The marketing strategy itself is only half the battle

Do you have a marketing strategy for your e-commerce business? Congratulations!

But wait a minute – if you believe that just having a strategy will bring you business success, it’s time to make a hard landing. At Click Leaders, we meet clients who have a different approach to the subject of … execution, i.e. implementation of the assumptions created.

What is a Marketing Strategy?

A marketing strategy for e-commerce is a detailed idea for your brand. The fundamental document where it all starts. You will find a profound justification of what values it should represent, where it should go and to whom it should speak, and maybe even more … to whom not to speak!
The strategic documents also include a number of analyzes, thanks to which you begin to understand what your starting position is in relation to the competition. This, in turn, leads to specific actions aimed at brand positioning.

Thanks to the marketing strategy, you stop wandering in the fog – you get a ready concept, a strategic path with marked points to focus on. This is important especially if you hire subcontractors for implementation work. Now each of them can speak with the voice of your brand, and this is more important than you think!

First story: “Marketing strategy for e-commerce? "Some" we did. "

There are several ways to get a marketing strategy for your business. It can arise in the mind of the business owner (at the initial stage of creating the brand). Sometimes it is made up of a team of employees or the marketing department (if there is one). However, it is better to outsource the execution of a professional marketing strategy to an external company.

Remember that strategy does not equal strategy. It is worth investing in a document that will be made reliably, and its assumptions will be based on authentic research.

A good strategy is to determine how your e-commerce is to be perceived in the eyes of your audience. There is no place for reading tea leaves here. Also, don’t be fooled if someone tries to sell you a Facebook posting schedule or brand communication ideas with big words. A communication strategy is not the same as a marketing strategy and it is worth knowing the differences between them.

Second story: “E-commerce strategy? It's great, but I don't agree to all the changes. "

Your company, your idea, your name, your logo … suddenly a stranger comes with a strategy in hand and wreaks destruction like a meteorite. So you decide to follow only “safe” recommendations that do not interfere too much with your brand vision. You agree to change the look of the store, but don’t allow your logo to be changed. You admit that communication requires modification, but you don’t like the creativity of any of the tested copywriters, so you stick to the old texts.

Chaos during the implementation of a marketing strategy most often arises due to the lack of trust in subcontractors. The more there are, the more difficult it is to work effectively. Meanwhile, our observations show that the companies that gave us the greatest percentage of freedom in the execution of strategic assumptions achieved the most spectacular effects.

Fear of radical change is a natural reaction, also in business. Remember, however, that especially here, action pays off more than "safe" standing still. Big changes create big results.

Portret biznesowy: Julia Lach, pracownik działu kreatywnego w agencji e-commerce Click Leaders

Julia Lach Social Media Specialist

Story Three: "I am looking for someone to execute my marketing strategy."

The moment your strategy sees the light of day seems exciting. But when the fireworks are gone, it’s time to collide with a lot of work. If you refer the wrong people to her, even the best marketing strategy will not bring the expected results.

Remember that a well-tailored marketing strategy will become your business Bible that you will share with every (especially new) employee. The implementation of the strategy’s assumptions makes both graphic designers and copywriters go in one direction and act not according to their own intuition, but according to what actually serves your common cause. The key to success is therefore a thorough familiarization of your team with the content of the strategy developed for you.

My implementation team always learns the strategy from cover to cover. Then we extract from it the essence essential for individual departments, so that it is always at hand and guided by each of the tasks.

Portret biznesowy właściciela firmy Click Leaders - Fabian Romańczyk

Fabian Romanczyk CEO Click Leaders

Story Four: "Of course our e-commerce marketing strategy will be implemented ... just not yet."

We will be absolutely honest with you – we made this mistake in our own e-commerce backyard! Busy servicing our clients’ stores, we put off the implementation works for the next months, delaying the presentation of new branding and the launch of the website to the world. Looking at the results, you will probably agree with us that … it was worth getting to work in the end.

If your e-commerce business has a strategy, plan individual implementation stages as soon as possible. It is worth writing down specific tasks together with the people responsible for their execution. Regularly audit the degree of plan implementation, dynamically responding to changes, e.g. in the event of employee turnover or other obstacles.

If you’ve invested in preparing a strategy, don’t let it lie in the closet. Such strategies are only effective in a discipline called “stewardship”, which has nothing to do with business.

Story five: "We decided to implement a marketing strategy in stages."

In theory, this is quite a reasonable approach. As mentioned above, the systematization of individual works is recommended. The problem arises when the implementation of a marketing strategy from a few months turns into … light years.

The marketing strategy for e-commerce is created on the basis of research results. These, in turn, reflect the relatively current ranking of the competition or the current trends in your industry. If the implementation of the strategy takes a long time, you risk running past its the expiration date.
Need an example? What is the study of online sales behavior that was carried out before the coronavirus pandemic worth?

So many people declare that after the pandemic they will shop online more often with home delivery (GWI Coronavirus Research, 04.2020)

40%

So do not wait too long, because it may turn out that the new times for your e-commerce require … a completely new strategy.

Does the e-ecommerce marketing strategy work?

That’s a question we’ll answer like a purebred psychologist: it depends.
The stories of our clients (and our own) prove that creating a strategy is 50% success. You and the people you invite to cooperate are responsible for the other half.

The Click Leaders Agency is a team of specialists for whom the e-commerce marketing strategy is a constant companion in their daily work. We love the sense of consistency when we complete individual implementation stages. If you trust us, we will make your brand be perceived in the right way and by the right people. And this is the first and extremely important step to sales success.

Are you looking for someone who will implement your marketing strategy?

5 stories that marketing strategy is only half the battle