Ecommerce is growing fast. To take advantage of its growth, you need a roadmap that covers everything from what you sell to how you reach customers. A well-crafted ecommerce strategy can provide the foundation you need to achieve success.
In this guide, you’ll learn:
- What ecommerce strategy is and its benefits
- The components of ecommerce strategy and how they work together
- Ecommerce strategies for different stages of business growth
- How Amazon can help you execute your strategy
What is an ecommerce strategy?
An ecommerce strategy is a plan that outlines how an online business will achieve its goals. It covers what you will sell, who you want to reach, how you’ll connect with potential customers, and more. A successful ecommerce strategy framework also ensures all parts of the business work together.
Benefits of an ecommerce strategy
An ecommerce strategy offers several benefits for your business:
- Boost sales: Help increase profits by focusing on the best ways to sell your products online.
- Delight customers: Build strong relationships with customers and encourage them to keep coming back by giving them what they want, when they need it.
- Drive awareness for your brand: Get more people to recognize and trust your business by marketing your brand online.
- Stay competitive: Stay ahead of other businesses by using the latest online selling methods and technologies.
- Save time and money: Make your online store run smoothly and avoid wasting resources by having a clear plan.
- Grow your business: Use your online selling strategy to help expand your business over time.
- Keep your company strong: Attract a steady stream of new and repeat customers to keep your business healthy long term.
Components of an effective ecommerce strategy
To develop an effective ecommerce strategy, you need to plan your approach around products, customers, sales, marketing, and fulfillment.
Product strategy
Product strategy is about deciding what products to sell. Try the following:
- Research and choose products: Study your intended customers and trends, pick products that will sell well, and offer a variety of different products to diversify your catalog.
- Make your products stand out: Figure out what makes your products special and create product pages that showcase your offerings in a way that attracts customers and helps inform their purchasing decisions.
- Be ready to change: Be flexible to handle busy times, market trends, and changes in customer demand. Respond to customer feedback by addressing any product defects and optimize your product pages.
Customer strategy
Customer strategy is about identifying the intended audience. Try the following:
- Identify customers: Find the specific groups you want to reach by creating detailed customer personas based on data and research.
- Map the purchasing journey: Outline the full experience customers go through, from initial awareness to making a purchase.
- Understand their needs: Gain insights into what customers need, their preferences, and the factors that influence their buying decisions.
- Get and keep customers: Develop approaches for acquiring new customers and retaining your existing ones.
- Use their insights: Apply the customer insights gathered to shape your marketing, sales, product, and customer service approaches.
Sales strategy
Maximize sales by developing a sales strategy. Try the following:
- Build an online presence: Create a user-friendly website, active social media accounts, and listings in popular online stores.
- Choose multiple channels: Diversify your sales channels and sell on your website, social media, email, or other online stores.
- Provide great customer support: Help customers quickly with questions and issues to keep them satisfied.
Marketing strategy
A marketing strategy promotes your products and is your roadmap for reaching potential customers. The goal is to increase brand awareness, drive traffic to your online store, and nurture customer loyalty over time. To develop a marketing strategy:
- Know your brand: Define your brand’s mission, values, and unique selling points.
- Set clear goals and metrics: Decide what you want to achieve with marketing efforts, like increasing website traffic or sales. Choose specific metrics to measure success, such as conversion rates or customer acquisition costs.
- Choose marketing channels: Optimize your website and sales pages for search engines, create valuable content, use email and social media marketing, and consider paid advertising.
- Get creative: Reach out to visitors who left your website without purchasing, encourage user-generated content, and collaborate with influencers.
- Monitor and adjust continuously: Track performance metrics like website traffic and sales. Refine your strategy based on data and customer feedback.
Fulfillment strategy
Fulfillment is the process of getting products to customers after they place an order online. It includes:
- Managing inventory levels
- Storing products in a warehouse
- Picking and packing orders
- Shipping orders to customers
- Handling returns and exchanges
When choosing a strategy, consider your order volume, types of products, your budget, and the ability to scale as you grow. Fulfillment options include:
- In-house fulfillment: You handle all fulfillment operations in-house, from storage to shipping.
- Third-party logistics (3PL): Outsourcing fulfillment to a specialized logistics company.
- Dropshipping: The supplier ships products directly to customers on your behalf.
How ecommerce strategy components work together
The parts of an ecommerce strategy are all connected. For example, your product selection can determine who the customer will likely be. Your understanding of potential customers can inform which sales channels your use. Your sales channels can shape your marketing approach. Your product mix and marketing strategy can affect your fulfillment needs, like fast shipping. And your shipping capabilities can also limit what products you offer.
Ecommerce strategy for new brands
When you start an ecommerce business, an effective launch plan can make all the difference. Here’s how to set your business up for success and generate your first sales:
Pre-launch
Before launching, lay the groundwork for a smooth introduction of your products:
- Solve customer needs: Offer products addressing your audience’s specific wants or problems.
- Provide a user-friendly purchasing process: Create an efficient, frictionless buying experience on your website or online store.
- Create an appealing website or store: Design your online store with clear product descriptions, high-quality images, and easy navigation.
- Inventory management: Set up systems to track stock levels and fulfill orders promptly.
Generate your first sales
Once your store is set up, focus on driving traffic and converting visitors. Consider the following:
- Connect with your network: Spread the word to friends, family, and others in your network. Encourage them to buy and share their experience with your product with others.
- Collaborate with influencers: Work with social media influencers in your niche to promote your products to their engaged followers.
- Use online advertising: Run social media and online ads to reach potential customers who are likely to be interested in your products.
- Optimize your content for search visibility: Optimize your website and product pages by including relevant keywords to improve search visibility.
