eCommerce is having its moment. Are you ready? - Marks

eCommerce is having its moment. Are you ready?

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Shops closed.Stores emptied.People stayed in, went online and embraced eCommerce in ways they hadn’t considered before. COVID-19 has revolutionized the way we shop and since mid-March 2020, when much of the world went into lockdown, almost half of eCommerce merchants have reported increased sales.

As this pandemic goes on and consumers continue to fill their virtual shopping carts, it’s time to ask yourself if your brand is truly making the most of this eComm boom.

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COVID-19 has rapidly accelerated trends in online shopping behavior, catching some CPG businesses unprepared. This is an incredible moment for marketers who have had eComm on their to-do list for a long time. Now that shoppers have gotten a real taste for eComm, this digital momentum will continue beyond the pandemic. It’s not too late to get ahead of the game. — Whitney Gibson, Director of Strategy

Can I get it online?Understanding the current consumer landscape

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C O N S U M E R L A N D S C A P E

Today’s consumer sentiment is: 'If I can buy this online, I will.' Public health and safety measures implemented during the pandemic have heavily impacted purchase routines. The simple fact is that if your product can’t be clicked into a virtual shopping cart, you’re not making the sale.

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Retailers such as Walmart, Costco, The Home Depot and Walmart have seen their eCommerce sales soar. Best Buy saw the largest YoY commence sales growth in 2020, (105.5%), followed by Target (103.5%) and Kroger (79.2%).

C O N S U M E R L A N D S C A P E

Global growth in online purchases are reaching record highs.

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C O N S U M E R L A N D S C A P E

Smaller, agile brands that embraced eComm ahead of lockdown are reaping the benefits of forward-thinking.

Youth to the People, a personal care brand, Cuup, a small apparel and fashion brand, and Tea Drops, an organic fair-trade tea company, all saw over 200% YoY growth and claimed market share in 2020.

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C O N S U M E R L A N D S C A P E

Consumers want to give your brand a try. Make it easy for them. If there’s a silver lining to COVID-19, it’s that consumers have been jolted out of autopilot and are giving new brands and products a shot. According to a study by McKinsey, 75% of Americans have changed brands during the pandemic. Now is the time to bring new consumers in and keep them with an eCommerce strategy built for the long term.

The five stages of building a profitable eCommerce strategy

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Figuring out where to start First things first, assess where you’re at in your eCommerce journey. Select which of the five main eCommerce growth stages your business is at and jump to that section.

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You’ve got to start somewhere Getting started in eCommerce.

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You’ve built it. Now, where are they? Drawing more attention to your eCommerce platform.

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Spread the word Using advertising to get more people to your online store.

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More is more Using your marketing activities to feed into your eCommerce strategy.

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Stay ahead of the curve Embracing innovation to avoid falling behind.

You’ve got to start somewhere01

What are you selling? What products are you selling now? What do you plan to sell in a couple years?

Who are you selling to? What needs and challenges do your shoppers have? What barriers might they experience when shopping online? How can you solve them?

What’s your budget? How much can you invest now? Is it enough for an eCommerce website build?

Getting started in eCommerceThe pressure to sell online is real.However, it’s important to take the time to choose the right channels that not only meet your business objectives

and budget, but also meet your consumers’ needs. Consider some basic questions to help you select your online channels.

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Your Own Website (DTC) Third Party Seller Site or App (i.e. Amazon, Walmart, Instacart)

Higher up-front cost – domain, hosting, web designer, etc.

Lower up-front cost – listing fees, % of sales fee.

Build your customer base from scratch through social media, paid ads and SEO.

Piggyback off the third-party site’s existing customer base.

Reap the long-term benefits of owned or earned promotion to your website.

The third-party site reaps the long-term benefits of your owned or earned promotion.

Less immediate competition, therefore lower product and price sensitivity.

Platform built for brand and product comparisons, therefore increased product and price sensitivity.

Creative freedom to showcase your brand without content or design limitations. Constraints on your content and design.

Greater ability to connect with social commerce capabilities - full view of customer analytics data and

ability to tag and retarget shoppers.

