The inspiration behind this post came from two distinct sources. Firstly, acting in the capacity as the Nottingham expert on E-Commerce, it is the monthly Web 2.0 Surgery tonight and I will be there to answer any questions people may ask on E-Commerce development or marketing. This latest event is also focused on E-Commerce and everything from design, development, marketing and management will be discussed.
Secondly, I was reading a really good Blog article all about Google's Page Rank and how important it is for people to pay attention to. Personally, I have always not worried too much about it seemed to be just one factor of many to contribute to SEO. The post in SEO Book went into this in more detail about how Page Rank is calculated and confirmed my sentiments that it no longer holds its importance that it once did. Read about the importance of Page Rank in SEO Book article here.
The most poignant thing about the post was the strategy needed for successful SEO. A lot of people place the majority of emphasis on the technical aspects of code, links, architecture (and Page Rank) etc. Whereas the most successful strategy is to look at the broader picture of SEO and Online Marketing in a holistic approach. Getting the overall marketing strategy right is vital to the success of SEO.
I've talked a lot about strategy and how is must be mapped out from the beginning of any project or web build. The most important part of developing the marketing strategy is that it clearly identifies your market. This includes your competitors, your products, who your target audience is and how you are going to reach them. What your overall strategy should also include is a great understanding of which E-Commerce market you are in (or wish to be in).
After working in and around E-Commerce sites for many years, there are 5 distinct markets that each require a different strategy and planning. So what are they?
1: Niche
Sometimes there is just a product that you can't find anywhere else. A left handed widget, remote controlled lawn mower, Indian spices, chilli chocolate, imported bluetooth watch phone. You can find yourself in quiet company on the web with a niche product, which can be both a blessing and a curse. If you are promoting something that people might already be searching for (Chilli Chocolate for example) then people will always find you and the likelihood of going elsewhere is slim. You can develop a loyal following and your niche will ultimately do the marketing and promotion for you. Your strategy should be focussed on helping people to spread the word of your product and site; social media, PR, social bookmarking for example.
However, the curse can be that your product might be so niche people don't even know it exists. This can amount to a significant amount of hard work to let people know about it. The strategy should be focussed on getting in front of people and educating them about what it is you're selling. You might even find that you have to create the keywords for people to search.
2: Competitive
Let's start with the positive. If something is competitive, there is a demand for the product so you'll never be short of people who want your product. This does mean you'll have a battle on your hands to carve out your market share and constantly batter for position. The other positive point about this market is that you can amalgamate all the positive things from the competition and put it into your website. From the start, you need to distinguish yourself from the competition in some form. Think of it as why visitors should by from you and not the others? If you can be savvy on price - winner! If you can't then you need to offer some definite incentive - delivery - choice - buying process etc. Strategy for a competitive website is all about a numbers game. You will be starting from the back of the queue so for SEO time is not on your side and therefore you need more short term measures (PPC, banner advertising) to get you visitors. The pace is fast, cut-throat and needs your full attention.
3: Under-developed
Not to be confused with a niche market, the market that is under-developed has a known product demand but is not yet developing into online sales. Why this is happening can be a number of reasons; is it something that people don't think they can buy online? Does it prove to be a logistical nightmare? Has no-one got the business model right for online sales? As with the niche market, you need to spend a significant amount of time establishing the visitors and why they should buy from you. For example, if people are used to buying plants/shrubs from a garden store, why would they want to buy online from you? The strategy for this is simple, keep experimenting with the model until you find the right solution and people will buy. This also involves more traditional forms of marketing and moving off-line to capture your visitors.
4: B2B
This can be very different from the B2C market in many ways. The demand is as high as the B2C, the marketing can be the same but the real difference lies in the buying behaviour of businesses. Depending on the B2B market, you may need to offer a specific payment option to aid the process. For example, if you are in the education market you'll find that most educational establishments like to buy on account rather than using an online payment form. Some businesses like to open accounts as they are buying in bulk orders so you have to adhere to your market's buying behaviours. For marketing strategy there is also a big difference. B2B online purchases are usually based on actual products and not the general product group. For example, a manufacturing company will not be searching for "machinery parts", they'll be searching for "Benodict 4S3P Cogs". Therefore, your strategy should be focused on marketing your products individually and making sure your products are optimised and distributed as much as possible.
5: Fast Moving
A fast moving E-Commerce market is really what you think...products that move fast and furious. There are many websites that cover the latest gadgets and fads, usually low priced and seasonal products catered to the browser and not the savvy online shopper. A good example of this kind of E-Commerce market are the gift websites. Often branded as 'men's gifts', 'gifts for valentine's day' or 'corporate gifts' run aggressive marketing campaigns over a short space of time and then change to a different product range. This kind of activity requires a lot of attention and short term planning. What works for one campaign or product range may not necessarily work for another so planning is essential. A marketing strategy for this involves being able to fast react, therefore organic search positions will not be suited to short term campaigns. Viral marketing, PPC advertising and display advertising would be best suited to this market. Online shopping portals such as Kelkoo or Shopzilla are good examples of how to boost short term products exposure.
Before any SEO and Online Marketing is planned, knowing which market you are in will help you plan. For the short term you will need to be quite specific as to which channels you will be using but long term should be using a more holistic approach. Think products, think competition and know your market to reach your visitors.
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