7 Best eCommerce Experts You Should Know & Their eCommerce Best Advice

When you have an eCommerce store, research plays a big part in helping you stay up to date and learn new ways to make sales.

However, with so many different methods, hacks, and tricks out there, it’s hard to know the difference between someone just giving you tips and an expert that’s sharing tips they’ve learned from putting skin in the game.

To help, I searched high and low for the best eCommerce experts who walk the walk and have the best insights to share with eCommerce store owners like you.

1. Ann Handley

Ann Handley is a writer, digital marketing pioneer, and Wall Street Journal best-selling author who inspires and empowers you to create marketing that your customers will love, igniting real results for your business.

She’s been featured on world-renowned blogs and entrepreneur summits and events.

She’s the creator and owner of MarketingProfs, a marketing training, and education company with more than 600,000 subscribers. So she knows marketing and knows the best way to build a website from the ground up.

eCommerce Expert Tip: Help First, Sell Second

“Your customers don’t buy your product to do your company a favor. They’re doing it because your product makes their lives better. So if you want to sell something, you need to explain how you’re helping them.”

? Ann Handley, Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content

If you want your customers to buy from your eCommerce store, you first have to explain how your product or service will help them.

This could be solving a problem, providing an alternative solution, or enhancing their lifestyle. The case may be simply saying you the best isn’t enough when you have thousands of other eCommerce brands doing exactly the same thing.

You can do this by using conversational copy on your website, in your content, and engagement with customers online. For example, take a look at Quip’s eCommerce banner. The copy states, “Better oral health, made simple”, they’re explaining that they provide advanced oral health solutions with products to make their life easier.

Oh! Don’t forget to grab your FREE eCommerce Checklist to help you to attract new customers and generate sales.

They extend this copy to their social media platforms and post as well. They’re still selling their eCommerce platform but packaging the benefits and solutions to connect easier with customers, so they don’t feel sold entirely, rather adding to their lifestyle.

For more, check out How to Sell your Product without Selling your Product.

2. Gary Vee

Gary Vaynerchuk is a household name when it comes to marketing and social media for business. He’s also the chairman of VaynerX, a modern-day media and communications holding company, and the active CEO of VaynerMedia, a full-service advertising agency servicing Fortune 100 clients across the company’s 4 locations.

Gray Vee consistently provides real-life examples and tips on how his fans can market and grow their eCommerce stores and business online.

eCommerce Expert Tip: Use Universal Marketing Tactics

“The one thing a lot of people don’t realize is that the same tactics for B2C apply to the B2B environment. “~ Gary Vee

A lot of B2B eCommerce store owners think that B2C tactics, designs, and methods are solely for the B2C community, but that’s not always the case. In fact, B2B and B2C tactics overlap each other quite often.

The most common factor is that the customer’s journey is always important. How you capture, educate, nurture, and convert leads stays the same. The only difference is your catering to a more professional audience that needs more facts, stats, and jargon.

If you’re a B2B don’t be afraid to try a few B2C marketing tactics for your eCommerce store, one like influencer marketing or video marketing to help supercharge sales.

For example, Hubspot is a known B2B company that’s informative and fun. They use B2C marketing content like memes, TikTok, and Instagram reels to connect with their B2B audience.

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If you need more B2B eCommerce marketing tips, here are some guides specifically for B2B brands like you:

• 16 Mind-Blowing B2B Video Marketing Tips to Increase Sales
• B2B Social Media Marketing: 33 Strategies, Ideas, and Examples
• 45 Best Brands on Social Media (Based on Niche) & What We Learned From Them

3. Shane Barker

Shane Barker is one of the top-rated marketing experts in the world. He’s helped businesses accelerate their growth with customized digital marketing consultation and services.

Having won many accolades, he has consulted with Fortune 500 companies, influencers with digital products, and a number of A-List celebrities.

eCommerce Expert Tip: Create an eCommerce Stratgey

“I recommend that you take the time to develop a strategy for cross-border selling. You should identify and leverage the right channels and tap into the right foreign markets to promote your products.” ~Shane Barker

An eCommerce strategy acts as a map to take you from point A-B. As you grow, you might need a more detailed strategy. What might work for other eCommerce brands might not work for you, while some might just be the right fit.

After all, using proven strategies can increase the chance of your business growing and succeeding. It’s also one of the best ways to increase your eCommerce conversion rate.

As per Littledata, the average eCommerce conversion rate ranges between 1% and 4%, with global figures standing at 2.58% across all devices. Here are 14 Best eCommerce Marketing Tips & Strategies to Boost Sales.

4. Andy Crestodina

Andy Crestodina is a top-rated content marketing speaker and keynote presenter. He’s worked with hundreds of eCommerce brands with his practical approach to demystify tough content marketing, search engine optimization, and analytics topics.

eCommerce Expert Tip: Find & Improve Your eCommerce Traffic Source

“If your website was a city, there would be a highway of visitors flowing through it. But if you don’t know where that highway is, you don’t know how to guide traffic. You don’t know where to put the billboards.” ~Andy Crestodina

Learning where your eCommerce website traffic is coming from helps you to understand where your target audience is engaging with you the most. This could be from an organic search, social media, or landing pages.

This applies to you whether you’re booming with traffic and sales or you’re experiencing a dry spell with tumbleweeds going through your site.

The best place to start is to set up a Google Analytics account to find, track, and manage your traffic data to improve your websites:

• Visibility: Find out where people are finding your website to understand your weakest and strongest eCommerce traffic channels.
• user navigation and experience: See where people fall off on specific eCommerce pages or channels to find out how to fix and improve them for better conversions.
• Understanding your demographic: You can see the age, location, and devices that your website traffic demographic uses to better understand and cater to their needs to promote sales.
• Results from marketing efforts: You can track how well your marketing efforts and see results in real-time to know if it’s a win or loss.

