15th May 2023, Kathmandu
In today’s highly competitive e-commerce landscape, retailers need to use every tool at their disposal to engage with customers, drive sales, and outperform the competition. Let’s explore how you can unlock the potential of digital and tech for your e-commerce business.
1. Reach your customers on their mobile devices
More than two-thirds of the global population used mobile phones in 2022, up 95 million from 2021. As mobile usage continues to increase, so does the need for brands to engage with their buyers on mobile. For instance, messaging apps, installed on the majority of mobile phones, allow you to do just that. Your messages are seen, and customers are more likely to open and interact with notifications on their phones than they are with emails or other media.
2. Use business messages for personalized customer engagement
Business messages are ideal for sending targeted notifications and building dialogue with your audience, and brands around the world actively leverage their capabilities. Internal Viber data reveals that last year the number of delivered business messages increased by 31%. Business messaging provides e-commerce and retail businesses with a wealth of engagement opportunities. Some ideas include:
- Offer personalized product recommendations
- Share exclusive promotions and discounts
- Provide customer support and assistance
- Send order confirmations and shipping notifications
- Collect feedback and reviews
The benefits of such outreach are twofold: it builds trust and loyalty with your customers, and it boosts your marketing ROI.
Examples of business messages in e-commerce: courtesy of Viber
3. Leverage chatbots for seamless customer interactions
Chatbots are easy-to-use and can handle a variety of tasks, such as:
- Answering frequently asked questions
- Providing product information
- Guiding customers through the purchasing process
- Assisting with order tracking and returns
- Offering personalized promotions and discounts
By integrating a chatbot into your marketing strategy, you can provide your customers with instant, 24/7 support without needing to invest in a large customer service team—giving customer service representatives the opportunity to focus on more complex tasks. This not only saves you time and resources but also helps to improve customer satisfaction and increase sales.
4. Take advantage of mobile advertising
There are a variety of mobile advertising options that can help you reach a wider audience and drive more traffic to your e-commerce store. Here are the main tips for implementing mobile ads into your marketing strategy:
- Use non-invasive options
- Keep it simple
- Try engaging formats
It’s a delicate balancing act: you need to catch users’ attention without disrupting their journey. For example, on Viber, we select native placements such as chat or call screens, explore tabs, business inboxes, and other non-intrusive spaces – to make sure that ads are naturally integrated into the user’s interface. User engagement and conversions increase with native mobile ads that blend in with the overall app experience.
5. Be creative: experiment with AR.
Augmented reality allows you to engage with your audience in a fun and interactive way. Allow buyers to try on accessories, like sunglasses or hats, before deciding about the purchase. Let your customers add a piece of furniture from your new collection to their room. The use cases are countless. Our internal numbers at Viber confirm that AR technologies are popular among users. Since its launch in 2021, Viber users have engaged with AR lenses on the platform almost 1 Billion times.
To maximize the effectiveness of your marketing strategy, it’s essential to track key performance metrics and make data-driven decisions. Analyze your campaigns, identify trends, optimize accordingly – and see how your brand’s performance improves.
