Ecommerce Marketing (Everything You Need To Know)

Commerce, the act of buying and selling products and services, has been an inherent part of society from its beginning.

Some historians note that commerce was active in communities even before they conformed to a recognized social formation.

In 2021, however, you cannot use the term commerce without specifying the form of business you refer to.

As it goes without saying, we are talking about eCommerce.

After years of speculations and debates, eCommerce has become vital in the building of contemporary society.

As a business owner, you may even face slight pressure to start your eCommerce website even when you have a brick-and-mortar store.

Considering the heavy competition in the market, it is not like you can ignore eCommerce marketing campaigns.

Before we tell you all about eCommerce and eCommerce marketing, we think it’s essential to understand how commerce is the hybrid thing we know.

It’s also important to recognize the path eCommerce has traveled in the past couple of decades.

First, we will take a look at how commerce changed throughout history.

Commerce to eCommerce: A Short History

As we said, commerce’s history would take us back to the days of social formation.

As humans learned that they could not live alone, they relied on co-operation methods.

Commerce was one of them. It started with a barter system, where people exchanged their products and services for each other.

Even now, brick-and-mortar stores function as the central establishment for commerce.

However, the history of global commerce will have its roots in the 16th century, which also coincided with many travels and discoveries worldwide.

Many trade routes, such as the Silk Route, were established during this period, and the trade between faraway lands contributed to cultural changes.

Besides, people in different regions had developed their strategy to trade products and services.

We must also mention that European explorations, the East India Company’s activities, and some other ventures formed what we know as global trade.

Following the colonies’ independence:

we did see the rise of individual markets across the world.

When these countries moved to a government, they also launched currencies, trade regulations, and other commerce methods.

By the beginning of the 20th century, checks and credit cards were standard in the United States.

In the latter part of the century, society witnessed the development of the internet, followed by the launch of companies like eBay and Amazon.

Many businesses tried to build their eCommerce sites to keep up with the trend, but the dot com bubble had set these efforts back.

The first ten years of the 21st century could easily be called the blooming years of eCommerce.

Now, just 21 years into this century, eCommerce has become a familiar concept with profound impact.

What Is eCommerce?

eCommerce, which stands for electronic commerce, refers to buying and selling services over the Internet.

The first use of the term eCommerce was recorded in 1984, and it has grown exponentially since then.

It is worth noting that eCommerce relies on several technologies such as electronic fund transfer, supply chain management, internet marketing, and data collection.

Some of the crucial points in the historical timeline of eCommerce are:

• 1995: Jeff Bezos launches Amazon.com, which allowed users to purchase products online
• 1995: Pierre Omidyar launches eBay.com, which allowed users to sell products to each other
• 2000: The dot-com bust, which reduced the confidence investors had in tech companies
• 2002: eBay acquires PayPal
• 2003: Amazon.com records and publishes annual profit

Since then, eCommerce companies have grown so dramatically.

We have also seen the rise of domestic and international eCommerce stores worldwide.

It’s also worth noting that the launch of PayPal, which simplified online payments, played an essential role in eCommerce’s popularization.

After a long time, customers had an easy way to pay for the products/services they can buy online.

Soon enough, nations started considering eCommerce as a pivotal aspect of commerce.

Following this stage, we saw the development of regulations that standardized the eCommerce process and offered better safety and security.

Due to these regulations and the rise of easy-to-use platforms, we also saw many brick-and-mortar establishments taking a hybrid approach.

The COVID-19 pandemic also impacted eCommerce’s popularity, as it goes without saying.

Since people could not visit stores due to the lockdown and stay-at-home orders, eCommerce platforms became ideal.

3 Types of eCommerce

Though there are so many types of eCommerce systems, we can focus on three.

Business to Consumer (B2C)

https://youtu.be/SKOozKs_1QU

B2C is considered the most popular form of eCommerce, and it involves businesses and the consumer.

In this case, the company will sell some goods or services to a customer over the internet.

Amazon is probably the best example of a B2C eCommerce market. Netflix is another example, but it sells web-streaming services to consumers.

Compared to other eCommerce forms, B2C eCommerce does not handle products/services in bulk.

Instead, it creates a platform where customers can purchase the products/services they need, often paying an amount lower than the MSRP.

Because B2C cuts intermediaries and takes a new approach towards supply chain management and logistics, it can offer competitive pricing to its products and services.

Business to Business (B2B)

In this form of eCommerce, the transaction occurs between two or more businesses.

While B2B stores may have a design similar to common eCommerce sites, these custom-made stores deal with bulk orders.

If a smaller company wants to stock products for its store, it can rely on a B2B product.

Unlike the case we saw with B2C eCommerce, the customer may have to deal with shipping and logistics separately.

Because of international shipping and customs problems, you can find more domestic B2B shopping places than international shopping places.

