You’ve probably heard of Amazon.com and its effect on the retail industry; however, did you know that the online retail giant is also responsible for a huge marketplace of online products—all of which are available for purchase right from the company’s website?
While it’s true that Amazon is a marketplace where anyone can sell almost anything to a potential customer, the company’s website also acts as a virtual storefront for brands, offering customers an opportunity to purchase products that they might find appealing.
Since its creation, Amazon has become a virtual shopping paradise for customers all over the world because of its ease of use and wide array of products available for purchase. Additionally, with headquarters in Seattle and hundreds of thousands of employees around the world, Amazon is also a major destination for job seekers looking for opportunities in retail.
If you’re based in or around Oklahoma City and are interested in creating a digital marketing strategy to grow your business, you’ve come to the right place. Below, we’ll discuss the various opportunities available to small businesses via online product marketing.
Why Should You Pursue Online Product Marketing?
If you’re reading this, I’m assuming that you’re either already involved in online product marketing or are at least considering the opportunity. Why? Online product marketing can be extremely effective for increasing brand awareness, engaging existing customers, and attracting new customers to your business.
The most effective strategy for a digital marketer might be to first establish yourself as an expert in your industry via a digital marketing blog. Next, you can use social media to build a following and engage with existing customers. Finally, you can use online marketing to promote your products and services and gain additional customers. However, because there are multiple platforms and tactics available, it can be quite a task to figure out which ones are most effective for your business.
The Various Opportunities
If you’re looking for a simple way to get started, you can join a network marketing company that offers digital marketing as a part of their sales training program. In most cases, the company will provide you with the product or service you need (usually a website) and teach you how to promote and sell it. You’ll be expected to build a team of independent contractors (referred to as “distributors”) who will help you reach out to potential customers and get them to buy your products.
Another popular way to get involved in online product marketing is via group buying sites like Groupon. These sites allow buyers to search for local businesses (including those in the digital marketing sphere) and receive special discounts if they purchase a certain number of dollars’ worth of products or services from a given business. You might find the savings to be quite attractive, particularly if you’re marketing a B2B product (which you probably are if you’re reading this article).
If you’re looking for an even simpler route, you can always start a blog and use affiliate marketing to promote and grow your business. As the name implies, affiliate marketing entails earning a commission from a sale (whether it’s a product you’ve advertised on your blog or someone else’s product that you’ve linked to on your blog) without needing to spend a huge amount of money yourself. All you need is a reliable source of traffic, a product you’re passionate about, and an affiliate product to promote, and you’re ready to go.
Summing It Up
In case you’re still wondering what types of businesses thrive in the digital marketing and online product marketing spheres, we’ve compiled a list of the top five companies in each sphere based on 2017 Digital Marketing Salary Report.
The salary reports are based on a survey conducted among 100 digital marketing professionals in the United States. The respondents were asked about their current salaries as well as the prices for typical contracts and expenses. Additionally, the survey respondents were asked to name the top three platforms they use in their work and to rank their top three favorite tools.
Amazons Rising
Forbes has ranked the top 40 destinations for entrepreneurs seeking to start a business. While traditionally most would think of starting a business in the U.S., several international locations also made the list. However, what’s interesting is that several tech-focused locations made the rankings, including No. 17 California and No. 19 Washington, D.C.
The fact that California and D.C. made the list is no surprise; both of these locations are home to prominent entrepreneurs and businesses. What’s important is that these are two of the most innovative places in the country when it comes to technology. Several cities on this list could serve as the digital marketing and online product marketing hub for your business. If you’re interested in expanding your reach, these are the places to be.
Checking In With Affiliate Marketing
One of the simplest and most popular ways to get involved in online product marketing is via affiliate marketing. As the name implies, affiliate marketing entails earning a commission from a sales (either yours or someone else’s) without needing to spend a huge amount of money yourself. To be precise, affiliate marketing is a type of business, or rather marketing, that involves promoting other people’s products or services to earn a commission.
There are multiple benefits to this type of marketing, including the fact that you don’t need to have a lot of experience to get started. Simply put, you get to test the waters with little to no investment. Additionally, you don’t need to establish yourself as an expert in your industry to be able to succeed as an affiliate marketer. You simply need to have a compelling product that other people are interested in buying.
Affiliate marketing is a popular choice among digital marketers for a number of reasons. For one thing, it’s a very versatile form of marketing; you can use it to reach a wide audience and engage them in little to no time at all. Furthermore, the earning potential is also quite high given the low initial investment. What’s more, because the products you’ll be promoting are usually from well-known brands, you’ll have no problem getting customers to purchase what you’re promoting. In most cases, you won’t even need to do any marketing at all to become a successful affiliate marketer.
Marketing Automation
If you’re looking to become more efficient and take the drudgery out of repetitive tasks, you might want to consider marketing automation. Simply put, marketing automation is the use of software to collect and analyze data on customer behavior (usually via online channels) and interact with them via email (and sometimes SMS, depending on the platforms these companies provide)
Marketing automation can be extremely beneficial for businesses, helping them to avoid wasting time with mundane tasks and focus on growing their organization.
To give you an example, HubSpot, a digital marketing platform, states that customers who use their tool save them 28% of their marketing budget. That’s a pretty significant number, suggesting that marketers who use HubSpot spend 28% less money on marketing while generating the same (or even more) revenue.
Marketing automation can be very effective when used strategically. For instance, if you’re running an eCommerce store, you might want to look into HubSpot’s Commerce Functionality to create automated email campaigns that remind customers to make a purchase. If you’re running a blog, you might want to look into HubSpot’s Content Marketing tool to create and distribute content (e.g., blog posts, social media posts, etc.) based on automated triggers and insights.
The benefits of marketing automation are numerous. Not only does it save you time and money, but it allows you to improve customer engagement and boost productivity. If you’re looking for a tool to manage your digital marketing efforts, marketing automation is a viable option.
Customer Relationship Management
If you’re looking to develop a long-term partnership with your customers, consider investing in a customer relationship management (CRM) tool. A CRM tool is a business application that helps you keep track of your customer relationships, provide customer care, and develop future business.
What’s interesting about CRM tools is that not only do they allow you to build customer relationships, but they also allow you to analyze customer behavior. Simply put, a CRM tool tracks and keeps track of your customers’ interactions with you and your organization. Additionally, you can use these tools to create and nurture customer relationships, engage with them via email, and automate business processes.
According to HubSpot, customers who use their CRM tool report increased productivity and lower staff turnover. Furthermore, with the volume of data that these tools collect, you’ll be able to identify trends and patterns that can help you improve every aspect of your business.