In a world of constant connectivity, online shoppers expect to search, browse and purchase products easily, whenever and wherever they want. As they jump between a growing number of devices and channels, the path to purchase becomes increasingly complex. It’s no longer about delivering the right product at the right price, merchants large and small are in constant competition to satisfy high-expectations for a seamless, enjoyable experience across every interaction.
This heated competition for consumer attention has many store owners feeling the pressure to become experts at digital marketing. For eCommerce SMBs, who rarely have dedicated marketing teams or budgets to hire consultants, mastering the complexities of online marketing can be an overwhelming, even paralyzing, task.Ads by Hooly
While there are a variety of marketing tools and technologies available to help merchants develop, analyze and optimize campaigns, many even accessible and affordable to smaller retailers, figuring out where to start the marketing journey often stalls the process before it’s even begun. Implementing the right strategies at the right time is paramount to marketing success. Merchants must identify their current state of marketing and visualize a clear path to the next level.
To help merchants wrap their arms around marketing and develop a plan to continuously improve results and drive revenue, Springbot and FitForCommerce worked together to study and define the common stages of marketing maturity for SMB merchants. Careful exploration of marketers and online retail operations at various levels of growth revealed that most SMB merchants will fall within one of four stages of marketing.
Whether you are about to launch an online store or already have an online presence, it’s essential to evolve your ecommerce marketing skills and knowledge as your business grows and matures over time.
Stage One: The Ad-Hoc Marketer
- The multiple-hat-wearer who is determined to grow their online presence. Despite having to manage most of their tasks manually, the Ad-hoc marketer is focused on acing the fundamentals of marketing. Ad-hoc marketers are focused on building brand awareness and driving site traffic and conversions.
Stage Two: The Up-and-Coming Marketer
- Those who have mastered the basics of running a business and are able to manage more than one or two channels. Up-and-coming marketers are ready and eager to test automated marketing tools to better engage their current and prospective customers.
Stage Three: The Full-Fledged Marketer
- The Full-fledged Marketer is a more sophisticated marketer, driving a steady stream from online sales. They are data-miners, uncovering all of the hidden insights to create a more one-to-one, personalized marketing approach.
Stage Four: The Best-in-Class Marketer
- The Best-in-Class marketer has successfully mastered all stages of eCommerce marketing maturity and, through automation and data consolidation, can now focus efforts on maintaining a streamlined online experience while keeping tabs on evolving tech trends.
Do you have a plan for reaching the next level? Download the complete eBook here.
Author: Erika Brookes
Erika Jolly Brookes is the CMO at Springbot where she leads all brand, product and marketing campaigns and communications. Before joining Springbot, Erika was the vice president of product strategy for Oracle and vice president of marketing and communications at Vitrue. Previously, she held other executive-level marketing positions at leading technology companies like MindSpring, Earthlink and Rackspace. In her limited free time, you’ll find Erika running through Atlanta with her yellow labrador Sunny or sharing marketing insights on Twitter: @ebrookes.
