Marketing Tactics can help online shops get more visitors and sell more products. Starting with a basic plan is just the first step. Then, you need to determine which methods will help your shop stand out and attract more customers.
We’ve created a list of powerful marketing strategies and tools for online stores, along with easy tips on how to use them. These range from simple ideas to get new customers to ways to make your current customers buy more.
Try a new strategy from the list every day for a few weeks. At the end of these weeks, take a moment to look back and see which methods worked best to increase your sales.
What Are The Marketing Tactics?
Marketing Tactics are the specific actions a company uses to put its marketing plan into action. A common example is placing ads in newspapers or on TV.
Different businesses might use a variety of marketing tactics, and choosing the right ones depends on what they’re selling, who they want to reach, and their budget for marketing. These marketing strategies and tactics must work well together to help the company achieve its goals.
Difference Between Marketing Strategies & Marketing Tactics
Marketing can be confusing, especially when figuring out the difference between tactics and strategies.
A marketing strategy is like a game plan for reaching your business goals. It looks at what your company is good at, what could be improved, and who you’re trying to reach. It sets clear goals for what you want to achieve with your marketing efforts.
Marketing Tactics are the specific steps you take to make your strategy work. For example, if your goal is to make more people aware of your brand, you might use Instagram ads as a tactic.
When you think about marketing strategies and tactics, it’s like planning a trip. You need a map (the strategy) and a set of directions (the tactics) to reach your destination.
If you start using tactics without a strategy, it’s like wandering without a map. You might end up somewhere interesting, but it’s not likely to be where you want to go. Companies that jump into action without planning often waste time and money on things that don’t bring real benefits.
For success in marketing, especially in fields like B2B where the best B2B marketing tactics are crucial, you need both a strong strategy and effective tactics. An SEO Agency in Dubai can help you rank better in searches, while a marketing agency can guide your overall strategy and tactics, ensuring everything works together smoothly and effectively.
12 Best Marketing Tactics to Drive More Sales
Here are the 12 top marketing tactics that can help you increase your sales and grow your business. These strategies are easy to use and effective, perfect for giving your marketing a boost!
① Upsell Your Products
Most of us have heard the phrase, ‘Would you like to supersize your order?’ This is a classic example of upselling, one of the best marketing tactics. Upselling means offering a slightly better product than what the customer originally chose.
For many businesses, especially those using Shopify marketing, upselling can be more effective than trying to find new customers. Sometimes, customers don’t know there’s a better product available, or they need more information to see why an upgrade is a better choice.
For example, maybe one of your products uses better leather or has a special handmade component. Highlight these differences and ask, at the right time, if the customer would like to upgrade.
When using upselling to boost sales:
Ensure your upsells are in some way connected to the main product.
Be aware of the price range your customers expect. Customers usually have an anchor price—the first price they see. The new product needs to be a better fit to justify the higher cost.
Anyone who has bought a computer online knows this process. After choosing a model, companies often suggest upgrades for better performance (upselling) or additional accessories (cross-selling) to enhance the purchase.
② Integrate Instagram
With over 500 million daily users, Instagram is one of the fastest-growing social apps, bringing together consumers, influencers, and brands.
If you take great photos, use hashtags smartly, and post at the right times, you’ll quickly build a big following interest in your products. One of the best marketing tactics for Instagram is to engage with your followers to boost your organic presence.
How can you engage your audience on Instagram? Try running contests or sharing behind-the-scenes looks at how you make your products. These marketing strategies and tactics help you connect more deeply with your followers. Plus, for e-commerce, adding products to your Instagram posts and Stories gives your followers a direct way to buy, which is key for increasing your online sales.
③ Reduce Abandoned Carts
Harsh truth: You lose money every time a visitor abandons their cart without buying anything.
This happens a lot. Visitors add items to their carts but leave before checking out. Statista reports that in the second quarter of 2022, 85% of US e-commerce shoppers abandoned their carts.
Addressing these issues is important because some shoppers might just need a little push to complete their purchase. Maybe they could be tempted with a discount or free shipping.
One of the best B2B marketing tactics to reduce cart abandonment is an email recovery campaign. This simple and effective e-commerce marketing idea can remind visitors to return and finish their purchase.
If you’re working with an SEO agency in Dubai, they can also help optimize your site to minimize cart abandonment and improve overall sales.
④ Launch a Facebook Store
Even though Facebook has changed a lot, it’s still a great platform for e-commerce brands to use for social media marketing.
It’s easy to start selling through your Facebook store. Even better, your Facebook store can link directly with your Shopify store, so you don’t have to manage separate inventories. A marketing agency can help you set this up smoothly.
One of the best marketing tactics for using Facebook is to look at successful examples. For inspiration, check out the Facebook store for Fiercely by Valery Brennan. This can give you some great ideas for your own Shopify marketing efforts.
⑤ Capture More Email Subscribers
Dollar for dollar, email marketing is one of the most effective ways to make sales and create repeat customers.
We have too many tweets and Facebook posts to keep up with, but email offers a more personal touch. People pay more attention to emails in their inbox than to social media posts. Plus, email gives you the space to share more detailed messages that wouldn’t fit in a social media post.
To get started with email marketing, use smart marketing tactics to promote your newsletter, blog, and other email capture efforts. The goal is to get as many subscribers as possible. For example, Huckberry makes signing up for its email list the main focus when you first visit its site. This is one of the best marketing strategies and tactics to ensure your message reaches your audience effectively.
In the world of B2B, the best B2B marketing tactics also include email marketing. It allows for direct communication and builds stronger relationships with your customers.
⑥ Improve Your Email Campaigns
Simply capturing a bunch of email addresses isn’t enough. To make email marketing an effective e-commerce activity, you need to send regular, valuable emails that your subscribers will appreciate.
