Ecommerce Marketing: Ice the Cake Before You Serve

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Ecommerce marketing generally begins digital dazzle. But how will it finish once the product is in hand? Will the delivered goods rack up major points with the customer? They better. Or forget about follow-up orders.

The problem is, brands never can be sure of hitting the mark -- primarily because customer expectations vary. Once delivered, merchandise may disappoint, satisfy, or exceed expectations. That’s quite a range. Nevertheless, when all is said and done, there’s only one result worth aiming for – the third one.

Does exceeding expectations necessitate endless product tinkering until perfection is achieved?  Must developers forge super-merchandise guaranteed to please all tastes at all times? The best of all possible products? Far from it. In fact, no product modification is required. What is needed, however, is a bit of icing on the cake. Sweeten up the order for best results. While this action offers no guarantees, it does up the odds of success.

The icing choices abound. One popular and frequently used option is the discount. This typically appears as a snappy insert or perhaps a digital access code promising major savings. Choice of discount format depends on a variety of factors, such as customer profile.

Free samples are another effective sweetener. Nothing elaborate is required. Just compact versions of product favorites. This strategy, of course, isn’t universally applicable. Food producers, for instance, can resort to mini-snack packages. Automobile dealers, on the other hand, have a much higher hill to climb.

As with samples, free gifts can work wonders on shopper attitudes. The beauty of this option is its versatility. Brands needn’t use their own merchandise (good news for automobile folks). Any thoughtful freebie will do.

And don’t forget the icing value of a thank-you card. True, this won’t increase a shopper’s material wealth. It will, however, provide a big emotional boost to the lucky recipient.

If you have questions or comments about ecommerce marketing, or about any other brand-related topic, feel free to send them our way.