For more help to understand how to use Google Analytics for your eCommerce store, check out our step-by-step guide on 9 Amazing Ways to Use Google Analytics for E-Commerce.

5. Victoria Taylor

Victoria is the new kid on the block for eCommerce marketing consultants. Still, she wastes no time sharing actionable eCommerce tips, strategies, and tools with her weekly YouTube and Instagram series Tuesday Tips. She’s a Shopify Partner and certified digital marketer who’s helped tons of eCommerce owners from planning to execution with results.

eCommerce Expert Tip: Invest in Your eCommerce Email Marketing

“Like it or not, emails are one of the most underrated forms of marketing that can be used to attract, convert, and keep customers for your business.” ~Victoria Taylor Marketing

Email marketing is still one of the most underrated marketing tactics that eCommerce owners seem to overlook. Your email list can be a pool of potential and returning customers. You can make recurring revenue to keep your business going.

Email marketing can be so effective that Wishpond helped SHOC to generate over $45,000 in sales with an email marketing campaign.

When it comes to creating eCommerce emails, it’s important to do the following:

• Create a drip campaign for new and current customers
• Create a product email that shows off your best features
• Create subject lines that drive open rates

To help, here are some best practices when creating eCommerce emails:

• Get to the point: Your emails should be simple. Don’t drag it out or spend too much time talking about your products, and customers want to dive right into shopping. Don’t over complicate your message or copy. The simpler, the better.
• CTA is key: Always add a CTA that matches your overall email message. Your CTA or call to action should direct customers to the action you want them to take once they have finished reading your email. It also helps them to go to your site faster.
• Use Branded Graphics and Colors: Brand your email with eye-catching graphics and product images. Customers get tons of emails each day selling to them, so use your colors wisely to entice them to click on your eCommerce website.

6. Ian Rhodes

Ian is an eCommerce marketing coach with 20+ years of expertise in building & growing eCommerce brands for your business. He founded the Ecommerce Growth Co. to advise and consult with direct to consumer brands and niche retailers on how to fuel profitable, sustainable eCommerce growth.

eCommerce Expert Tip: Your Customers Are Your Influencers

“Your customers are your influencers. That’s how word-of-mouth marketing works” ~ Ian Rhodes

Using UGC or user-generated content can help to amplify your brand’s online presence and increase sales.

UGC is the act of customers creating content and freely sharing it online to promote your brands. Around 65% of customers agree that UGC is more interesting than brands’ content.

It works because it’s authentic and created by people who love your brand and 61% of marketers said authenticity is what makes content marketing most effective.

If you still need help to decide what kind of UGC to post? Check out this article on How to use User-Generated Content Effectively.

7. Mike Allton

Mike is the founder of The Social Media Hat, a full-service digital marketing agency, as well as Brand Evangelist at Agorapulse. He’s well known for his published pieces on industry leaders like Social Media Examiner, MarketingProfs, Marketo, Social Media Today, BusinessesGrow, and others.

He has been twice-ranked a Top Ten Social Media Blog, as well as been dubbed a Top Social Media Marketing Influencer, a Top Content Marketer, and a Top Chief Marketing Office.

eCommerce Expert Tip: Use Social Media to Connect With Customers

“People use social networks to connect with, talk to, and learn from other people. If, as a business, you can insert yourself into that process and help them fulfill that need, you’ll be on your way toward a successful social strategy.” ~Mike Allton

Sharing posts with target audiences will always be part of maintaining one’s social media presence, but marketers also need to encourage and cultivate interactions that go beyond a like or share.

Among these users, 90% follow a business on the platform, and platforms like Pinterest and Instagram offer higher engagement and sales when compared to other platforms.

To cover the basics on social media marketing, here are some go-to guides you can consume to help your eCommerce store better when it comes to social media marketing:

• How to Make a Social Media Checklist (Free Template)
• 8 Actionable Tips to Use Social Media for eCommerce Sales
• 5 Effortless Tips to Create a Hashtag strategy for Social Media
• 5 Expert Ways to Increase Your Social Media ROI
• 50 Amazing Social Media Marketing Ideas, Strategies & Tips

Summary

All of these experts touch on the most crucial marketing and eCommerce tips that you should consider using in the long run. These tips are timeless and can be amplified with the help of the right marketing or lead generation tools.

Here’s a quick recap of the best eCommerce advice from top eCommerce experts:

• Your customers don’t buy your product to do your company a favor. They’re doing it because your product makes their lives better. So if you want to sell something, you need to explain how you’re helping them.
• The one thing a lot of people don’t realize is that the same tactics for B2C apply to the B2B environment.
• I recommend that you take the time to develop a strategy for cross-border selling. You should identify and leverage the right channels and tap into the right foreign markets to promote your products.
• If your website were a city, there would be a highway of visitors flowing through it. But if you don’t know where that highway is, you don’t know how to guide traffic. You don’t know where to put the billboards.
• Like it or not, they are one of the most underrated forms of marketing that can be used to attract, convert, and keep customers for your business.
• Your customers are your influencers. That’s how word-of-mouth marketing works
• People use social networks to connect with, talk to, and learn from other people. If, as a business, you can insert yourself into that process and help them fulfill that need, you’ll be on your way toward a successful social strategy

Related Articles

• 8 Actionable Tips to Use Social Media for eCommerce Sales
• 10 Amazing eCommerce Instagram Accounts and Examples We Learned From
• The Ultimate Retailers Marketing Strategy To Increase Sales & Purchases

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