So you want to run an online business…

The good news is that the digital age has made it easier than ever to set up your own online business. The bad news is that setting up a business and running a successful one are two different things. The best news, however, is that it’s possible.

Being successful in e-commerce is about understanding the marketplace you’re moving into and how to establish yourself in it. If this is a sector you want to get into, we want to give you the tools (and the confidence) to thrive. How, you ask? Let’s break it down.

What is e-commerce?

If email is just electronic mail, then e-commerce is just electronic commerce. It is business conducted in cyberspace: from marketing and selling to customer support and engagement. While you don’t have to be a fully online business to make the most of it, you have to make at least some portion of your sales online to be an e-tailer.

But being an entrepreneur in this space is about more than putting the letter ‘e’ in front of everything. Oh – and there’s never been a better time to get into it.

The e-commerce boom

In terms of customer behavior, the pandemic did two things in 2020:: it moved people inside (away from physical stores) and then it moved them online (where your future e-commerce business lives). This created what we now consider the e-commerce boom. Online retail grew by 44% in the US in 2020.

If you live in downtown Chicago, you might have heard of companies like Peapod Digital Labs or YouCopia, both of which have headquarters based in the area. But whether you work out of a headquarters or a home office, e-commerce cares very little about physical surroundings. It’s all about how you maximize your impact in the online marketplace.

E-commerce marketing strategies

E-commerce is closely tied to digital marketing for obvious reasons. You can’t advertise to an online audience with a billboard on the highway. Well, you could; it would just be very expensive and generate very few leads.

But where traditional forms of marketing like physical ads can be expensive, digital marketing only asks for an internet connection – at least to start with. More importantly, billboards don’t move. Digital marketing can happen on any social media platform, on your own website, a customer’s email inbox and even directly on a search engine results page (SERP).

Whether you’re selling directly to customers (B2C) or to other businesses (B2B), digital marketing starts with understanding where your audience spends their time online. From there, you need to determine when the best time to engage with them is.

Behind the scenes, you’ll also need a sales pipeline. This can be as simple as a single-page flow chart or as detailed as a report. Whatever you use, it should tell you which points in the buyer’s journey strangers need to pass through in order to turn into leads and eventually customers.

Working with an e-commerce marketing agency

Sound complicated? It doesn’t have to be. Most e-commerce companies are small or medium-sized businesses, which means hiring a dedicated marketing and sales team isn’t always feasible. If you don’t have the time or experience, doing it yourself can be difficult too. So who can you call to help?

The long answer: a quality e-commerce marketing agency that understands:

• Your unique business needs
• The marketplace you want to operate in
• E-commerce as a business practice

The short answer: us.

MACLYN is a full-service marketing agency. That means we handle your marketing while working with you to ensure that your product arrives at the hands that need it most. We offer a range of packages so you can find the one that works for you and your budget. Whatever you need in terms of marketing, we cover:

• Strategy
• Search engine optimization (SEO)
• Social media management
• Data management
• Content marketing
• Influencer marketing
• Virtual/experiential events

Don’t let marketing keep you from the other areas of your business that need your magic touch. We have offices in Naperville, IL and Des Moines, IA. You can contact us online to find out how we can help you maximize your marketing so you can turn your e-commerce business into a success. So don’t hesitate to request a consultation – we can’t wait to hear from you!