so much more across these platforms give an emerging E-commerce brand free access to a client, larger than any physical or televised campaign that you could hope to achieve. 

If you have a good brand guide in place where your logo, colors, design and illustration styles, and your tone of voice and messaging for the end consumer is established, then social media platforms are invaluable carriers to spread this consistent recognition for your brand exponentially.

Like almost everything else, identifying the correct social media platforms to carry your message across to a relevant target audience is one of the more important processes to undergo so that you do not waste hard-earned marketing allocation budgets on social media platforms which may either be ineffective or then absolute irrelevant. A little competitive research on what other brands in your space are doing is a good way to begin and will always come in handy.

No two relevant social media platforms are alike in their functioning which means that each of them attracts a different kind of consumer base. Committed and loyal consumer bases stick to their favorite social media platforms because they expect a certain interface. If your brand messaging can adapt cohesively with that interface, you automatically have a steady stream of repeat and new followers who are willing to engage with the story of your brand as well. 

Create Content Continually

Posting on relevant social media platforms is a distinct necessity however, what you post and how often you post is also equally important. Creating content that your brand can be associated with and something that your consumers will enjoy, appreciate and look forward to, will help a long way in also creating a brand strategy that harnesses recognition and eventually sales for the brand’s products and services.

A brand needs to be creating content of all kinds and forms to stay relevant and in the front-of-mind for the consumer. This includes viral novelties, blog posts, graphics, and videos to just name a few parameters. It is only when you have a bank of relevant content can you have a long-term social media strategy in place that can be pushed across relevant channels and platforms. It is also critical that this content is promoted across channels, allowing a brand to build an identity that also provides the online consumer with value apart from just opportunities to make a purchase.

The content that you create does not necessarily have to be sales-driven all the time although the most important feature of creating any content is to eventually engage the end consumer to make a purchase. A brand with a sound brand strategy in place can also help shape the narrative of an online store by sharing product images, sourcing information, or even showcasing what the day in the life of the brand and its key people looks like. One can also consider including literature on the product, how-to videos, advice on working with certain materials and ingredients, and anything else you think your customers will find valuable and engaging.

Customer-Centric in Every Way

Beginning well, is a task half done. Similarly, being customer-centric in the way you envision your brand right at the very beginning, is the same. It is the end consumer who will eventually shape the progress of your online store and the products and services that are listed on it. This is why it is always a good idea to consider who your E-commerce business is being built for. Remembering the wants and needs of the consumer will dictate the actions of the brand and set it on the path of success with a prospective and repeat target audience.

All too often, many brands forget their audiences and focus on the product or the catalog, potentially missing out on valuable information that can increase sales. While you may get away with this in the short term, it has several and drastic potential long-term deterrents in the journey that your brand takes. This is why it is always a good idea to take some time off to truly reflect on the past purchasers and loyal consumers of the brand so far. Keeping an eye and an ear open for trends, constantly consuming data through analytics, and reflecting on both positive and negative consumer experiences is what helps you feel the pulse of existing consumers and help you also gauge what potentially new customers will be looking from your E-commerce online store.

Analytics can be very helpful directionally in helping you understand your customer and their relation to your product and brand. Looking at your store's overview data, including abandoned cart data, purchase funnel, and most popular products is a great place to start. It is also helpful to dive into your customer data even further to understand their behavior and who they are, enabling you to personalize their experiences and give them retail delight every time they visit your online store.

Be that Change

We often talk about being the change that we want to see within the society that we live and work in and unfortunately don't really end up doing enough to be a catalyst for that change. One undoubtedly ingenious way of imprinting your brand story in the hearts and minds of your end consumers to be the champion of change in a sustainable and actionable manner. This should not sacrifice profit ratios or business. It simply means to be a catalyst for a positive change, either with the environment or with societal norms or with culture and race traditions while also successfully selling a very desired product or service on your online store.

Every brand whether online or offline should ideally be built around a certain set of ideals. Being able to convey this effectively to the world is what differentiates a good brand strategy from an average one. Ensuring that your end consumers know of these ideals and also connect with your brand promise is what matters the most in helping them to stay loyal to your E-commerce business.

Building a following of faithful individuals who are equally dedicated and emotionally invested in the same causes as your brand will help you form that loyal base of end consumers who you can always target to make sales over the course of a few years. People will join in the fight when they find a vision that matches their own and will associate your company with the efforts of hope.

Building a brand is all about building an entity that resonates so deeply with your customers that they will continue to patronize your online business even when no sales discounts and promos are running to entice them back to your online shopping store. This indicates quite clearly that online branding isn’t a marketing gimmick but a key ingredient and even a priority as it can help your business achieve its targets by driving incremental revenue for it.

AmareSol Global is a digital business consultancy creating innovative change through a team of talented designers, developers, and strategists creating digital experiences for brands and companies around the world. We are continuously fueling growth across constantly changing and advancing digital landscapes, by seeking and formulating newer and better ways to service clientele on a global scale across industries. Look up more about us at www.amaresolglobal.com.

 
 
 
AmareSol GlobalSEO, Social Media, Digital Marketing, Web Design