Ecommerce Marketing: 7 Winning Strategies for Your Clothing Store

Posted 14 June 2022 in Uncategorized by wholawholesale

An effective ecommerce marketing strategy will drive traffic to your online store and help you convert more customers. There are so many ways to market your fashion store, you might be wondering what strategies will have the most impact.

In this article, we’ll look at 7 winning ecommerce marketing strategies to raise awareness of your brand, attract and retain customers and increase your revenue.

Whether you’re creating a marketing plan from scratch or you feel like your current strategy needs a refresh, you’ll find plenty of inspiration here.

Though designing an ecommerce marketing plan is a big job, once you’ve done the groundwork and got your campaigns up and running, you’ll start seeing results straight away.

So let’s get into this comprehensive guide to e-commerce marketing for fashion stores.

What if you could triple your business in less than 3 months? We’ve launched a marketing course for boutique owners who want to learn how to build a DIY marketing strategy that works. SIGN UP NOW.

WHAT IS ECOMMERCE MARKETING?

Ecommerce marketing is when you use different promotional tactics to generate interest in your online store, drive traffic to your site and convert visitors into paying customers. You can target people who are likely to be interested in your brand, as well as past customers you want to retain and persuade to buy again.

There are plenty of different tactics you can use, such as email, SMS messages, influencer campaigns, paid social media ads and more. We’re going to explain more about these approaches and how to use them to your advantage.

HOW TO BUILD AN ECOMMERCE MARKETING PLAN

Without a plan, your marketing efforts will be disorganised and the results could be inconsistent and hard to measure.

For marketing to lead to your desired results, you need to start with a plan that outlines what you want to achieve and the strategies you’ll use. This will give you direction and enable you to track your progress and improve along the way.

Wondering where to begin? Here’s a quick step-by-step guide to building your e-commerce marketing plan.

1. DEFINE YOUR GOALS

Goals give you something to aim for and a way to measure success.

Set SMART goals for your marketing campaign (SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound). Your goals could look something like this:

Get 1000 new Instagram followers by April this year
Sign 500 new customers up to our loyalty program this month
Increase revenue by 20% by the end of Q2

2. SET A BUDGET

It’s good to set a budget so you know how much you can afford to spend on promoting your store. An effective marketing strategy will require investment, but you’ll want to keep costs under control.

Having a budget and tracking your spending will also help you calculate ROI and judge the success of different approaches.

3. CONSIDER YOUR CUSTOMER AVATAR

You already have an idea who your typical customer is—maybe you’ve already created a detailed CUSTOMER AVATAR.

When creating your marketing plan, you have to keep this customer avatar in mind and make sure all your marketing efforts are geared toward this person.

Having a clearly defined target customer will help you when it comes to deciding which channels and content formats to use.

4. CHOOSE YOUR CHANNELS

It’s good to experiment with new channels—as you market your store on different platforms, you’ll start learning which ones get the best results. From there, you can decide which channels to double down on.

Instagram has broad appeal and is a great place for fashion stores to share visual content. But an ecommerce store that targets young people aged 16-25 might find that TikTok is their most successful marketing channel. However, other boutiques might find that Facebook or even Pinterest is where their customers prefer to hang out.

5. DON’T FORGET ABOUT THE FOUR PS

In our blog post on HOW TO BUILD AN EFFECTIVE RETAIL STRATEGY, we wrote about the Four Ps of Marketing, which are Place, Product, Promotion and Price.

Keep those four concepts in mind as you think about how you’re going to market your product and brand.

Defining each of these for your brand will help you find your “competitive moat,” your unique competitive advantage that helps you stand out from your competitors.

6. ANALYSE YOUR PERFORMANCE

You don’t know how close you are to hitting your goals unless you track your progress.

In Shopify, you have access to dashboards full of metrics like conversion rate, average order value, cart abandonment and more. Customise your dashboard so you’re tracking KPIs that are relevant to the goals you set in step one.

Regularly monitoring your data means you can judge how well your ecommerce store is performing. As your campaigns progress you should see an increase in social media activity and conversions.

