An effective online marketing strategy for retail attracts customers, offers a high-quality personalized experience and builds long-term relationships through content marketing and regular contact. For store owners, online marketing can form part of a multichannel strategy to offer customers greater choice. Online marketers are also using mobile marketing as an integral element of their communications strategy.
Growth
An online marketing strategy takes advantage of the continuing growth in online sales. Figures from the United States Census Bureau show that total U.S. e-commerce sales for 2010 were estimated at $165.4 billion, an increase of 14.8 percent from 2009, while total retail sales in 2010 increased just 7 percent for the same period. A report by research firm Nielsen found that more than 875 million consumers worldwide shopped online in 2010, up 40 percent in two years.
Products
Product choice is key to the success of the marketing strategy. The most popular online purchases are high-volume products -- books, clothing/accessories/shoes and videos/DVDs/games -- according to the Nielsen report. However, retailers also recognize the revenue and profit opportunities from offering consumers a wider choice of niche products. Low-inventory costs combined with cumulative sales across a range of niche products make this an attractive opportunity.
Experience
Quality customer experience is key to converting visitors to buyers. Landing pages and clear navigation from a home page take visitors straight to their chosen product. Retailers can simplify purchasing by allowing regular customers to bypass registration processes and complete with minimal mouse clicks. It's important to monitor the quality of customer experience and respond to any feedback or concerns about poor experience. A study by customer experience consultancy Right Now reported that 86 percent of respondents stopped dealing with an organization because of a bad customer experience.
Interaction
Encouraging customer interaction on the website can build loyalty and attract other prospects. Allowing customers to post product reviews or participate in forums provides a valuable research resource for prospects. The Society for New Communications Research found that 74 percent of respondents choose companies and brands based on other people's online opinions of their customer care experience.
Channels
Integrating an online marketing strategy with other channels is important to retailers in certain sectors. Mobile marketing is a growing element in the mix according to an eMarketing survey of U.S. retailers. Some 60 percent of respondents planned to strengthen their existing mobile web presence or app. Retailers are using mobile channels to promote awareness by enabling consumers to research products via apps and mobile websites.
Contact
Maintaining contact with customers is key to the long-term success of an online strategy. Retailers should gather data on website visits, browsing habits and requests to build a profile of customers' information needs. They should refresh website content with useful knowledge, tips and resources related to those needs, using email to update customers on new content or product news. Many online retailers also are creating profiles on social networking sites to open new channels of communication. Many retailers maintain profile pages on popular sites like Facebook, MySpace and YouTube.
Tags: customer experience, marketing strategy, percent respondents, found that, niche products