Product tags can drive to your 3rd party product listings, but unable to retarget those who drop off

close to purchase.

S T A G E 1

Do it yourself or Do it for me? Build a site, or set up in an already existing ecosystem? There are pros and cons to both. Before you start from scratch or jump in with a third-party seller, get to know the main differences.

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S T A G E 1

Don’t distance yourself from social We’ve all done it. Scrolled through social media, just to pass the time, only to end up making a purchase.

That’s social commerce at work.

Social commerce helps brands make the sale in the moment of desire. Don’t just tease your customer with beautiful product content and hope they’ll remember to purchase later. By allowing people to buy right from an ad or social media post, you can cut down the path to purchase.” — Whitney Gibson, Director of Strategy

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You’ve built it. Now, where are they?02

Can people find me? Am I winning the search game? Is my online destination search engine and mobile optimized?

Is my navigation clear and easy to follow? Whether it’s on your own eComm site or a third-party retailer, are you driving consumers to make a purchase with the least number of steps?

What are the pain points? Where are the bottlenecks and drop-off points in my customer experience?

Drawing attention to your platformCongrats! You’ve built your eCommerce platform, page or storefront—but is it bringing in sales? Price and even products themselves aren’t the most important channel differentiators. The winner? A

seamless customer experience. It’s important that consumers are willing to spend more on platforms with an optimized experience.First, identify where you need to optimize. Ask yourself three questions:

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S T A G E 2

SEO is a long game, but you still need to play With 35% of product searches and 90% of all online searches occurring on Google, a solid SEO strategy is vital to success. Start by ensuring your pages load fast and be sure to include keywords in your titles, image tags and descriptions.

Building your SEO authority takes time, so start today and thank yourself down the road when you’re at the top of the search results.

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S T A G E 2

You get one chance to make a first impression Ok, you got a shopper to your site, but will they stay? If a consumer gets lost trying to navigate your site, you’re going to lose them.

From the first page load, the user experience needs to be pleasant and painless, for a happy customer is one that will make it to the checkout.

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S T A G E 2

Third-party platforms need clear navigational cues as well Each eRetailer platform has different elements to master—on Amazon it might be building a storefront with optimized A+ content, or on Walmart you’ll want to consider having a product page with the right number of carousel images, or image hotspots.

How these elements appear on your eCommerce product page and throughout your entire catalog is necessary to creating a winning first impression.

Building a seamless site experience is all about using the tools available on the chosen platform. I like to look at the FAQs of specific products when optimizing an eCommerce page. It’s a great way to anticipate customer questions and challenges and address them before the customer has time to doubt the product or the brand.— Alex Bruner, eCommerce Specialist

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S T A G E 2

Abandonment issues? It’s a classic tale: shopper takes the time to peruse the product catalog, fill a cart and then abandon it completely, leaving you wondering if it was something you did. Spoiler alert: it probably was. Look at your analytics to understand which part of your customer journey needs improvement.

Maybe it’s a page speed issue, or a field in your checkout form that’s causing confusion. Whatever it is, analytics can help you find it and fix it.

By 2022, mobile eCommerce sales are expected to account for over half of total eCommerce sales. Enhanced content, simple payment options and faster page load times keep the mobile experience prioritized.

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It’s not enough to simply have your content scaling for different sized devices. When you’re building your eCommerce platform, build for mobile first. You’d be surprised how many eCommerce businesses aren’t doing this— it’s a great way to gain a quick edge over competitors. — Alex Bruner, eCommerce Specialist

Spread the word03

Using advertisingto bring people in

What business goals are you supporting? Do you want to grow your product visibility? Are you looking to drive sales?

Where are your people hanging out? What social media platforms does your target audience spend the most time on?

Will your ads pass the relevancy test? Is your post-click experience relevant to your ad? Do you have a dedicated landing page for your ad?