If you don’t see the desired results, that could be a sign that something needs to change. Maybe you need to reword your ads, increase your ad spend or reevaluate your chosen marketing channels.

7 ECOMMERCE MARKETING STRATEGIES TO DRIVE SALES FOR YOUR CLOTHING STORE

If you want to be sure your store gets noticed, you’ll need to know the most effective marketing methods available.

In this section, we’ll share with you 7 effective marketing strategies that clothing stores can use to get more sales. You can pick and choose which of these techniques work best for you, but we’d recommend giving them all a try.

1. SEND AUTOMATED EMAILS

Email has long been established as a key e-commerce marketing channel, and a study found that EMAIL MARKETING FOR RETAILERS can result in an average ROI of $36 FOR EVERY DOLLAR SPENT.

When customers sign up to your mailing list, you can send them promotional information and updates via email. Emailing existing and potential customers helps keep your brand on top of their minds and gives you a chance to tell them about new products, discounts or special events.

Step one is to start collecting email addresses. You can ask for people’s email addresses before or after they make a purchase, in exchange for a special discount or offer.

Then you’ll need to get a marketing automation tool like MAILCHIMP or KLAVIYO to store all your contacts. These tools will allow you to send personalised emails to your whole contact list at the same time.

But instead of sending the same emails to everyone, you’ll get much better results by segmenting your list. In fact, MARKETERS WHO USE SEGMENTATION NOTE UP TO 760% INCREASE IN REVENUE. You can segment customers according to past actions, items they have purchased or what stage they are at in the sales funnel. Then you can send information that’s more relevant to them.

Automation tools also allow you to create sequences of emails to be triggered by certain customer actions. For example, you might have a welcome sequence that will send a discount on the first purchase, followed by emails designed to introduce them to your brand and encourage repeat purchases.

Email can also be a great way to deal with abandoned carts. When customers add items to their cart but leave your site without purchasing, you’ll send them an email reminder to finish their purchase.

Automated emails are a huge time-saver for busy store owners that allow you to convert customers while you sleep. Without too much work, you can maintain your relationship with existing customers, encourage repeat sales and nudge new sign-ups towards the first purchase.

2. GET INTO SMS MARKETING

Thanks to SMS marketing, you can reach your customers wherever they are by sending marketing texts directly to their mobile phones.

Text messages are very personal and it’s highly likely that your customers will open and read them. After all, 78% OF AUSTRALIANS always read their texts. And, unlike email, there’s no chance of your text messages getting stuck in a junk folder.

SMS marketing is not so different from email—you can use automation tools to set up marketing campaigns in a similar way. Klaviyo, for instance, can manage both your SMS and email marketing automation.

However, there are some important things to consider when setting up an SMS marketing campaign.

Firstly, in Australia, you must comply with the SPAM ACT 2003. Legally, you need express consent from recipients before sending them marketing materials by text. You must also include your business name in the message or sender ID and provide an option to opt-out in every message.

Since SMS has a 160 character limit, you’ll have to compose brief, persuasive messages that get straight to the point. In our article on SMS MARKETING, you’ll find lots of advice on how to compose marketing texts (along with some examples).

Here are some ideas of the types of promotional text messages you can send:

Discounts and promotional codes
News about upcoming sales
Cart abandonment alerts
Delivery updates

3. WORK WITH INFLUENCERS IN YOUR NICHE

Influencer marketing is when you get influencers to create content featuring your brand. They may charge a fee for the sponsored post, or accept gifted products as payment.

Small brands may overlook influencer marketing, assuming that it’s too expensive and only for big brands with huge budgets.

However, any business can benefit from tapping into the power of influencers and influencer marketing can be affordable if you choose the right partners. Brands on a smaller budget can team up with micro or nano-influencers who have smaller followings but often higher engagement rates on their content.

Collaborating with influencers is a great way to expand your audience. Influencers have worked hard to build credibility and trust with their audiences, so their followers are likely to be receptive and open to the products and brands they promote.

