Customers are purchasing more and more goods, whether they be gadgets, clothes, or groceries, from online retailers, which offers astute e-commerce firms enormous potential. But a lot of people disregard the rest and simply purchase from well-known brands. Because of this, increasing the likelihood that an e-commerce business will succeed requires developing a strong e-commerce brand.

Your e-commerce brand encompasses more than simply your name, logo, and memorable tagline; it also represents the way that customers view and discuss your company and its character. It’s the perception that customers have about an online retailer with whom they have either directly or indirectly dealt. When someone hears the name of your company, they will immediately think of its distinct and recognizable personality.

Developing an e-commerce brand is essential for company expansion. Having a strong brand gives you a competitive edge because clients will frequently choose you over your rivals. In fact, 86% of small business owners believe branding is crucial to their overall business success, according to a survey we at 99designs by Vista conducted. Of these, 84% say their visual branding helps attract new customers, and 88% credit branding with fostering customer trust.

Sustainable growth can result from having a strong brand because if people start to identify and like your company, they are more likely to stay with you in the long run as devoted supporters. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that 78% of small business owners in the same poll stated that their visual branding has a major impact on their revenue growth. Consumers support well-known e-commerce companies and have faith in them, especially in trying circumstances.

Having covered the fundamentals, let’s move on to the actions you should take to establish your brand’s perception among your target audience. These are 12 strategies for developing a powerful e-commerce brand:

1. Outline the key benefits of your brand

Today, businesses often use similar tools to make physical products. It can be difficult to distinguish between many products in a saturated market, so strive to differentiate your products by showcasing what makes your product and brand unique.

Differentiate yourself through:

• A hyper-focused target market.
  Instead of selling watches to everyone, for example, focus on busy yet trend-conscious millennials.
• A benefit-rich tagline.
  Capture the advantages of working with you with a catchy tagline.
• A minor difference in design.
  Want to stand out? Flaunt a small but unique product feature.

2. Be consistent and loyal

Think about one of your favorite brands for a second. You’ve stuck with them for many years, maybe even decades. You wouldn’t dream of dumping them for another brand, not without a good reason. Not in a million years.

Why? Because they are consistent and reciprocate your loyalty. They show up month after month, year after year, maintaining the same excellent standards in product quality and quality of service.

As a result, you stay loyal to them. Become a consistent customer-centric brand like ecommerce giant Amazon. This customer-centric approach has reaped bumper sales.

3. Identify your brand’s target audience

Focusing on the right target audience is foundational to the success of any ecommerce business.

Even if you have a flawless product, without reaching the right target audience, you will struggle. Audience-focused marketing resonates with potential customers naturally, so they’re happy to pay for your product (because they already want your product).

To succeed in audience targeting, you must understand:

• Who they are.
  Go beyond basic demographics, deeper into their needs, problems and desires.
• Where they are.
  Locate their favorite online watering hole, e.g. Facebook, Youtube, Twitter or niche forums.
• What they struggle with.
  Identify their pain points, the problems they struggle with that your product could solve.
• Which search terms they use.
  Investigate the phrases they use to search for products so you optimize your copy to draw them organically to your store.

For example, Sephora prioritizes mobile apps to dish out gift cards and coupons because they have a mobile-first audience.

4. Better serve your customer

Without customers, you have no business to speak of. The better you serve your customers, the more money you can hope to make. So, how do you improve your service to them?

1. Segment your list.
   A segmented list helps you send customers personalized offers. Email sequences are great for this.
2. Check customer data.
   Check what your customers are buying, when they are buying it, and how much they spend.
3. Respond to queries.
   When customers have queries or issues, answer their questions or solve their problems swiftly.

Nordstrom knows how to delight their customers. Partially due to their stellar customer service, they’ve been operating profitably for 119 years!

5. Establish your style

Shoppers don’t stick with your brand just because they love your products. They buy from you because of their experiences with your brand. Case in point, Mr Porter doesn’t only sell clothing or accessories, they sell a modern, millennial lifestyle.

Read Also: Top 50 Brand Influencers on Twitter

Their app is available to all customers for an elevated, VIP shopping experience.

Everything, from your logo to user experience, from copy to colors must converge to form one distinct brand experience. That’s how to keep your customers coming back for more.

6. Focus on product quality

Emerging ecommerce brands are becoming more clever. Instead of launching with a myriad of products, they narrow their focus and start with one product, doing their utmost to make that single product the highest quality.

Why? Today’s consumers don’t tolerate mediocre products. Starting with a ton of products splits focus and can lead to a compromise on quality. As a result, consumers can desert your brand or suffer choice fatigue.

Focusing on one product of high quality can lead customers to become loyal to your brand and enhance your reputation. Chubbies started off selling only retro shorts for men. Their hyper-focus on quality paid off and they exploded into an e-commerce giant.

7. Create diverse content types (podcasts, videos, infographics…)

Content runs the ecommerce ecosystem. Content grows your relationship with customers. Create great content directly related to your niche. For example, Each Night Sleep, a mattress company has an entire section on their site featuring thought leadership sleep health content.

