- The Internet allows your brand to reach 67% of the global population.
- Selling on the Internet can be a powerful marketing strategy if implemented carefully.
The term “Selling it on the Internet” is a broader concept that aims to leverage the Internet’s prowess to sell products and services. Brands can reach over 5.4 billion people, or 67% of the global population, through the Internet.
Selecting the right online channel to sell your products or services starts. It could be an e-commerce platform like Shopify, Wix, etc, as they provide multiple benefits for even smaller businesses. It could also be marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, Flipkart, etc., where you can place your product with millions of others; brands can also sell through their website.
Understanding who you are selling to and their needs is crucial in this marketing strategy. Marketers need to showcase what they are selling through high-quality visuals. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) plays a significant role if you’re selling from your website. If done correctly, this strategy can build trust and foster customer loyalty.
How Lenskart Successfully Uses “Selling it on the Internet” Marketing Strategy?
Lenskart is an Indian multinational optical prescription eyewear retail chain headquartered in Gurgaon, India. It is a prime example of a brand capitalizing on the “Selling it on the Internet” marketing strategy. The platform provides a seamless online shopping experience, which helps build trust and authority while capitalizing on data-driven personalization.
Providing Seamless Online Shopping Experience
Lenskart prioritizes providing a user-friendly shopping experience for eyewear. Their website and application are designed to be clean, well-organized, and easy to navigate for everyone. They showcase their wide range of frames and sunglasses in high-resolution photos and videos, and allowing customers to zoom in and get a clear view of the product details adds to the experience.
Capitalizing on technology and artificial intelligence, Lenskart facilitates visual try-on features using webcams and mobile phone cameras, allowing users to see how different frames would look on their faces. This innovation helped them address the key concern of online eyewear shopping: fit and style.
Each product listed on their website and application has detailed descriptions about frame material, lens options, size measurements and other relevant information, empowering users to make informed decisions. Facilitating a smooth checkout process with multiple payment options, secure transactions, and clear return and exchange policies fosters trust and boosts sales.
Building Trust & Authority
Lenskart managed to position itself as an affordable alternative to traditional optical stores. Offering competitive and transparent pricing, with additional features like home trials and online eye tests, significantly contributed to buyers’ shopping experience. Buyers get peace of mind and trust in the brand by providing warranties on their products and offering excellent after-sales service.
The platform transparently includes customer reviews and ratings, allowing potential buyers to gain valuable insight and a natural user experience to make informed decisions and feel confident about the purchase. They also maintain an active presence on social media platforms and share informative content to foster brand awareness and build a community around the brand and its products.
Collaborating and partnering with fashion and lifestyle influencers like Kiara Advani and Karan Johar, the brand capitalized on these influencers’ credibility to reach wider audiences. It should be noted that people tend to buy a product if their favorite influencer or celebrity endorses it.
Facilitating Data-Driven Personalization
Lenskart capitalizes on recommendation engines to suggest products to viewers based on their browsing history and past purchases. This allows them to provide a sense of personalization, help customers discover relevant options, and increase the chances of a successful purchase.
They skillfully use targeted marketing, using data insights to create personalized marketing campaigns through email marketing, social media advertisements, and retargeting strategies. These targeted ads ensure users see the product they might be interested in, thereby maximizing conversion rates.
In conclusion, Lenskart managed to carve a niche in the online eyewear market by using a “Selling it on the Internet” marketing strategy. They have created a convenient, informative, and trustworthy shopping experience for all, allowing them to buy frames, sunglasses, and contact lenses from the comfort of their homes, believing that they will get the best product.
What is the “Selling it On the Internet” Marketing Strategy?
The “Selling it On the Internet” marketing strategy covers all the well-established methods of taking your products or services online, reaching nearly 67% of the world’s population. It’s a powerful tool and provides multi-pronged benefits for businesses, so brands can capitalize on the power of the Internet by incorporating this marketing strategy.
Choosing the Right Platform
The Internet provides multiple marketing platforms, and marketers must choose the platform that aligns with their objectives. This e-commerce platform could give you Shopify or Wix vices and tools to set up your online store, such as Shopify or Wix aspects like shopping carts, secure payment processing, and even website hosting.
Brands can opt for marketplaces, which act like giant online shopping malls, allowing them to register their products and services alongside millions of others like Amazon, Flipkart, eBay, etc. Such marketplaces handle most of the selling infrastructure but might take some commission on each sale.
If you have a budget and expertise, you can opt to have your website. This gives extra control over branding and customer experience, but it requires substantial technical expertise and is hard to maintain. This is mainly because the website had to be optimized for search engines, SEO, for higher ranking, and to provide a seamless buying experience.
Finding the Niche and Optimizing Online Presence
Not all products and services are created equal online; some are handmade, others have some USP, and each product or service could sell if the marker targets the correct niche. Finding the niche and altering the marketing strategy to target them is the core premise of this strategy.
To capitalize on Internet marketing, marketers must ensure the descriptions are clear, concise and informative. They should use high-quality images showcasing the product. Search engine optimization is a critical factor involving keywords that customers search for to boost ranking. Marketers can leverage social media marketing prowess and platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
Marketers must have a straightforward return policy, as it helps build trust among buyers. Facilitating swift responses to inquiries and grievances helps create a positive online reputation. For comprehensive marketing campaigns, brands must choose a secure payment gateway, offer competitive shipping rates, and leverage paid advertising to reach a wider audience.
Pros and Cons of “Selling it On the Internet” Marketing Strategy
Like every other marketing strategy, this “Selling it On the Internet” strategy has pros and cons, as discussed below.
Pros
The Internet allows global reach. Brands can sell products or services to massive audiences around the world, going beyond geographical limitations. This strategy exposes your brand to a much larger audience base that would have been impossible to reach through traditional offline channels.
Compared to having a physical store, an online business often has relatively fewer expenses. Plus, the store is open 24/7, allowing customers to browse and buy products anytime they want, potentially increasing the chances of sales.
Plus, the brand or business is not limited by physical shelf space, and it can showcase a wider range of products, providing choice and attracting a broader audience. Most online platforms provide valuable customer data, which can be used by the brand to improve marketing strategies, product offerings, and overall customer experience.
Cons
The online marketplace is very crowded; standing out and getting notices could be challenging, especially for new businesses. Building trust with customers is easier online than in face-to-face interactions. Marketers must work hard to build a strong brand reputation and provide excellent customer service to gain users’ trust.
There’s always an underlying risk of fraudulent practices, such as data breaches and identity thefts. Brands need to take required security measures on their websites, applications, and payment processes to ensure that the audience trusts them. Shipping the products adds logistical complexity, and they have to factor in shipping costs, packaging, and potential returns, which could increase the cost of the product or service.
Although the Internet allows free ways to market online, reaching the target audience requires paid advertising or strategic social media marketing efforts, which adds to the overall marketing costs. Plus, it’s hard for marketers to adjust the cost of this targeted marketing.
In conclusion, “Selling it on the Internet” is a powerful marketing tool that provides multiple benefits. However, marketers must understand that this is an ongoing process, and they must continually refine their marketing campaign and approach based on the results to stay competitive with the latest trends and consumer demands.