Optimising e-commerce and marketing channels: reviews, USPs, and helping consumers make informed decisions
Matt: Could you share some unique insights on E-Commerce marketing?
David: Marketers often ask this. There are three key insights they should consider. First, ratings and reviews.
Most marketers know about ratings and reviews, but doing them well is crucial. Good ratings and reviews can boost your brand. For example, even during a recession, many brands still sell expensive items. They are popular because their products are high quality.
Smaller brands can also benefit from ratings and reviews. If they offer good quality and have thousands of positive reviews, but their prices are 50% cheaper, it promotes their brand and products, leading to more sales.
Many marketers overlook this, but focusing on getting positive consumer reviews can boost sales. Often, these reviews are free, as consumers willingly share their positive experiences.
Many marketers overlook this, but focusing on getting positive consumer reviews can boost sales. Often, these reviews are free, as consumers willingly share their positive experiences.
Next is the importance of infographics. When buying a product, you want to know its key features, especially online where you can't physically examine it. Infographics highlight the top five features, showing the product's value and how it solves problems. This is why creating rich content is crucial.
Lastly, attractive promotions with good perceived value are important. Consumers, like you and me, are drawn to promotions such as "buy 1 get 3 free." Such bundles make us think, "Wow, this is amazing," and highlight the promotion's worth.
This is a great insight, and marketers should use it. Even though the five free gifts are small, they give consumers a sense of getting a good deal, which boosts conversions. Marketers should focus on this to encourage consumers to complete their purchases.
Matt: How can brands set this up if they only have a few reviews? Are there any incentives or techniques to increase the number of reviews quickly?
David: Definitely. There are always tricks and tips. At first, we don't give anything and see the natural reviews. There are always some, but we need more.
To encourage more reviews, we can give prizes, like a lucky draw or vouchers. Vouchers are part of e-commerce strategy. We use them to motivate our customers. If they leave a good review, we might give them vouchers or a discount.
Another way is cashback. When you buy from Taobao, Alibaba, or Tmall, you often find a red paper in the box offering $5 off for a good review. So, there are many ways to get more good reviews.
Matt: What can brands do to highlight their product's unique selling points (USPs) in a competitive market?
David: Since consumers can't touch or feel the products, they need detailed content. Brands can zoom in on USP infographics and use high-definition images. Videos are also helpful to show the product's benefits and different use cases.
For example, a video of a washing machine or vacuum cleaner can show how it solves consumer problems like cleaning clothes or floors. Rich content with infographics and videos can highlight USPs and solve user problems, encouraging them to buy.
Building conversion through cross-selling and brand loyalty
Matt: I'd like to know about getting new customers, converting them, and keeping them loyal. It's getting more expensive to attract new customers to websites, harder to convert them, and tough to build brand loyalty with many options available. Do you have any tips on how brands can do better in these areas?
David: Great question. This is a big issue for brands because attracting new customers is getting more expensive. They've spent a lot on paid ads with little return. But there are other ways besides paid media.
For example, you can use your products. Most companies have many products, but some are in high demand and cost less. You can focus on one or two of these products to attract customers.
In e-commerce, we use something called a "traffic SKU." This is when you offer a very good deal, sometimes just breaking even or even taking a small loss, to attract customers to your store.
Imagine a physical store with many customers lining up outside. Even if you only break even on the deal, once customers are inside, you can sell them other products. They might buy more than just the initial item they came for.
This is where promoting other products with higher profit margins comes in. You attract customers with the traffic SKU and then sell them higher-margin products once they are in your store. This way, you don’t lose money on the initial deal.
For example, if you offer "buy one, get five free" deals on high-margin items, customers are likely to buy more. This technique helps you gain new customers without high acquisition costs.
Additionally, you benefit from gaining new customers, possibly even from competitors. You can upsell and cross-sell different products to them and use CRM programs to build loyalty.
With a web store or marketplace, you can use CRM features to share product tips regularly. For example, if you sell cooking devices, you can share cooking tips and recipes weekly. This helps to promote other kitchen products with higher margins. There are many ways to increase customer acquisition, conversion, and loyalty.
Matt: Can you share an example of a memorable cross-sell you've seen on a site? For instance, if someone comes to buy a microwave and ends up buying a microwave, a juicer, and something else.
Are there any examples you can share where brands have done this in a small way?
David: Yes, definitely. Often, when a brand sells home appliances, we'll recommend related items. For example, if we sell a washing machine, we might also recommend a dryer or bundle them together because that's common.
We also bundle items like a hood and hob together for kitchens. You don't want kitchen smells, so these are common bundles. Like you mentioned, items like toasters, air fryers, juicers, and blenders are popular bundles. I've seen many cases where consumers buy these, especially when moving to a new house. They look for a whole set of new appliances.