- Create valuable content: Create blog posts, videos, or guides to attract and engage your audience. Establish your brand as a helpful resource.
- Build email lists: Build an email list from day one. Send newsletters, promotions, and product updates to nurture leads and drive repeat sales from subscribers.
Focus on these foundational elements and initial marketing strategies to set your ecommerce business up for a successful launch. Remember to test, measure, and refine your approach based on what works best for your products and audience.
Ecommerce strategies for established brands
Once your ecommerce business gains momentum, it’s time to focus on scaling operations and driving growth. Consider the following:
Scale your operations
- Improve the customer experience: Streamline the checkout process, offer multiple payment options, and provide fast, reliable shipping.
- Expand your product line: Your product offerings should meet evolving customer needs and preferences. Conduct market research, analyze sales data, and introduce new products or variations to fill gaps.
- Optimize your inventory: Implement systems to maintain optimal inventory levels across sales channels. Avoid stock-outs and overstocking by forecasting demand accurately.
Drive awareness and maximize sales
- Use data insights: Analyze customer behavior data and sales metrics to identify opportunities for improvement and growth. Use these insights to refine your strategies.
- Test continuously: Implement A/B testing to optimize various elements of your ecommerce experience, like product pages, checkout flows, and marketing campaigns.
- Collaborate with influencers: Work with social media influencers in your niche to promote your products to their engaged followers. Collaborate on content, product launches, or affiliate marketing campaigns.
- Employ advertising strategies: Explore various ecommerce advertising channels and approaches, like sponsored product and social media ads, to reach new customers and drive sales.
Advanced ecommerce strategies: multichannel selling
Multichannel selling can help you reach more customers, increase sales, and expand your ecommerce business. Consider the following:
Multichannel sales
- Synchronize marketing efforts: Align your marketing across all sales channels to create a consistent brand message.
- Monitor performance: Use tools to track sales and customer behavior on each channel. Adjust your strategy based on the data.
- Adjust your strategy: Regularly review your performance metrics and customer feedback to refine your approach.
Multichannel fulfillment
- Streamline order fulfillment: Develop a system that handles orders from all channels efficiently.
- Offer efficient shipping: Ensure fast and reliable shipping to meet customer expectations.
- Provide great customer service: Provide excellent customer service across all channels to build trust and loyalty.
How can Amazon help you execute your ecommerce strategy?
Amazon is one of the most trusted brands for online shoppers, and when you sell with Amazon, you can tap into that trust from day one. We offer tools and programs to help your business succeed at every stage.
For beginners: Launch and grow your online business
- Create an account and launch a product: Sign up for an Amazon selling account and launch your first product to sell in a store customers trust.
- Boost visibility with advertising: Sponsored ads help you reach new customers both in and beyond the Amazon store.
- Outsource order fulfillment: Offer fast, reliable shipping through Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), which handles your shipping, returns, and customer service.
For established brands: Expand your reach and sales
- Enhance your online presence: Create a storefront on Amazon to showcase your brand and products, and add A+ Content to your product detail pages to engage customers with enhanced images, videos, and product-comparison charts.
- Optimize product listings: Use data-driven insights from Brand Analytics to optimize your product listings with relevant keywords.
- Get customers reviews: Reviews help inform customers’ purchasing decisions and can be a valuable source of credibility. Generate reviews and boost sales with Amazon Vine.
- Increase brand awareness: Use Sponsored Brands ads that appear in Amazon search results to drive discovery for your brand.
- Explore new channels: Amazon has many programs to help you reach new customers domestically and across the globe, like B2B selling and global selling.
For advanced sellers: Optimize and scale your multichannel strategy
- Streamline multichannel fulfillment: Use Amazon’s Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) to ship orders from multiple sales channels while you maintain a single inventory pool.
- Expand globally: Amazon Global Selling provides tools and support to help you succeed in cross-border ecommerce.
- Use data for growth: Amazon’s detailed reporting and analytics can help you spot opportunities to increase sales and efficiency. Measure and optimize your performance to drive continuous growth.
- Automate pricing: Use Amazon pricing tools to automatically adjust prices based on your preferences. Stay competitive while protecting your profit margins.
With a wide range of tools for businesses of all sizes, Amazon can help you enhance every part of your ecommerce strategy. You’ll be able to reach more customers, build your brand, and deliver a delightful experience while saving time and effort. If you need help along the way, Amazon offers plenty of support and educational resources to help you succeed.
Hope & Henry’s ecommerce strategy
Hope & Henry brand image
Hope & Henry, a sustainable clothing brand, aimed to grow their business and reach more shoppers. They turned to Amazon to achieve this goal.
Here are the Amazon tools and programs they used to help achieve success:
- Amazon Stores: Instead of selling through other retailers or channels, Hope & Henry built their online storefront with Amazon.
- Brand Registry and A+ Content: Because Hope & Henry registered their brand with Amazon, they were able to showcase their unique brand story and commitment to sustainability. They also used A+ Content to add enhanced content like videos to their product listings.
- Sponsored Product ads: They used cost-per-click (CPC) ads to drive product discoverability and sales, especially for new collections.
- Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA): From day one, Hope & Henry used FBA to offer fast, free shipping to customers without having to invest in their own storage or logistics. FBA also helped provide a great customer experience.
- Multichannel expansion: In addition to selling in the Amazon store, Hope & Henry later opened physical stores to reach customers both online and in person.
Amazon tools and programs helped Hope & Henry implement their ecommerce strategy. As a result, the brand achieved:
- A 35% increase in year-over-year sales
- 50% of total sales came from Amazon
- An expanded customer reach across the US
Learn more about Hope & Henry and how it launched its ecommerce business with Amazon.
