You’ve heard the phrase ‘know thyself,’ right? Well, that phrase is useless if you want to succeed in e-commerce. It’s all about knowing other people: your audience.
Every customer group has various needs. Everyone wants to feel that people understand them, so whether customers are Gen Z or Baby Boomers, they will leave your e-commerce site with an empty basket if you don’t provide what they need—and they won’t come back.
The market value of e-commerce will hit USD 8,034 billion by 2027. Are you tempted to get your share? Pay attention to your customers, and you might have a chance.
This article helps you understand your e-commerce audience, offers effective marketing strategies for different e-commerce audiences, and tools and technologies. You can then sell to the right audience and boost customer satisfaction and revenue.
Understanding Your E-commerce Audience
Before your e-commerce business can sell something, it must understand who wants to buy it. Different online customers have different needs and preferences.
Businesses look at two types of customer information:
- Demographics: This includes things like age, gender, income, and location.
- Psychographics: This includes interests, values, and lifestyle choices.
Businesses also market differently to other businesses (B2B) than regular customers (B2C). B2B customers usually take longer to make decisions because they need to consider how a product will help their company. Regular customers often make decisions faster based on personal needs or interests.
Understanding online behavior is also essential. Many people use mobile devices to shop and learn about products. Some people worry about online privacy and use VPNs to stay private.
Effective Marketing Strategies for Different Audiences
There are many different audiences out there. You must separate them and understand how they think, selling to them in a language that appeals to them to create engagement and make them want to return to your site. One of the largest groups is millennials and Gen Z.
Millennials and Gen Z
Millennials (birth years: 1981 to 1996) and Gen Z (birth years: 1997 to 2012) spend a lot of time online. They are more familiar with crypto payments and enjoy quick and fun content, which is what you should prioritize if you want to build meaningful engagement.
Businesses use the following strategies to reach these groups:
- Short videos: Platforms like TikTok and Instagram are popular for short, engaging videos.
- Social media marketing: Ads and posts on social media keep their attention.
- Influencers: Millennials and Gen Z trust influencers more than traditional ads. If someone they follow likes a product, they might try it too.
- Mobile-friendly content: Since many use phones, websites, and ads must work well on small screens.
Baby Boomers and Gen X
Baby Boomers and Gen X prefer more detailed information. They do not make quick decisions, and they want to trust a company before they buy something.
Businesses use these strategies for them:
- Reviews and testimonials: They trust other people's experiences and like to read about them.
- Emails and blogs: Long-form content gives them more details about a product or service.
- Webinars and guides: They like step-by-step instructions before making a decision.
- Traditional and online ads: Many audience members still enjoy TV, radio, and newspapers. Businesses should use these traditional channels alongside digital ads.
B2B Professionals
Businesses selling to other businesses (B2B) need a different approach. B2B buyers focus on facts, value, and return on investment (ROI). They do not care about entertainment. They want to know how a product will help their company.
Businesses use these strategies when selling to other businesses:
- Data-driven content: Case studies, reports, and whitepapers help B2B customers make decisions.
- LinkedIn marketing: Many professionals use LinkedIn to network and learn about new products.
- Webinars and industry events: Businesses attend these events to find solutions to their problems.
- Email marketing: Emails with helpful business tips can help build trust.
Privacy-Conscious Consumers & VPN Users
Some people care a lot about online privacy and cybersecurity and do not want companies tracking them. Many of these people use VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) to hide their location and keep their internet activity private. This makes traditional online ads less effective.
Businesses use these strategies to reach VPN users:
- Contextual advertising: Instead of using personal data, businesses show ads based on the content people are reading.
- SEO (Search Engine Optimization): Companies focus on making their websites easy to find in search engines.
- Trust and transparency: free VPN users do not like businesses that collect too much personal information. Companies must be clear about how they use data to gain trust.
- Non-location-based marketing: Since VPNs hide a user's location, businesses should not rely on location-based ads. Instead, they can focus on keywords and general interest topics.
Tools & Technologies to Optimize Marketing
You know your audience. So how do you reach them? Use the best tools available based on their needs to build engagement that will get under their skin and lead to sales.
Some useful tools to reach your audience include:
- Customer segmentation software: This software sorts customers into groups based on their behavior and interests.
- Privacy-first marketing tools: These tools help businesses respect customer privacy while still reaching their audience.
- Marketing automation: Businesses use automation to send personalized messages at the right time without extra work.
Invest in these tools to reach your audience in a way they find engaging.
Conclusion
There’s nothing more diverse than people. Luckily for e-commerce marketers, you can split these people into groups based on age and begin to understand the needs of each group to generate sales.
Some of these people care about privacy and use VPNs, making traditional advertising harder. This challenge means that as a business owner, you must find new ways to reach them without invading their privacy.
The best marketing strategy is one that makes customers feel sellers understand them. Businesses that take the time to learn about their audience will build stronger relationships and sell more products.