Although there has been imminent growth in the past years, the sector will receive further traction in the upcoming years.

Some B2B eCommerce stores allow you to buy the products/services in a non-bulk manner, but these are more of an exception than a rule.

Customer to Customer (C2C)

As you can guess from the name, this is the type of eCommerce where the transactions are held between a customer and another.

The eCommerce store works as a platform where these two customers can meet.

As you may have already guessed, eBay is the best example of a C2C eCommerce store.

While eBay is not the seller, it creates a platform where sellers and buyers can meet.

Of course, there are a few limitations in this form of eCommerce.

First of all, the eCommerce site might not offer you shipping or tracking. Instead, you expect the seller to be honest and process your order as fast as possible.

Because of this structure, platforms like eBay are often the go-to choice of fraudsters. However, in a controlled environment, C2C stores are the best place to buy and sell products and services.

Other Types of eCommerce

Besides these three categories, you can find additional eCommerce store types such as C2B, B2A, and C2A.

These, however, are not common when compared to the types we mentioned.

Although they use the web as the channel for transactions, you may not find a public website and Order buttons.

What Skills Do You Need for eCommerce?

Let’s just say you want to start an eCommerce store.

This store could be an extension of your establishment or something more standalone.

In either case, you will have to set up the eCommerce website, manage the inventory, market the website, and process orders with maximum customer satisfaction.

To manage these aspects, you need several skills.

While you can develop some of these skills, you may have to hire some professionals for the others.

Some of those essential skills are as follows.

• Basic Understanding of Technology

Even when you use an easy-to-use eCommerce platform like Shopify, you need a clear understanding of tech to maintain a website.

You will have to use the website builder and widget-maker to keep track of your online store with ease.

• Data Analysis

If you choose a complete service provider to build an eCommerce site, you need not worry about front-end or backend development.

However, to make strategic decisions that attract more customers to your store, you should know how to analyze data.

• Digital Marketing

You cannot survive in the eCommerce market without digital marketing.

You have to ensure that customers find a reason to prefer your online store to the thousands of others on the web.

You may have to convert new leads and generate new ones.

• Search Engine Optimization

You cannot reach all your customers individually, you know.

That is why SEO skills become important while building an eCommerce website.

You will have to optimize each page on your store for the popular Search Engines so that people end up buying the product organically.

• Writing

It may come as a surprise, but you need some writing skills to maintain a robust eCommerce site.

From the moment a customer opens your eCommerce store, you have to convince them why your site is the best place to shop.

And effective writing skills can help you here.

• Email Marketing

Some might say email is dead, but you shouldn’t believe them. When it comes to eCommerce marketing, it makes sense to stick to email marketing.

It quickly becomes a way to keep in touch with your customers and convert/retain leads.

• Design Sense

You don’t have to be a professional designer to start an eCommerce site.

However, you should have a basic idea about accessible web design, to begin with. Only then will you be able to arrange your website and its elements in a conversion-friendly pattern.

In addition to these, you should have a clear understanding of the eCommerce market in general.

It means you have to make sensible decisions according to the market changes.

As history has shown us quite clearly, even the smallest incidents can impact how people approach online shopping.

As an entrepreneur, it is good to be an early adopter of better technologies and brace for impact.

What Is the Difference Between eCommerce Marketing and eCommerce Advertising?

People may use eCommerce marketing and eCommerce advertising interchangeably, but there are notable differences.

We will have a quick look.

eCommerce Marketing refers to a bundle of actions and strategies that store owners use to boost their online store’s overall popularity.

As we mentioned earlier, this may include SEO, social media marketing, and content marketing, etc.

All these elements work hand in hand so that more people know about your online store and make purchases.

Advertising is just one of the many factors included in the package.

eCommerce Advertising is an entirely different thing in that it refers to advertising campaigns that promote the products or services on the eCommerce platform.

For instance, if you are selling handmade books using the online store, you can launch campaigns that promote a particular book.

These advertisements may focus on digital and non-digital channels alike.

As you can see, eCommerce advertising is just one part of eCommerce marketing.

You cannot grow an online store with eCommerce advertising alone.

Instead, the promotional campaigns should employ an appropriate combination of marketing, writing, and service.

As it goes without saying, mere marketing won’t help you keep a profitable store, either. Instead, you need to keep the service sector impressive.

The Bottom Line

We hope you have a clear understanding of eCommerce and eCommerce marketing after reading this piece.

We have tried to bring together information from experts, especially while talking about the skills you need to run an eCommerce store.

While an eCommerce store doesn’t require too much technical knowledge or coding experience, the rise of easy-to-use platforms has improved the overall competition.

Therefore, you have to focus more on how to provide the best shopping experience to your customers, however small your site may be.

After all, eCommerce marketing is also about building a digital reputation that can last long.