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According to Statista, the global e-commerce market will reach around $12.16 billion in 2028. This is a base of around $8.3 billion in 2020. Still, reaping its benefits is difficult, in especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). ) that compete with giant-type market players.
Let’s review the main challenges of online marketing and how to avoid them.
1. Scarcity of resources
Unlike larger companies, SMEs often lack the funds to attract marketing professionals. They also have a tight advertising budget and lack knowledge about the ins and outs of the field. As a result, many businesses are abandoning marketing altogether, hoping that their site and other platforms will grow organically.
This wishful thinking rarely results in a positive outcome because without quality content, proper platforms and analytics, businesses cannot grow. You need to take online marketing seriously; otherwise, you will most likely find yourself in financial difficulty.
2. Generate quality leads
Customers are essential to the growth and profitability of your business. However, it takes time to learn how to generate quality leads without spending a fortune. An SME, especially a newcomer, struggles to figure out how to smooth the flow of customers, get into new markets and find suitable advertising platforms.
Although this process is complex, you can simplify it by doing your homework well, such as doing proper and meticulous market research. This way, it will be much easier for you to identify and describe your brand persona in detail, optimizing content on your landing page and elsewhere. It will also help you increase your conversions in the long run.
Related: 4 Strategies to Generate High-Quality Leads Through Social Media
3. Assess your return on investment (ROI)
In an ideal world, an SME spends $1,000 on marketing and receives between $2,000 and $3,000 in profit. Unfortunately, online marketing is more complex than that. Entrepreneurs often end up spending more than expected and struggle to identify revenue streams.
To reduce uncertainty, we recommend setting up analytics on your site. This will help you track traffic sources and see how – and if – conversions are taking place. Also consider creating an advertising cabinet that will help you analyze your campaigns in detail and optimize them accordingly. There are many good instruments on the market for this.
4. Competition
Virtually no SME has competitors. And let’s be honest: regardless of your type of business, competition is fierce these days, which impacts your marketing spend. For example, if your competitor buys targeted Google ads in bulk, the bids become higher for everyone in the market.
Competition is penetrating just about every area, including social media. There are thousands of topic groups on Facebook these days, making it increasingly difficult to create your own community.
To make sure you keep the pulse of your competitors (unfortunately, you can’t reduce the number of your competitors unless they go bankrupt), create a dedicated file and update it regularly – for example, include all their customer reviews.
Related: 10 Ways Competition Can Improve Your Business
5. Be trendy
Big companies like Visme or SEMRush always stay in trend. They are present on all the leading platforms, communicate with their audience through different channels and continuously invest in the development of the platforms.
If SMEs want to stay relevant, they must do the same. It’s not enough to launch a site, create a page or set up an ad campaign just once. You need to communicate with your audience and be trendy, so start responding to comments and reviews and be active on your social media.
A holistic solution
Challenges are good for business, but if you’re looking for a sure bet that will help you deal with all that inconvenience, you might consider partner marketing, also known as performance marketing.
First of all, it’s easy. Companies like Amazon, Booking.com and many others use partner channels to attract leads, selling their services and goods online. All you have to do is join them and let the system do the rest. It’s also affordable. You don’t need to spend lavishly without knowing which source will become the most effective; you only pay for concrete actions. In addition, you have access to different platforms without the need to register on them or to develop your communities. Your partners are those who communicate with the public by recommending goods and services. Think of all major social media including TikTok, YouTube, Facebook and many more. Finally, partner marketing helps you to be competitive since most companies use it as well.
Related: The 7 Lucky Steps to Sales Success
When choosing a partner marketing platform, make sure it meets your business goals. Large platforms like AWIN and Partnerize cater to many businesses, but other platforms are more specialized.
The most important thing to remember about online marketing is that no matter how difficult it may seem at first, it’s an amazing opportunity for you to learn how the market economy works and earn money. money. Your task is to choose the right way to do it.
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