You’ve got the site, your SEO game is strong, now it’s time to slide into social and digital advertising. But first, a word on optimization, or making sure your page is relevant to the message in your ad. Rushing

into paid media before having an optimized eCommerce destination is a common and pricey gaffe. Answer these key questions to determine the most effective digital advertising and social tactics:

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S T A G E 3

Appear to the masses with search and display ads

Search ads work well when targeting keyword with specific intent. Often with CPG search ads, it helps to target not only branded key words, but also terms related to lifestyle challenges. For example, the keyword “diabetes” generated more impressions for Colgate than other branded key words, since diabetes sufferers are prone to oral hygiene issues.

Display ads are great for boosting brand visibility by connecting with new audiences through rich media placements, such as banner ads. That mass reach is a great start, but you can get even more granular with targeting options like topic, interest and audience re-marketing.

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S T A G E 3

Catch their eye with social media advertising Social media’s beautiful imagery and engaging ad formats make it a go-to option for reaching consumers.

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S T A G E 3

Get in front of shoppers with retailer advertising Advertising on eRetailer sites like Amazon allows you to place your product in front of consumers that are already looking for products that are similar to yours. Because rank position on Amazon is influenced by sales and product reviews, your eRetailer advertising efforts will go a long way in boosting organic product discoverability in the future.

Need another reason to begin your investment? Advertising provides more data and insights than ever before - allowing brands to better understand their target, and how to market to them to bring them closer to the point of sale

More is more04

Other marketing activities can enhance eCommerce

Does your branding match? Does the look and feel of your eCommerce platform match your other channels and consumer touchpoints?

What other channels can promote eComm? What digital or social media platforms does your target audience spend the most time on? Is eCommerce integrated across the customer journey?

Shoppers today have fragmented online habits—scrolling Instagram, reading articles from Google, looking at thousands of personalized ads a day and watching influencers on YouTube. Instead of waiting for shoppers to come to you, focus on meeting them where they already are.

It’s all about naturally integrating your eCommerce platform into other areas of your marketing activities. Personal care brand Live Clean does a great job of this by turning user generated content into Instagram ads with a link to their storefront.

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S T A G E 4

Get in front of shoppers with retailer advertising Today’s online shopper is savvy and isn’t just shopping—they are researching. They’re using Amazon and eComm sites as tools to discover products, explore reviews and compare prices. Brands that leverage eCommerce successfully are the ones offering a continuous and seamless brand experience across all selling platforms.

Apple does a great job of creating this seamless experience by matching the look and feel of their Amazon storefront with their website.

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S T A G E 4

Shorten the path to purchase With short attention spans and impulse buying increasing over time, you probably know that the moment of purchase is not purely transactional, but emotional too. Someone looking at a lifestyle image on your Instagram feed may feel compelled to buy a product, just as much as when they’re on your Amazon product page. Therefore, it’s important that you’re linking directly to your relevant eCommerce pages to capture that fleeting moment of interest.

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S T A G E 4

Play on the right channels You don’t need a psychology degree to truly understand consumer attitudes and behaviors. Google Analytics and other platform analytics (Amazon, Walmart and CRM programs, if available) will help you better understand how shoppers interact with your channels so you can optimize the customer journey. During a time of crisis—ahem, right now— these tools are especially useful to track evolving conversations and understand what’s driving positive and negative sentiment.

Stay ahead of the curve05

Embrace innovation, avoid falling behindYou’ve bridged the gap between the physical and digital world of commerce—the next step is to innovate.

Brands that innovate around customer experience will

guarantee an increase in consumer brand loyalty in the post-COVID19 world. To spark that eureka moment, ask yourself:

What makes you stand out? Does your product imagery stand out? Are you getting the most out of our production photoshoots?

Are you getting personal? Are you personalizing the online experience for your customers?

Is it time for AR, VR and voice? Are you building on the in-store experience and creating an immersive experience for your shopper?

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S T A G E 5

3D graphics and enhanced images CGI isn’t just for blockbusters anymore; it’s an agile, effective and flexible way to make your product imagery stand out. It also opens a world of new business possibilities, like having the ability to create product prototypes before manufacturing, showcasing an endless array of products in any color and material, and making your images and videos stand out on social media.

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S T A G E 5

Is the answerA, B, or none of the above? Using dynamic creative ads is a great way to deliver “personalized ad content” and A/B test combinations of ad copy + image to determine which drives the highest conversions.

