Ecommerce represents a good way to make a living as a self-employed business owner. If you are really good, you can build a globally recognized brand it sells to customers around the world. But in order to get from a one-man operation to a global powerhouse, you have to give some time and attention to ecommerce marketing.
That leads to an obvious question: is professional help worth paying for? Is it worthwhile for ecommerce operators to invest in professional ecommerce marketing services? As someone who has been in the digital marketing business for years, I would say that it depends largely on what a business owner wants to accomplish.
Starting From Scratch
A brand-new ecommerce operator starting from scratch has a lot of work ahead of him – beginning with store setup. All by itself, setting up a new store can be a daunting task. Those brave enough to try it on their own do not necessarily have to build from the ground up, though. There are a number of content management systems designed exclusively around the ecommerce concept.
This is not to say that building a new site is easy. It’s not. Even with a content management system, an ecommerce operator needs to know a thing or two about websites, payment options, shopping carts, and so forth.
Someone who knew absolutely nothing could drive himself insane trying to figure it all out without blowing a lot of money along the way. Perhaps a better option is to pay for professional services to at least get the store up and running.
Store Management and Development
Once an ecommerce store is up and running, it still requires further development and ongoing maintenance. Both are things that tech savvy ecommerce operators can usually handle on their own. Development and maintenance don’t tend to be a big deal, especially when using a content management system. But they still require time and effort.
Content Creation and SEO
The most complicated part of ecommerce marketing is the marketing itself. There are two big things to consider, according to Salt Lake City’s Webtek Digital Marketing: content creation and SEO.
Webtek explains that ecommerce marketing is a combination of attracting customers to the store and then converting them from shoppers to paying customers. Content plays a crucial role in both.
Initially, ecommerce content is what helps potential customers find a store when running an online search. So content has to be optimized for SEO in order to drive traffic. But once on-site, a potential customer needs a reason to buy. Once again, ecommerce operators rely on their content to seal the deal.
Product Descriptions Rule
Although ecommerce content can take many forms, product descriptions tend to rule the day. Customers rely on product descriptions to figure out what to buy. They rely on things like specifications, sizes, and features to determine whether a product is right for them. This is where professional help really comes in handy.
An ecommerce operator might fully understand what products to sell and who his target audience is. But he may not understand online behavior. He might not understand how a customer moves from the shopping experience to an actual purchase. Yet this is something ecommerce marketers excel at. They know how to get a customer from arrival to checking out.
Every ecommerce operator needs to decide for himself whether professional services are worth paying for. My experience says that they are. Professional ecommerce marketers are the experts at what they do. They are the most qualified to help operators achieve their marketing and sales goals.