The key to successful FASHION INFLUENCER MARKETING is choosing the right influencers to partner with. So, here are some things to consider when vetting influencers:

Their typical follower. Influencers usually create content within a specific niche, targeted towards a certain type of follower. It’s important that these followers are similar to your customer avatar, and the influencer’s content fits into your CLOTHING STORE’S NICHE.
Brand image and values. The influencer is going to represent your brand, so make sure their image and values are in line with your own.
Engagement. Check the engagement levels on their posts. Do they have a good proportion of likes and comments?
Authenticity. People look up to influencers because, unlike traditional advertising, influencers tend to promote only products they believe in. Aim to partner with influencers who work with brands they trust, and still post lots of organic, unsponsored content for their audience.

4. AUDIT AND OPTIMISE YOUR PRODUCT PAGES

Brick-and-mortar shops have sales assistants who attempt to convert everyone who walks in the door.

But, when you run an ecommerce store, you have to rely on your website to do the selling for you. Product descriptions are crucial—strong, persuasive copy can convince customers to buy what you’re selling. On the other hand, bland product pages don’t inspire visitors to add items to their carts.

What’s more, optimised product pages can also help your website rank higher in search results, meaning more customers will discover your site.

The good news is you don’t have to be a copywriter or an SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) expert to write good product pages. You can optimise them by following a few simple steps:

Write with your customer avatar in mind. Use compelling language that resonates with customers.
Tap into your customer’s emotions and desires. Don’t just describe an item of clothing, consider how it would make the wearer feel, and what look or style it would fit into.
Have a clearly defined brand personality, and reinforce this personality by writing with consistent style across your website and social media.
Research the best keywords to guide customers to your products. You can go for longer-tail keywords that are easier to rank for. Use these relevant keywords several times on the product page.
Tick off all the SEO basics like your SEO title, meta description, alt tags and internal links.

For more SEO tips for your product pages, check out our article on SEO-FRIENDLY PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONS.

5. CREATE A CONTENT MARKETING PLAN

CONTENT MARKETING FOR RETAILERS is not an immediate conversion tactic, but a long-term approach to attracting customers and earning their loyalty. By creating interesting content that’s full of helpful information, you earn people’s trust and establish yourself as an expert in your niche.

Content comes in a variety of formats, like blogs, social media posts, videos, emails, quizzes, infographics, ebooks and more.

When you’re thinking about what topics to cover and what formats to use, return once again to your customer avatar. Think about the problems they might have, and how they’d like to find solutions for those problems.

Here are a few ideas to inspire you:

Many of your customers struggle to find the perfect pair of comfortable, flattering and stylish jeans. So, you decide to create a quiz where customers answer multiple-choice questions to discover their ideal pair of jeans.
Your fashion-conscious customers are always on the lookout for the latest trend. You post videos on social media about the hottest trends that are set to be big this season.
Customers have been asking questions about high-quality, sustainable clothing. You write a blog post about different types of sustainable fabrics and what to look for in sustainable clothing.

It’s also worth mentioning user-generated content (UGC), which is when customers share photos or videos of your products. Unlike influencer marketing, customers are not paid to endorse your products, they are just happy to show off the new dress or heels bought from your store. Because UGC is voluntary, customers see it as trustworthy social proof.

You can encourage your customers to post content featuring your products and tagging you by giving them a hashtag to use with their posts or running a competition where you select winners from people who post content using the hashtag and featuring your products.

Last but not least, you can reuse and recycle content to get more value out of your work. For example, you can take snippets from a blog post to post on social media. You can also create graphics featuring those quotes to use in an Instagram story. Or, if you ran an Instagram poll you can write a blog to answer some of the questions.

6. MASTER ORGANIC SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGIES

Social media is an extremely competitive place. Every brand is fighting for attention, and it takes a lot of effort to stand out.

In another blog post, we revealed various SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGIES FOR RETAILERS to get better results from organic social media content.