Amazon, Facebook, Instagram and Google offer dynamic ad formats that help marketers deliver targeted and tailored ads that show users exactly what they’re looking for.

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S T A G E 5

Voice search The rise of voice search is changing the way consumers shop. It’s predicted that in 2022, 55% of households are expected to own smart speaker devices. Adapting your content to voice search will require a bit of restructuring—think about adapting your content to use more questions, phrases and long tail keywords. Site speed and clear navigation will also be critical factors in making your voice search results sing.

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S T A G E 5

AR and VR Augmented (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are becoming more and more accessible to smaller brands. Amazon now supports AR and offers “view in your room” so shoppers can visualize what products will look like in their own home.

VR is becoming less of a futuristic fad and is starting to gain market appeal—Adidas launched a VR experience in which they followed two mountain climbers, adding a new level of excitement for their thrill-seeking target audience.

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C O N S U M E R L A N D S C A P E

When the triedand true isn’t true anymore, it’s time to evolve. By now, you know the gist: eCommerce has drastically changed and it’s up to brands and manufacturers to evolve to meet consumers’ needs. More importantly, brands need to act fast, before they’re left behind as the online world moves forward with a new normal. As you’re in the midst of restructuring your business, keep the future in mind: your investment in eCommerce will go much further if you plan for the long term.

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Strategy Consultation A 60-minute call with a member of our digital leadership team to discuss your eCommerce needs and objectives. We’ll help identify immediate opportunities to help you get started, or discuss ways to get your eCommerce to work harder for your business.

eComm Health Report Cards Our subject matter experts will review and evaluate your current eComm efforts, and provide recommendations on what your brand can do to optimize them to drive sales quickly and efficiently. Choose from the following eComm Report Cards:

•Product Detail Page: Make your product pages rank higher in search and convert more sales.

•Storefront: Help customers connect with your brand and the information they need to make a purchase.

•Findability: Ensure your customers find your product, faster.

•SEO: Increase the quantity of traffic to your site or product page and rank higher in searches.

•Advertising: Drive more sales while lowering cost per click.

•Social Commerce: Drive purchase at the point of inspiration.

•Direct-To-Consumer Site Audit: Recommendations to improve customer experience and, in turn, sales.

Need help with your eCommerce solution?Here are some quick ways we can help you get started:

Email [email protected] or get in touch with your Marks account director to start exploring ways to optimize your business for the future of eCommerce.

Let’s talk.

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Article Contributors

Whitney Gibson, Director of Strategy Whitney is known by clients and peers for identifying opportunities and leaning into them. She brings to her role a history of problem solving across many areas of expertise covering the integrated marketing spectrum: PR, social, digital and advertising. At Marks, Whitney has led the charge in establishing and championing our social and digital strategy capabilities, and is a trusted partner to clients in helping drive their businesses forward.

Federico Aguerrevere, Sr. Strategic Planner Federico is known as a consumer behavior and insights expert. His experiencein different parts of the world like Canada, the US (where he completed a Master’s Degree in Integrated Marketing), Mexico and LATAM has helped him really understand and dig deep into the differences and similarities of consumers from every background. He’s developed effective strategies and solved communication and marketing challenges for clients from a wide variety of industries that include CPG, automotive, pharma and spirits.

Alison Drainie, Digital Strategist Alison lives and breathes the world of digital and has a passion for writing and brand storytelling. From tracking the latest social trends, to weaving new insights into social and digital strategies, Alison is always thinking about ways to help her clients stay ahead of the curve. Alison has written engaging content for a number of large brands in the B2B space like Facebook, Purolator and Loyalty One, to help them strengthen connections with their online communities.

Alex Bruner, eCommerce Specialist Alex’s career is rooted in client services, building strong relationships based on his ability to understand the nuances of his client’s business needs. Leveraging these strengths, he has turned his focus to eCommerce, seeing the constant evolution of shopping and feeling motivated to be part of it. Whether it’s on a direct-to- consumer website or 3rd party retailer, Alex has a deep foundational knowledge of what’s possible on each platform and how best to use it to improve a brand’s eCommerce experience and increase conversion.

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