Online branding, increasingly important for any business, is particularly crucial in eCommerce where options are plentiful. Partnering with the right eCommerce developers gives you a passport to lifelong sales and loyalty.
What is Online Branding?
Having a firm grasp of what branding is and how eCommerce developers can build trust, preference, loyalty, and sales is crucial in an interconnected world. Most companies have an idea of what branding is but not every company masters the concept.
As of 2021, 71% of consumers interact with a brand online before making a purchase, including when purchasing from a brick-and-mortar location. Nearly 45% of people from the same survey were moved by a strong online presence to make a purchase.
Getting your qualities, products, and personality in front of the right people, the essence of branding means everything. With 12 million companies involved in this $4.9 trillion industry, it is more difficult than ever to market to potential customers.
The Problem with Online Branding
There is an ongoing boom in online sales as customers continue to shift online. The space grew by 40 percent in the first year of the pandemic.
Despite the growth, not everyone knows how to capitalize in a crowded space dominated by near-instant gratification. Retailers failing to make use of omnichannel marketing were twice as likely as those with a commitment to online branding to reach profitability.
Seven Reasons Why Branding Matters
The sheer number of eCommerce sites makes it difficult to stick out in a sea of options. Developing a strong brand is the first step to growing your business.
eCommerce developers can:
- Create identifiable assets
- Deliver an authentic personality to your target market
- Form a preference
- Build trust
- Protect your identity
- Generate loyalty
- Drive Sales
A custom eCommerce website accompanied by a powerful online presence drives visitors to your platform. Solid branding turns visitors into customers, helping create a user experience that sells.
Deliverance
Your brand is the lens through which you drive business decisions, embodying the values and qualities that make you unique. Branding helps you portray the right message before others or a lack of care do it for you.
Your online presence allows you to prove that you live up to the promises you make. Whether presenting quality, environmentally conscious business decisions, or a commitment to customer service, you can show your best face online.
Trust
The capacity to embrace your message and craft a strong user experience creates trust in your company. There is a wealth of information available about products and, often, your company. Testimonials, criticism, reviews, and forums all impact trustworthiness.
Branding lets you put a positive face to your efforts. Baking your vision into your social media posts, blog, homepage, chat, and even checkout processes helps build trust.
Fair pricing is not all that matters. Adults between the ages of 18 and 34 trust companies that provide quality products backed by responsive customer service and a good reputation.
Preference
Being a trustworthy business with a strong vision builds a preference for your goods and services. An appealing brand is one that customers return to and advocate for.
An eCommerce website and social media can appeal to a customer base in the same way it generates trust. AI-driven chat services and feedback allow you to listen to and respond to your customers needs.
You can also promote your values. When faced with a decision between seemingly equal options, people are more likely to choose a brand that represents their feelings.
Creating an Experience that Drives Sales
By creating trust and preference, a well-crafted eCommerce platform drives sales. Your brand is a vital part of your sales funnel.
As search results, social media, and map postings push people to your website, your brand helps make a sale. The cycle repeats, creating lifelong customers loyal to your business.
Protecting Intellectual Property
Branding not only drives sales, but it also helps you protect your image. By helping establish trust, you also help legitimize your logos, images, name, and innovations.
People associate a brand with a look and feel. Good branding builds legitimacy and entrenches your logo and product in the minds of consumers.
Crafting an Asset
By delivering a trusted message, protecting your intellectual property, and helping drive sales, branding is an asset.
Online marketing, especially through a quality eCommerce developer, is 62 percent less costly than traditional marketing. You not only gain an asset but an affordable asset.
Get Started Branding your eCommerce Business
Listing the benefits of developing a brand is simple. However, firmly entrenching your brand in the mind of your target market takes more than commitment.
It can seem impossible to capitalize on your vision. If you feel lost, there are some basic guidelines to follow. You may want to hire an eCommerce developer as well.
Three Branding Tips to Get you Started
There are a few common guidelines all eCommerce websites should follow. They help with branding and capture the attention of your target market.
Use All Available Channels
Search engines and websites are not the only way potential customers reach your website. Seventy-six percent of consumers purchased products they saw on social media
Leaving entire segments of your market to the competition is not a sound business strategy. You must follow a data-driven approach to picking the channels with a high return on investment.
Be Consistent
Your online presence needs to deliver the right information to the right people in the right place. Your customers expect timely, accurate, and consistent information across all platforms.
An experience that overwhelms your target market or that is inconsistent creates confusion and drives people away from your brand. In fact, 60 percent of your potential customers expect a seamless experience across all platforms.
Be Data-Driven
Intuition is no longer the best way to make a decision. Companies that use report-driven experimentation succeed more often than their peers.
Use reporting and data to make decisions, refine your brand, and create a consistent message. Learn to target your customers without sacrificing your qualities and vision.
Find the Right ECommerce Partner
Professionalism and quality are key. Sleek, modern, and updated social media pages and a fresh homepage are crucial to your branding.
A good partner follows a proven content strategy and eCommerce website development process to craft an ecosystem that sells. As a custom software development agency, Spiral Scout is a proactive tech partner that stays on top of trends to help drive sales.
ECommerce Branding as a Business Asset
A modern eCommerce company needs to create an unparalleled user experience centered around its identity. Online branding is the perfect way to create the trust you need to succeed.
