“Putting your eggs in one basket” has its pitfalls, even in the field of e-commerce. When you dedicate your entire budget to the creation of your website, and you don’t have concrete plans on how to drive traffic to it, then you’re heading nowhere. You might also focus too much on one just one avenue of driving traffic and disregard other modes which are equally, if not more, effective.
Engaging in the world of e-Commerce requires a smart marketing plan which involves proper use of the different channels available. The various channels which you can utilize are the following:
- Direct Traffic
This includes email marketing, affiliate marketing and direct URL navigation or bookmarking.
- Paid Search
This means leveraging on the power of search engines to get traffic on a pay-per-click (PPC) basis. This channel requires proper & effective use of keywords and management of conversion rates.
- Comparison Shopping Sites
There are free and paid comparison shopping sites with different business models nowadays, where you can list your products into in order to drive more site traffic and achieve conversions.
- Marketplaces
These are sites which allow you to list your items for sale. Among the largest marketplaces are eBay and Amazon.
- Mobile
You may want to create a mobile version of your website because an increasing number of shoppers now browse and buy products using their smartphones and other mobile devices.
- Social Media
With millions of social media users today, it is smart for you to establish a social media presence. A number of retailers are getting sales from this channel already, so you may want to start having one now.
Here’s a table which shows changes in the way consumers shop. As you can see, the percentage of consumers using direct channels in 2001 (75%) significantly dropped to 9% in 2010.
Source: http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/22762/4-Tips-for-Effective-Multi-Channel-Ecommerce.aspx
This signifies the importance of diversifying your channels so that your products could be seen “everywhere.” Plan your strategies well, make necessary researches and create a “channel mix” that will effectively boost your e-commerce business.