Building your customer base and increasing sales will scale your eComm business toward profitability.
Well, that’s a “Captain Obvious” truth we can all agree with, right?
Profitability is the end goal for every eComm business owner (likewise for brick and mortar business owners, as well). However, many don’t know how to make that happen.
Most eComm entrepreneurs are operating on a “wing-and-a-prayer” marketing plan. They open up their virtual store, toss it into the wild, wild web and hope for the best.
Ok, time out. Lean in and listen carefully to what I’m going to say:
Marketing 101 – In order for more people to buy more of your product, they must know who you are, how you can help them, and why your product is the best on the market.
We call this brand awareness.
Brand awareness is a process of educating your audience about your company & product, the problem you solve for them, and why you have the best solution to their problem.
But unfortunately, most eComm business owners don’t know how to position themselves in this way.
They lack the understanding of how to educate their audience about their company and product(s) and to show why their product is better than anything else out there.
Without an understanding of how to do this, that “wing-and-a-prayer” marketing strategy I mentioned earlier becomes the “marketing plan” by default.
A solid brand awareness plan will help you reach the maximum number of potential customers, build your customer base, and increase sales.
But even the best made plans are a waste of time, energy, and money if you haven’t honed in on your target audience.
Marketing Proverb: When you speak to everyone, you speak to no one.
“Hold on a freakin’ eComm minute, Dawn. Are you saying that my marketing efforts to appeal to the masses are futile?”
Yes, that’s what I’m saying.
In order to build your customer base and increase sales, you must know who you should be talking to and how to talk to them.
At Digital Dawn, we help entrepreneurs grow and scale their eComm businesses using online resources, paid strategies, email marketing, etc.
I have crafted a unique six step methodology, the D2D method, that helps our clients make data-driven decisions for cyclical growth and profitability.
One step that is included in the D2D method is brand awareness. This is an area I have discovered eComm business owners know little to nothing about.
There are a couple of key questions I’m asked over and over again by my clients, network, students, Facebook Group members, etc. who are intentional about building their eComm customer base and increase sales.
How do you determine who your target audience is?
As an entrepreneur, you must clearly define your target audience so you can reach the maximum number of potential customers.
If your online store has been open for any time at all, determine who your most frequent customers are.
If you don’t know who your customers are or you’re just getting started, you can do some market research among the people who are purchasing similar products.
Determine your target market by considering the demographics (i.e. age, gender, economic characteristics, pain points, etc.) of the people purchasing your product or something similar.
How do you talk to your target audience?
Your messaging and the way people understand your brand needs to be very specific. This becomes easier once you have honed in on your target audience.
Once you’ve customized your message for your target audience, you need to determine where those people are hanging out, specifically from a social media perspective (i.e. Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.).
The most effective brand awareness marketing strategy shows up on the platforms where your ideal customers are spending most of their time.
Create awareness of your brand and product(s) by speaking the language your potential customers are using as they search for a solution to their problem. Show how your product is the best solution to their problem by giving an example they can relate to.
Are you saying the right thing, to the right people, in the right place,?
If not, or if you’re unsure, I can help.
Schedule your FREE consultation with me for some brand awareness tips. (Pssst… there are limited spots available.)
For more on this topic and examples of how you can effectively implement it into your marketing strategy, check out my podcast, When You Speak to Everyone, You Speak to No One.
BIO
Dawn Sinkule, the Founder of Digital Dawn, is an MBA graduate, Strategy and Business Growth Consultant as well as a Certified Online Business Manager with more than 16 years of corporate experience working for a Fortune 50 company. Dawn and her team work with passionate six figure business owners who want to grow, expand, and explode their businesses. Dawn and the DD team provide your choice of self-implementation or fully done for you solutions, and both include detailed business strategies, automation, systems, and most importantly the satisfaction of knowing your business is heading the right direction. Her clients get not only the experience of a Fortune 50 leader, but also a personalized and customized strategy as well as an implementation team: AKA your secret weapon for success.