Beginners’ Guide to E-Commerce & Digital Marketing

The smallest businesses and large corporate entities all find challenges in navigating the ever-changing landscape of eCommerce and internet marketing. With all the information on developing an action plan and improving an existing webshop, people can quickly become overwhelmed and uninspired. Luckily, we’ve gathered the fundamentals of eCommerce and digital marketing and laid out a guide to help your business grow in the digital age. Read on to learn more.

What is eCommerce?

ECommerce, or electronic commerce, describes the business model of selling and purchasing products and services online. This can include large retail webshops, where shoppers can browse through various brands to order what they want. It could also entail smaller online shopping sites dedicated to one company only. Physical shops and online shopping can both coexist. Some companies prefer to have both to maximize profits and please customers with different preferences. That said, it’s virtually impossible to search for something online you wish to purchase and come up empty-handed. For decades, online shopping has dominated the digital marketplace and has grown even more as the pandemic led more shoppers to hunker down and avoid shopping malls and grocery stores.

There are four primary types of eCommerce:

• Business to consumer (B2C) is the most common segment of eCommerce. When consumers directly purchase items online, like paper masks from Amazon, for example, this is considered business to consumer.
• Business to business (B2B) eCommerce describes a model of selling and purchasing between companies. Separate from everyday online shopping like B2C, this model usually entails higher quantities of goods and services being bought and more frequent transitions.
• Consumer to consumer (C2C) eCommerce allows consumers to connect with other buyers. Websites like eBay would fit into this category.
• Consumer to business (C2B) eCommerce is defined by consumers selling to companies. For instance, if a customer posts potential work online and companies bid for the opportunity, that would be considered C2B.

What is internet marketing?

Online marketing uses all types of digital platforms to help sell products and services to consumers. Platforms like social media outlets, websites, and other online ads found throughout the web help companies thrive in the virtual world. Decades of online capabilities have aggressively enhanced the growth of digital media to the point where we are now in an ever-changing digital space for massive expansion and possibilities. Digital marketing taps into all sorts of devices like smartphones, computers, tablets, and others to optimize promotional material, personalize user experiences, and help build profit and awareness for all types of campaigns. Search engine optimization (SEO) has been a driving component for digital marketers to push their clients in front of competitors and drive more traffic to their webpages.

How eCommerce and online marketing come together and differ

Think of eCommerce as a broader idea than digital marketing. Marketing plans are used to help promote brand identities, whereas eCommerce entails a wider concept of sales and business online. Marketing experts specialize in attracting consumers to websites and other online platforms. Specialists in eCommerce will study and improve how customers search for products and services online. Both models are fundamental aspects of how shoppers utilize the digital arena.

Tips for getting started

• It’s essential to figure out which eCommerce platform will be best for your business. Some sites like Shopify are great online places to check out for those looking for efficiency in handling their business and other recourses for success. On the other hand, companies searching for a more specific platform may do better elsewhere. It’s all about what’s best for your company.
• Choosing the best purchasing system is also just as important. Integrate your choice of payment system into the webshop. PayPal is a commonly know system, but there are many options.
• Another aspect to consider is how you will market your products or services. Online campaigns through services like MailChimp, Google advertisements, other online content, and much more are all integrated into the digital marketing sphere. Think of which platforms are best, consider your targeted audience, competitors, and other critical components to your potential success. Measuring strengths and being honest about weaknesses will help shape your marketing plan and allow your company to thrive.
• When you’ve set up an action plan for your webshop, the work doesn’t stop there. Now you must ensure you track as much information as possible regarding your sales, empty shopping carts, customer locations, returns, and more. The goal here is to understand the habits of your current customers and to better maximize for the future. You will gain valuable insight to make improvements down the line.
• Searching for the best shipping service is also vital to a growing online business. Customers will pay attention to cost and the time it takes to arrive, so choose wisely. Some companies dedicate themselves to making shipping easy by taking care of labels and other logistics. Check out Ordoro or Shipping Easy.
• Understand what goes into customer relationship management, or CRM. This is of the utmost importance because you can have the best possible setup, but your business will go downhill without customers. There are many resources to get started on your CRM, like Zendesk. Whichever tools you choose, be sure to keep customer satisfaction at the very top of your priority list.
• Online businesses will not reach their fullest potential without well-done social media management. Companies often underestimate the power of well-written content and what it takes to manage social media platforms. Take advantage of the diversity of platforms currently out there, such as TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter. If you can, hire a full-time social media manager to ensure your company is not only keeping up with the times but also widening its consumer base as much as possible. If you want to measure the impact of different marketing strategie, you can use this online tool: Percentage change calculator.

Let’s review

Both eCommerce and digital marketing are critical areas of technology that any successful webshop or other online business must understand. Find your preferred platform, the most suitable payment system, devise a thorough marketing strategy that includes social media, select your shipping method, and most importantly, prioritize customer service.