5 Sure-Fire Ways to Build A Strong Ecommerce Brand

There’s a big difference between building a website and building a strong Ecommerce brand that sparks interest and creates loyal customers that return, keep reading.

Photo by The Organic Crave Company on Unsplash

Whether it is clothing or groceries, the number of online purchases has skyrocketed over the past few years. 

Therefore, starting an online store is an opportunity for both startups and established retailers planning to attract a wider audience and maximize sales.

However, many customers only buy from recognized brands they trust and ignore the rest. 

That is why having an optimized Ecommerce website alone, may not be enough. You also need to build a unique brand. That is how you increase your reputation and build trust with target audiences.

In this article, you will learn a few Ecommerce brand building tactics that will help you stand out.

1. Pick a Brandable Domain Name

A domain name is an essential part of your brand-building process. 

In the Ecommerce world, it is customers’ first touchpoint with your brand. It tells them what to expect from your brand even before they click on your link and visit your website.

The benefits of a good domain name are multiple. It makes you authentic. With an original and memorable domain name, you will boost brand awareness and retention. People will easily remember it and find your website effortlessly.

Precisely because of that, you should pick a domain name that is short, memorable, and catchy. Do not go with complicated phrases or made-up words. Also, avoid using numbers and punctuation marks. They are hard to remember. One typo and your potential customer will land on a completely different website. 

To boost brand awareness, align your brand name with your domain name. There is no need for spamming it with keywords. Apart from compromising user experiences, keyword-heavy domains can also harm your rankings.

2. Establish Ecommerce Brand Personality

Your brand cannot appeal to everyone, especially at the start. That is why you need to choose your focus and brand personality. 

Select your positioning statement. 

A positioning statement represents a few lines highlighting your role in the market. 

You do not need to put it on your website. Use it with your team to create a brand personality that stands out from competitors. 

For example, say you are a fashion brand selling designer t-shirts for women. Your positioning statement could be something like: “We offer affordable t-shirts for women wanting to demonstrate their unique style. Unlike competitors, we give away clothes to those in need for every purchase a customer makes.”

Your positioning statement should dictate other branding strategies, including your mission statement, value proposition, and tone of voice.

Your mission statement should align with your company’s vision and your brand’s core values. Consumers need to see themselves using your products and services because they can relate to your principles. Remember that online shoppers are real humans who think and plan their purchases carefully to make the most of their hard-earned money.

But what is a value proposition? This statement is a promise to your leads and new and loyal customers. A value proposition is a marketing statement to summarize why consumers should buy your product or use your service.  

It’s important to create a solid and appealing value proposition to get the buy-in of your intended eCommerce audience. A good value proposition involves persona-driven messaging and funnel content marketing, highlighting why people should patronize your eCommerce brand more than your competitors.  

Determine your brand’s identity.

If your brand were a person, which words would you use to describe it? That depends on a wide range of factors, such as your niche or target audience.

By personifying your brand, you can easier determine its personality.

For example, if you are targeting younger audiences, your goal is to build an exciting, affordable, fresh, and honest brand.

Your brand identity is your golden ticket to success. You’d want to present a pleasing personality through your brand as much as possible. Hence, a vital aspect of building your brand identity is offering high-quality goods in excellent packaging and high-definition listing photos.

3. Choose the Look of your Brand

When I say Starbucks or McDonald’s, what is the first thing that crosses your mind? It is their logos, I suppose. 

Visual branding is essential to your Ecommerce brand, as well. It makes your company recognizable in the sea of similar businesses.

Now, start by choosing your colors. Colors do not just define your brand’s visual appeal. They also convey the feelings you want to evoke in your target audiences. For example, orange is liked with youthfulness and playfulness, while blue is synonymous with innovation and reliability. Choose colors that differentiate you from your direct rivals. You do not want to confuse your customers. 

When choosing typography, make sure it is legible. Do not overwhelm website visitors with multiple fonts. Instead, choose two – one for headings and one for body text. 

Your website logo needs to be simple, memorable, and relevant, too. Once you design it, implement it consistently across all digital channels you use. 

Plan all web elements and their placements carefully. A minor mistake could result in making your website look like an unappealing mess. By understanding your target audience’s preferences and needs, you’ll be able to come up with a great design that will truly represent your brand.

4. Personalize User Experiences

Why do we purchase from brands, such as Nike, Amazon, or Prada? 

That is because we trust them. And, the key to building a reliable brand is consistency and personalized user experiences. 

Let’s take the example of Amazon, one of the world’s most customer-centric brands. Its mission is clear – delivering relevant customer experiences across all channels they use. 

Once a customer views the product, Amazon’s machine learning algorithms start recommending related items. When they finalize the purchase, the brand sends them a personalized email and asks them to review the product they have just bought. 

Some online retailers take advantage of virtual reality. Keep in mind that your customers cannot touch or feel your products. They rely on the photos and descriptions you provide. By using virtual reality, you can build trust with them and inspire them to purchase faster. For example, Sephora allows online users to virtually try on makeup products.

5. Prioritize Customer Service

Online customers are highly demanding. They expect online brands to provide immediate feedback 24/7.

That is why back-and-forth email communication with customers is not enough. To improve customer satisfaction and encourage brand loyalty, you need to deliver seamless, omnichannel customer support.

For starters, develop an omnichannel customer service strategy. That approach can help you drive the 91% customer retention rate. That means you should meet your customers where they are, including Facebook, Viber, and live chat. 

Social networks are a differentiator for ecommerce customer service. You can use social media monitoring tools to track product or brand mentions. Use these insights to create more natural customer conversations and deliver pleasant customer experiences. By participating in customer discussions on social networks, you will humanize your brand.

When building a customer service strategy, consider your ecommerce brand’s tone of voice. No matter if you are communicating with a customer via social networks, live chat, or email, your tone needs to remain on-brand and recognizable.

Over to You

Only by building a recognizable and credible Ecommerce brand will you attract new customers, boost online sales, and maximize brand loyalty. 

Sure, these are just some of the numerous branding tactics you could apply.

I hope they will help you!