Pay attention to these high-converting 4 content types:

• Podcasts
  Some customers prefer listening to reading, so learn how to make a podcast, or consider sponsoring a relevant podcast for a couple of episodes.
• Video
  Create vlogs, product demo videos, and explainer videos. Dollar Shave Club produces entertaining videos for their customers. This video, for example, got a whopping 5 million views in 90 days.
• Infographics
  Break down content into digestible bits by working with a designer on infographics (or consider these infographic templates).
• Comparison content
  Create comparison content to compare and contrast your products with competitors.

8. Speak their language

For your ecommerce brand to connect emotionally with your customers, you need to speak their language. When your messaging dials into how your customers communicate, they will be more responsive to your marketing campaigns and will leave a positive impression of your branding efforts.

UK gifts company Not On The High Street knows how to speak their customers’ language. Warm conversational expressions like “I love you a whole bunch” show they’ve ditched corporate speak for a more relaxed tone.

Here’s how you discover your target market’s language:

• Dig into product reviews
  Look for common expressions used by your customers and feature them organically throughout your copy.
• Revisit customer research
  Check your consumer research and mirror the language used by your customers.
• Check on your competitors
  Keep an eye on how competitors are phrasing their communications. You want to differentiate yourself, of course, but it’s good to keep in mind what your direct competitors are doing.

9. Share your story

Winning ecommerce brands have a gripping story. Consider making your customers the heroes of that story and it will resonate strongly with them. Weave your brand’s story into everything you do.

• About us page.
  Share interesting details of your brand’s origin on your About Us page. A video from the founder can be especially compelling.
• Packaging.
  Share your story through product labels, tags, packaging, and every physical interaction your customers have with their purchases.
• Press release.
  If you are a startup or launching a new product, a press release is a great platform to share your story. PR in general is a great way of reaching more customers.

10. Be a part of something bigger

Customers love brands that engage the community and make the world a better place. Customers connect with brands that make them become part of a bigger cause. Studies show 73% of customers believe companies must improve the communities they operate in.

Seek out good causes and charities cherished by your customers and support them. For long-term impact, donate a portion of your profits to a specific charitable organization annually. And for greater brand recognition, collaborate with an influencer to expand your reach.

11. Reflect, refine, and get advice

Align everything you do to connect better with your best customers. You’ll end up with a stronger ecommerce brand. Here are some tips on how to do it:

• Create a value statement that shows off what makes you different.
• Share a consistent message across all channels.
• Leverage new technologies and strategies in your marketing.
• Lean on user generated content for sticky content.
• Use trendy hashtags so shoppers find your store.

Women’s clothing brand Aerie urged customers to post unedited photos of themselves in bathing suits. Not only did they elevate their brand’s authenticity, they also raised $10k for the National Eating Disorders Association.

12. Leverage social media and advertising

Successful ecommerce brands seamlessly integrate social media into their marketing, as Loganix points out:

“Building a great ecommerce brand requires advertising at some stage. PPC ads on social media and Google search are fantastic for not only direct sales, but also brand awareness and simply connecting with the right customers at the right time.”

Here’s how to maximize social media for branding and advertising:

• Communicate to your audience on their favorite platforms.
• Consider using social media for customer support.
• Listen to your customers.
• Sell your products, but don’t be spammy.
• Grow your following but prioritize engagement over follower count.

Fashion brand, Velvet Caviar has a massive 969k followers on Instagram. They chose to prioritize Instagram as a visual platform perfect for their industry.

Enterprise businesses should use their track record and years of industry experience to boost customer confidence in their goods and services. A plan for e-commerce branding helps companies to convey their special selling point and foster customer loyalty.

• Helps better serve customers.

Well-established brands provide customers with a consistent experience across channels. Whether their first touch is the ecommerce website, social media, or an offline channel, customers know what to expect from the brand.

Good branding makes it easier for customers to identify whether or not a business’s products and services are meant for them. For example, a business catering to college students knows the type of messaging, imagery, and offers needed to reach their audience.

• Lowers customer acquisition costs.

A strong brand with a clear message and value proposition attracts potential customers who identify with the brand, reducing the need for costly advertising and ecommerce marketing efforts. A recognizable brand also encourages customer loyalty and repeat purchases, which is more cost-effective than acquiring new customers. Studies show that customer acquisition can cost five times more than retention.

Customers who have a positive experience with a brand are more likely to make word-of-mouth referrals, bringing your acquisition costs to zero.

• Champions change and increase value with customers.

Strong brands build certain expectations with their customers (eg: five-star, white-glove service or fast delivery) and are obligated to meet or exceed those expectations to retain their customer base. 

This forces businesses to engage in continuous process improvement, monitor the competition, and provide new and exciting products and services to increase customer engagement.

Finally

E-commerce branding holds significance for multiple rationales. A good brand fosters consumer trust and loyalty, which over time can increase income and sales. Furthermore, having a clearly defined brand makes it simpler for internet companies to connect with their target market and provide a consistent customer experience across all channels by helping them develop a clear identity and mission statement.

Utilize branding to highlight the business’s USP and craft an engaging narrative that appeals to the intended audience. Make sure your branding is there at every touchpoint, from the initial online encounter to the follow-up after a purchase.