People Shopping Designer Items In An eCommerce Store Pop-up

2020 saw the global eCommerce market reach a staggering figure of $4.2 trillion in sales. The online marketplace is redefining our experience of buying and selling and new stores seem to pop up every day offering anything and everything imaginable. Ecommerce now makes up nearly 20% of all retail sales and shows no signs of slowing its momentum.

This explosive market, brimming with competition can seem daunting at first, but an important question to ask yourself is

“What can I do to stand out in such a saturated market?“

Think of it as a job interview.

 

Two people with the same qualifications apply for the same position. Person A goes in, sits quietly, and answers all the questions he is asked in a measured voice. Clearly, he meets all of the criteria for the role.

Person B does the same, except he starts the interview with a warm smile and a firm handshake. He makes a little small talk, asks a few enthusiastic questions, cracks a joke or two, and compliments the interviewer’s tie. When it comes time to decide between the two, who do you think will be called back?

This simple analogy is what online branding is all about. It’s a personality you create for your business that makes you unique and memorable in a way that works for the people you’re marketing to. In this article, we go over a few tips to keep in mind when you’re building a brand for yourself.

We’ll start with the cardinal rule of all marketing.

1. Know Your Audience

This step is crucial for eCommerce marketing. Branding is about building a persona and if you try to be palatable to everyone that persona will seem bland and forgettable.

Having a specific demographic in mind will give you laser focus when it comes to your branding. When you know who you’re aiming for it will make everything in your business more effective, from product descriptions to logo design.

 

“But, How Do I Figure Out Who My Audience Is?”

When building a persona for your audience, you should look at the features your product offers. Each one of these features serves as a solution to a customer’s problem. So, do a little detective work and try to build an identikit of the kind of person that has the kinds of problems you can solve.

 

Keep asking questions about this person. Find out their age, their likes, their dislikes. Where do they spend their time both online and offline? If possible, lean into a niche. Selling mouse pads and ergonomic keyboards? Figure out if you’re selling to office workers or gamers. Each requires a different approach to the same product.

This process is likely something you’ll be continuously tweaking. Once you’re getting customers, you can use your Google Analytics data to find out if your predicted target audience matches with who is actually showing up and engaging and adjust accordingly.

2. Design Elements

Design Experts Discussing New Projects

This is probably the first thing that comes to mind when you think of branding. With bright, instantly recognizable logos and the short catchy slogan – branding and design go hand in hand. The way you present your eCommerce site will be what sets you apart from the rest.

Use Color To Your Advantage. For example, consider these phrases:

“Seeing red.”

“Green with envy.”

 

The psychology of colors is ingrained in us, with each shade and hue capable of eliciting an emotional reaction. The way we react to colors comes from millennia of human experience. Red is the most obvious example, as we have come to know it as the color of blood and fire. It’s provocative, eye-catching, and exciting.

There is also the effect of cultural associations. A deep wine red is thought of as a sensual color. Purple has come to be associated with affluence due to the rarity of purple dye in ancient times. Green, both as a word and a color, is now a metonym for nature.

 

Think carefully when choosing a color palette for your brand as these colors will carry your message on an emotional level. Be aware of the meaning of colors you use as well as the effect that different shades and color combinations have.