If we ask you what is the biggest obstruction between your e-commerce startup and its success, you most probably will answer with the shortage of capital or quality manpower. Well, we aren’t disagreeing but the real reason may surprise you! Sure insufficient funds or scarcity of good employees does make a difference but for an e-commerce startup, obscurity is almost always the final nail in the coffin.
Let’s face it, behind every top notch brand like Amazon, there are thousands of newbies like you trying to make it to their customer base. And if your potential customers don’t know you, you have automatically lost their business. The only solution to come out of this never-ending queue is to make your brand up for grabs!
Even though generating brand awareness may seem like a simple task – run a few television commercials or make a huge investment in mobile advertising – it has become a difficult and COSTLY art to master. In a generation with an attention span shorter than a goldfish (literally!), missing your outrageous promotional campaigns is not a big deal. Why? Because nobody is interested in impersonal, cold, and annoying popups.
If you really want your target audience to knock at your door, helpful and engaging branding is the key. John Morgan, the author of Brand Against the Machine, has aptly put it together:
“Branding is not just about being seen as better than the competition. It’s about being seen as the only solution to your audience’s problem.”
That is why we have come out with a list of 3 low-cost methods that can fetch you a base of loyal brand vocalists in the price of a song:
#1. Share your story with them
Humans are born storytellers. But that doesn’t end there, they are wired to be great story listeners as well. A recent Spanish study has shown that our brain doesn’t make much distinction between reading about an experience and encountering it in real life. That’s why reading stories feels appealing as they seem personal.
It is also the reason why more and more brands are using storytelling as the backbone of their marketing campaigns. One of the brands that has nailed the art of personal storytelling is Bellroy.
Bellroy, a leather wallet selling website is a great example of how to make the best out of your brand’s story. They manufacture and sell uniquely designed leather wallets that promise to slim down your wallet’s load. Instead of just jotting down a boring “About Us” page, Bellroy came out with a “Slim your Wallet” segment which beautifully weaves their anecdote, telling us why their brand came into existence and how their wallets can sleek down yours in a very interactive manner.
#2. Educate them about yourself
What helps people answer life’s big questions?
EDUCATION.
What will help your audience answer the big questions related to your brand or products?
EDUCATION.
Ties.com is one of the few startups who have recognized the power of educating the customers and have mastered it.
Ties.com is an e-commerce store that sells ties. Obvious (duh!). So how did they manage to increase their value and climb to the top Google search against the keyword ‘ties’? Well, Ties.com chose the hard way and learned their customers’ queries related to the product and took their time to answer them in a helpful yet fun way.
They built a tremendous “How to tie a necktie” guide that guides the visitors how to tie popular knots with the help of videos, written descriptions, and image tutorials. Don’t believe us? Try googling “how to tie a tie” yourselves.
Let us tell you anyway. Google has rewarded their answer by showing it in the knowledge graph at the top of the page. That means the more you provide your customers with what they want, the more sales, and acknowledgment you get.
#3. Be their source of good entertainment
When you are climbing the ecommerce world, it is perfectly OK if your target audience doesn’t want to be educated through blogs and articles alone. If they are coming to you on a tension free shopping spree, entertaining them might be a good move to make ’em feel at ease.
Barkbox, a monthly subscription goodie box for dogs, is an exemplary brand that displays exactly how to mix education with entertainment when it comes to your customers. Rather than just crafting an ordinary blog post with DIY dog recipes, Barkbox came out with blog called Barkpost where dog owners and lovers can get their fix of funny dog videos, some super cute photo montages, or a good amount of heartwarming rescue stories.
And according to BuzzSumo, BarkPost has managed to earn more than 610,000 shares and engagements on their top performing posts. Not bad, not bad at all!
So, now you know the 3 pocket-friendly ways to get your customers to love you. Surely, it is easier said than done. But if you have the right partners by your side, nothing is impossible. Let 42Works take care of your online branding and marketing. We would love to hear from you soon!