Consumers see these bundles as a good deal because they buy multiple products, and brands often give bigger discounts.
Matt: How can those brands build loyalty if emails are a tough channel? Are there any other ways they can build loyalty? We'd love to hear your thoughts.
David: It's tough because once you buy those products, they last a long time, maybe ten years. But there are some tips. For example, how to wash different types of plates or pots, and how to maintain your dishwasher.
You can also save water using different functions, especially with new AI features focused on sustainability. Consumers want to know how to save more water, make their dishwasher more energy-efficient, and ensure their dishes are clean. Complaints about dishes not being clean could be due to how they cook or what they cook.
You can share these tips. Also, you don't always have to use email for tips. You can cross-sell or upsell. If someone bought a dishwasher, they likely cook a lot, so you can offer other cooking products to make their life easier, or products to help them bake better muffins and cookies for their family.
There are different ways to engage in CRM. On your web store, you can send EDM or WhatsApp messages. In marketplaces, you can use their CRM programs to send push notifications. There are many channels to build loyalty with your customers.
There are different ways to engage in CRM. On your web store, you can send EDM or WhatsApp messages. In marketplaces, you can use their CRM programs to send push notifications. There are many channels to build loyalty with your customers.
Data-driven distinction: Turning Small Brand Challenges into Market Opportunities
Matt: You have experience working both in-house for well-known brands and at agencies. What are some key lessons you've learned from agencies that e-commerce brands should know?
David: We've gained many insights from our partners. First, use the research and insights from agencies to help brands increase e-commerce sales, whether through marketplaces, web stores, or other channels.
Second, agencies manage many brands and can share best practices, examples, and case studies that current clients can apply.
In retail media, on-site media often has a higher return on ad spend (ROAS) than off-site media. I've seen brands achieve five to ten times higher ROAS with on-site media compared to off-site. This varies by category, but generally, on-site media performs better. This helps in prioritizing and allocating budgets based on your goals. However, off-site media is also important for attracting new customers.
Customer data is crucial in e-commerce. Some brands don't share data, but there are ways to collect it, like offering extended warranties if customers register their products. This allows you to gather customer information regardless of where they bought the product. You can use this data for CRM, and to cross-sell and upsell products.
Customer data is crucial in e-commerce. Some brands don't share data, but there are ways to collect it, like offering extended warranties if customers register their products. This allows you to gather customer information regardless of where they bought the product. You can use this data for CRM, and to cross-sell and upsell products.
Lastly, brands should split their budgets into different segments: normal marketing (including off-site) and e-commerce marketing (focused on sales and ROAS). This helps in achieving different objectives effectively.
Matt: How do you make your campaigns stand out in such a crowded space? What are some quick ways for brands to differentiate?
David: E-commerce is very complex. We have our web store and different marketplaces like Lazada, Shopee, Grab Food, Panda Textile Shop, and Carousel.
Each of these has sales channels and retail media to drive sales. My advice is to prioritize because there are so many options.
If you are selling through these channels, see which ones give you the most sales and focus on them. Also, always set aside 10-20% of your budget for testing. This can be a backup if your main channels don't perform well.
There are different types of retail media and formats. For example, TikTok Shop focuses on short videos, while other marketplaces and your web store may use banners.
Your marketing team can create banners for marketplaces and your web store, but the focus should be different. For example, Grab, Panda, and your web store might focus more on branding and promotions, while Shopee and Lazada should be more sales-focused. Show good deals and perceived value to get customers to check out.
Different channels need different ads and content to drive more conversions and sales.
Matt: You mentioned it's very complex and competitive. How do smaller brands compete with larger ones? Whether it's retail media or influencer marketing, how can they compete?
David: They all use different media, and it's all about bidding. You don't always need to bid high to get a spot. There are many types of e-commerce marketing.
For example, homepage banners are common. Payment methods vary: CPC (cost per click), CPM (cost per thousand impressions), and CPD (cost per day). CPD can be expensive if you have a big budget.
You can buy a banner for a day or month, but many brands can't afford this. Instead, they can use lower-cost options like sponsored search or discovery ads focused on keywords. Smaller brands can use niche keywords to compete with bigger brands.
There are also recommendation ads based on your products and what consumers search for. Affiliate ads are fair for everyone. If you offer good commissions, affiliates will promote your ads.
For influencers (KOLs), there are two types:
- Sales-driven KOLs: They take a small fee but earn more from the commissions you provide. This is fair for all brands.
- Branding KOLs: They create content for you without focusing on sales. They can be expensive if they have many followers.
Smaller brands with limited budgets can work with smaller KOCs. By giving them commissions, they can help with branding and driving sales. There are many ways to compete.