Here are some great occasions to send emails:
- Welcome Emails: Send a welcome email as soon as a customer makes a purchase. An SEO agency in Dubai can help you optimize these emails for better engagement.
- Exclusive Offers: Provide exclusive promo codes and gifts to your subscribers.
- Newsletters: Send regular newsletters to let subscribers know about new discounts, product tips, and company news.
- Helpful Content: Share relevant content to help customers get the most out of their recently purchased items.
- Holiday Campaigns: Run a BOGO campaign during the holidays to encourage self-gifting.
- Customer Appreciation: Thank your highest-value customers with a personal note expressing your appreciation for their business. A marketing agency can craft these messages to make them extra special.
- Feedback Requests: If someone visits your site but doesn’t make a purchase, ask them about their experience and how you can improve it.
For example, Uncommon Goods sent a simple but effective email for Father’s Day. It reminded subscribers of the occasion and provided a last-minute gift idea for procrastinators. The subject line read, “The Gift that Will Save Father’s Day.” This approach can be adapted by any business to create timely and relevant email content.
⑦ Send Wishlist Reminder Emails
Another great email to add to your list of e-commerce marketing ideas is the wishlist reminder email. This email is similar to the abandoned cart email and is designed to encourage shoppers to buy the items they’ve shown interest in.
For instance, if it’s been a while since someone checked their wishlist, or if an item on their wishlist is on sale or selling out, send them an email to let them know. Using the best marketing tactics like this can prompt them to complete their purchase.
ModCloth, for example, alerts shoppers when products are nearly out of stock. This not only motivates shoppers but also helps them avoid missing out on items they’ve been eyeing. Incorporating these tactics into your Shopify marketing strategy can help drive more sales and keep your customers engaged.
⑧ Make It Easy for Customers to Get What They Want
If your store is poorly designed, you’re losing customers. But what makes a store poorly designed?
A poorly designed store might look untrustworthy, lack a clear value proposition, have hard-to-read fonts, or confusing navigation. Using smart Marketing Tactics can help address these issues.
Even if you fix these problems, there are still common design mistakes to avoid. Are you properly organizing your products, or are you putting too many on one page? Have you found the right balance between text and visuals? These are crucial aspects of marketing strategies and tactics to keep in mind. If your theme isn’t converting well, explore other great themes available on Shopify.
There are many beautiful ecommerce websites to learn from. For example, take a look at DODOcase. Notice how the products are organized. This is one of the best B2B marketing tactics to ensure a smooth shopping experience for your customers.
⑨ Engage Store Visitors with Live Chat
There are other impactful ways to engage with site visitors and customers besides email. One effective method is using live chat to interact with shoppers on your site.
Many live chat tools let you target visitors based on the pages they view, how long they stay on your site, or if they arrive through an email newsletter. An SEO Agency in Dubai can help you set up these tools effectively. Live chat allows you to have direct conversations with your customers, addressing their questions and concerns while they are considering a purchase.
For instance, Luxy Hair uses live chat to engage potential buyers and inform current customers about their order status, without the need to contact their support team via email. A Marketing agency can assist in implementing and optimizing such tools to enhance customer interaction and satisfaction.
⑩ Anticipate Future Sales
If you can expand your product line, it’s important to check if there’s enough demand to make it worthwhile. You can do this in different ways: keyword research, geographic validation, social media trends, and more. One creative way to test your market is by pre-selling items to see how many orders you get.
For example, if you’re choosing between three new products to sell, create pages for all of them with quality photos and compelling descriptions. List them as “out of stock” and see which one gets the most requests for back-in-stock notifications. That’s the product to go with—this is one of the best marketing tactics for making informed decisions.
In footwear and apparel, it’s common for certain sizes or colours to be temporarily out of stock. For instance, KEEN, which sells hiking shoes, allows shoppers to sign up for an email alert when a product is available again. This strategy can be effectively implemented in your Shopify marketing efforts to keep customers engaged and informed.
⑪ Start a Content Marketing Program
Every online store should think about blogging regularly to connect with customers and rank better in search engines. If you’re already creating content, make sure your blog is easy to find on your site. An SEO Agency in Dubai can help you optimize your blog for better visibility.
There are also other ways to use content marketing besides just blogging:
- Start a podcast: Share your expertise and build a stronger community.
- Guest post on other sites: Write for other websites and blogs to increase awareness and get backlinks, which improves SEO. A marketing agency can help you find the best sites for guest posts.
- Create detailed guides: Make long-form content to help customers use your products better.
For example, Press delivers plant-based goodies like cold-pressed juices and kombucha. Their blog, The Squeeze, gives tips for a healthy lifestyle, including switching to a plant-based diet, healthy recipes, and improving digestion while travelling. This helps them connect with their audience and provide valuable information.
⑫ Embrace Personalization
Personalization is a fantastic way to increase online sales. By using data on what customers have done before and what they like, you can create a shopping experience just for them.
Studies show that personalization can boost sales by up to 10%. However, only 15% of companies use this technology fully. Adding personalization to your marketing tactics can make a difference.
You can also personalize based on where your customers are. For example, someone in Southern California might want bathing suits in October, while customers in Maine are looking for coats. These marketing strategies and tactics make shopping more relevant and enjoyable.
Alloy Apparel does this well by showing a “what’s popular” carousel of products. They personalize it with trending items based on the visitor’s location. This method can be a great way to start your Shopify journey, making your online store more engaging and tailored to each customer.
Finally, the most important thing to remember about marketing tactics is that they should always support your overall strategy. If your tactics don’t align with your company’s goals, they won’t help you achieve your objectives. By trying some of the marketing tactics mentioned above, you can boost lead generation in your business and reach your goals every quarter.