These were a few of our top tips:

Interact with customers. Social media allows for two-way communication between brands and their customers. Take advantage of this by responding to customers’ comments and engaging with them. This will help you increase trust, engagement and reach.
Encourage UGC. We’ve talked about how UGC can be highly persuasive. Did you know that USER-GENERATED PHOTOS ARE FIVE TIMES MORE LIKELY TO CONVERT CUSTOMERS? Make the most of this authentic content by reposting it on your social media, giving people hashtags to use and incentives to post like gift cards or prizes.
Hop on board with new trends. Trends can help boost the reach of your social media posts. This could mean using a new trending sound on TikTok or including popular hashtags in your Instagram post.
Diversify your channels. Don’t just stick to Facebook and Instagram. Try out different channels like Pinterest, Youtube and TikTok if you haven’t already. We explain how to use these channels in our MARKETING COURSE.
Use Facebook and Instagram Shopping. Create a seamless shopping experience where customers can buy directly on their favourite social media channels. By setting up Facebook and Instagram Shopping, you can add links to your posts that allow customers to purchase in just a few clicks.

7. LEVERAGE THE POWER OF FACEBOOK ADS

Running paid FACEBOOK ADS can be a great shortcut for ecommerce retailers to boost brand awareness and quickly reach their target audience.

A study found that 26% OF USERS WHO CLICK ON A FACEBOOK AD GO ON TO MAKE PURCHASES ON THEIR ECOMMERCE. For results like this, it’s worth investing a few dollars a month to run ads.

Facebook ads come in different formats such as images, instant experience, videos, carousels and collections. It’s a good idea to test out various different formats for your ads, so you can see which ones people respond to best.

To optimise your ad strategy, you can use something called a Facebook Pixel, which allows you to collect data on what people do when they click through to your site from an ad. In our ARTICLE ON FACEBOOK ADS, we explain exactly how to do this.

The best thing about Facebook Ads is that they allow you to target audiences who may be interested in what you have to offer but have never heard about your brand. By creating a Lookalike Audience (a group of people who are similar to your existing customers or a custom audience you’ve created), you can get your ads in front of more of the right people.

Building a successful Facebook Ads strategy is an art of its own. If you’re just getting started, check out our MARKETING COURSE where we explain everything you need to know about building a Facebook Ad campaign from scratch.

BONUS TIP: MASTER YOUR PHYSICAL MARKETING

Your only physical touchpoint with customers is when they receive their order. Take this opportunity to impress your customer and make the unwrapping experience memorable and exciting.

Here are some ways to reinforce your brand identity through physical marketing:

Use branded paper bags and tissue paper. Beautiful packaging will make your customer feel like they are opening a gift. It’s also an opportunity to familiarise them with your branding and logo.
Marketing inserts. Drop a printed voucher or discount code in the package to incentivise customers to purchase again.
Thank you notes. Add a personal touch with a customised thank you note that shows your customer how much you appreciate them.
Return slips. If you make it super easy for customers to refund or exchange products, they won’t hesitate to buy again.
Sustainable packaging. Customers are conscious of waste and won’t be impressed if their items come wrapped in plastic. Use eco-friendly packaging and let customers know you support sustainability!

Looking to order bespoke branded packaging? CUP & CARRY provide customisable, sustainable packaging, that’s all made in Australia. You can order in small quantities, ideal for online boutiques. Simply upload your logo, and choose from branded items like bags, cups and tissue paper.

For an exclusive discount on your order, use code FRIENDSOFWHOLA at the checkout!

BOOST YOUR RESULTS FROM ECOMMERCE MARKETING WITH THESE STRATEGIES

Ecommerce marketing might seem like a lot of work, but using these strategies will pay off.

Start by creating a detailed plan where you define your target customer and map out exactly what strategies you’ll try and which channels you’ll use to convert them.

Don’t forget to set clear goals and track your progress along the way so you can measure your success as you go.

FAQS ABOUT ECOMMERCE MARKETING

WHAT IS AN ECOMMERCE MARKETING STRATEGY?

An ecommerce marketing strategy is how you plan to promote your online store and increase sales. You identify the tactics and channels that will be most effective at attracting and converting customers and set clear goals you want to achieve.

WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF ECOMMERCE MARKETING?

SMS, email, influencer marketing, paid ads and content marketing are all types of ecommerce marketing. Your marketing strategy may also include promoting user-generated content and optimising product pages.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ECOMMERCE AND DIGITAL MARKETING?

Digital marketing is any form of marketing that takes place in digital format or online. Ecommerce marketing is marketing that relates to your ecommerce store.