There’s no question that the internet has changed the way we do business. Today, with so much information at our fingertips, consumers can find the product they want, when they want it. In fact, according to HubSpot Blogs research, 72% of consumers want to research products before purchasing them (vs. 36% who prefer to make immediate purchases). What’s more, consumers typically spend more time shopping online than in stores. Between 2000 and 2010, retail e-commerce sales grew from 2 to 15% of all retail sales. By 2020, it’s expected that e-commerce sales will make up 19% of all retail sales (source: Statista).
Shopping online allows consumers to enjoy the benefits of increased product choice (plus the advantage of being able to research products before buying), along with the flexibility of being able to research and compare prices and shipping options whenever they want. It’s no secret that e-commerce marketing can be quite cost-effective, as you’re only paying for clicks and conversions. Plus, with so much competition, every little bit of marketing traction can help your business grow exponentially.
Although there are many benefits to shopping online, making money online is still quite challenging. One of the main problems is that consumers can find any information they want about your product or service, including the prices of your competitors. To ensure you gain the advantage over your competitors, you need to take a different tack. Instead of just relying on price, value is the key to driving profitable conversions.
In this article, we’ll discuss how you can market your products online in the home, and how to determine your product’s value so you can effectively price your products to maximize profit. We’ll also detail some of the proven methods for marketing digitally in the home, along with tips on how to implement them.
The Evolution of Online Marketing in the Home
In the past, consumers would visit businesses that were closest to their home, whether it was a store, restaurant, or a hotel. Since you’re effectively operating a virtual store, it’s only natural that much of your marketing would be online. In fact, according to HubSpot Blogs research, 62% of consumers have bought something online after seeing it advertised on social media. Additionally, 40% of consumers have bought an item after viewing it on a website, and 29% of consumers have bought something after reading an article about it.
However, while much of your marketing will be online, you still need to consider how important physical locations are in today’s digital world. In many cases, proximity is what forces people to click on an ad or visit a website. For example, did you know that people are 26% more likely to visit a business they found online, rather than a business they found “locally”? In other words, the fact that the business is close to them has a greater impact on whether or not they’ll convert than the fact that they found the business online or offline.
The fact remains that much of your marketing will be digital and that your customers are only going to see a portion of your business, whether it’s physical locations or online stores. This is why it’s important to have a healthy mix of both. What’s more, since the internet is such a powerful tool, customers can find your business, regardless of whether or not you have a physical location.
How to Determine the Value of Your Product/Service
To effectively price your products, you need to determine their value. This entails looking at a number of factors, including the cost of manufacturing the product, the cost of shipping and handling, and the cost of your time (in other words, how much are you willing to charge for your expertise).
The first step is to determine the cost of production. This is quite simple, really. You’ll need to know what your costs are for the ingredients needed to manufacture the product. Additionally, you can look at the manufacturing cost of similar products to get an idea of what you should be charging for your particular product.
Once you have an idea of what you should be charging, you can move on to determining the cost of shipping and handling. This includes the cost of boxes, shipping materials (such as packing peanuts and envelopes), and the delivery person’s tip. In most cases, you should be able to find all of these costs in an online shop’s rate card or on their shipping calculator.
Finally, you need to consider the cost of your time. This is particularly important if you’re an independent contractor who charges by the hour. You’ll need to factor in how much you charge per hour, as well as how many hours you need to work to make a profit.
As a general rule of thumb, you can use the following formula to determine how much you should be charging for your product:
- Cost of production x 2
- Cost of shipping and handling
- Cost of time
- Type of product
- Amount of product
- (1 – (Cost of material / Cost of production))
- Profit
So, as you can see, quite a bit goes into pricing your product. This is why you need to take the time to research the costs of production before you begin pricing your products. Otherwise, you could end up grossly over or under pricing your product, risking losing a sale or incurring a loss.
How to Market Your Product/Service Online In Your Home
Although much of your marketing will be digital, you still need to consider how to market your product or service in your home. Now, you don’t have to do this alone. You can use digital marketing agencies to help you design a strategy for marketing in your home. Additionally, you can use digital marketing platforms, such as Google Analytics, to gain insight into how consumers are interacting with your product or service in your physical locations.
Before you begin marketing in your home, it’s important to set some basic guidelines. For example, you want to make sure that your marketing doesn’t come off too much like advertising. Instead, you want to treat your mailing list or social media followers as though they were actual customers, engaging with them on an individual level.
Additionally, make sure that the types of people you’re reaching through your marketing efforts are of a demographic that’ll genuinely be interested in your product or service. For example, if you’re creating an inflatable pool for children, you might want to avoid marketing directly to adults. It’s also advisable to create content that’s relevant to whatever audience you’re targeting. For example, if you’re marketing to women between the ages of 18 and 34, you might want to create inflatable women’s lingerie for a humorous take on the traditional “booth babes” scenario. Finally, make sure that your marketing materials are of a good quality. You don’t want to ruin the illusion that you’re actually a real store, serving real customers.
Once you’ve established the basic guidelines for your digital marketing efforts in the home, you can begin to think about the various platforms you’ll use to reach your audience.
Here’s a quick overview of some of the more popular platforms. For a more in-depth look at each one, check out this helpful guide by HubSpot.
One of the most popular digital marketing platforms is Facebook. It’s the biggest social media platform in the world, with over 1.7 billion daily active users as of March 2021. Not only is it one of the most popular platforms, but it’s also quite versatile. Not only can you use Facebook to reach your audience online, but you can also engage with them through their various apps. For example, you can use Facebook messenger to have real-time conversations with potential customers, even if they’re not on your website.
With so much competition and with consumers needing to research everything they buy, it’s imperative that you stand out from the crowd. One way is through effective digital marketing. If you’re looking to use Facebook for your business, be sure to brush up on your marketing skills.
Facebook is a place where consumers feel comfortable expressing their opinions, and this is exactly what you need as a business owner. Since Facebook is such a popular platform, you’ll most likely find many users who fit the mold of your ideal customer. This means you can focus on engaging with them and building a relationship, which can ultimately lead to a sale.