Customer acquisition is a tough game, especially in eCommerce. Costs are so high that the return on investment (ROI) isn’t usually seen in the first or even second order.
Conventional marketing strategies or agile marketing may work, but if want some strategies for lowering acquisition costs and improving the ROI, then growth hacking for eCommerce is your way to go.
eCommerce growth hacking strategies will help you increase how much a client spends over time, like within 12 months, also known as the customer lifetime value (CLTV).
By making clients order more often, businesses can see real growth. But how can you implement these strategies?
This guide will delve into the concept of growth hacking, a clever strategy to boost orders and enhance your eCommerce business’s sustainability. You’ll discover strategies, tools, and examples to help you on your path to success.
What is Growth Hacking?
Growth hacking, also known as growth marketing, is traditional marketing on steroids. It makes your customers love your brand/products so much that they make frequent purchases from you and become evangelists for your brand.
While traditional marketing focuses only on the acquisition part of your sales funnel, growth hacking looks at the entire funnel.
In eCommerce, growth hacking can get you more customers, encourage them to buy more, and do it all without spending a fortune.
Why is Growth Hacking Important for eCommerce?
Getting a new customer can be expensive. Sometimes, the cost is so high that you don’t even make a profit on the first sale. So, you need that customer to come back and buy again and again.
Growth hacking helps you do that. By finding clever ways to keep customers coming back, you increase their CLTV (Customer Lifetime Value). This is mainly because growth hacking focuses on the entire funnel, and this covers retention also.
By focusing on customer retention and encouraging repeat purchases, companies can boost their revenue without constantly relying on acquiring new customers. At Growth Hackers, we worked with an eCommerce brand where acquisition costs were eroding first-purchase profitability, and by shifting focus to retention-led growth tactics, we helped increase repeat purchase behavior and improve CLTV by 38% within 10 months.
10 Strategies and Tactics for eCommerce Growth Hacking
1. Upselling and Cross-selling
Upselling means suggesting a higher-value alternative. Let’s say a customer is looking at a basic camera. Why not show them a model with more features? It’s like asking, “Would you like to supersize that?”
Cross-selling is showing related items. Think about buying a laptop. Wouldn’t you need a case or maybe some software?
Both strategies aim to increase the value of a single purchase. Since the customer is already ready to hit the buy button, things become easier at this stage.
Instead of pressuring the customer, you’ll be offering choices and solutions. They can feel good about their purchase, and you increase your sales. It’s a win-win!
At Growth Hackers, we worked with an online fashion retailer where customers were frequently buying single items, and by introducing strategic upsell bundles and cross-sell recommendations, we helped turn one-item purchases into complete outfit orders.
2. Email Marketing
Email Marketing isn’t just about sending emails; it’s about reaching out to customers in a personal way. Here are a few ways to do that:
- Personalized Recommendations: Failing to segment your email list is one of the most common mistakes. You can segment your list, and using data from past purchases, you can suggest products your customers might love. If someone bought hiking boots, why not suggest a matching backpack?
- Newsletters: These can keep your audience engaged with informational content. You can also share news about products, promotions, and sales.
- Abandoned Cart Reminders: If a customer leaves a product in their cart, remind them. Offer a little incentive, maybe.
Emails can help you continually keep in touch with your customers. So, make sure you make the most of your email list. You can use free email marketing software like MailChimp, Brevo, Klaviyo and Omnisend for this. At Growth Hackers, we treated one Shopify client’s email marketing (Through Klaviyo) like a personal shopper experience in digital form, where every message was tailored to what the customer actually needed next in their journey.
3. Exclusive Member Events and Sales
Exclusive Member Events & Sales can give your customers a special feeling and will help you increase brand loyalty. It’s like inviting them to a VIP party.
Consider hosting member-only sales events. Maybe there’s a new product line coming, and members get the first look. Think of it as giving them a sneak peek into a movie before anyone else.
Or perhaps, exclusive discounts on certain days. For example, members get an extra 10% off every first Saturday of the month. It’s like giving them a birthday gift, but more often.
By treating your customers like VIPs, they’ll feel valued. They’ll love your brand even more, and they’ll keep coming back.
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4. Loyalty Programs
Loyalty programs are like a gaming experience for your customers. They collect points and unlock rewards, making shopping an exciting game.
You can start by offering points for each purchase. But don’t stop there. Offer special badges or statuses for reaching certain milestones.
By making shopping a fun and rewarding experience, loyalty programs turn customers into loyal fans. They’ll stay with you and bring their friends along too. It’s like having a team of cheerleaders for your store!
5. Create Scarcity and Urgency
Creating scarcity and urgency is a powerful growth hacking tool for eCommerce that gets your customers moving. It tells them that now is the time to buy by creating FOMO.
You can create scarcity by letting customers know that the stock is limited and they need to hurry. Similarly, you can create urgency with flash sales and limited-time offers. Amazon’s “Limited time deals” are a great example of urgency.
Both can work wonders in moving the needs of your eCommerce customers. They will urge your customers to finally make the purchase. At Growth Hackers, we transformed a passive browsing experience with delayed purchases for one of our skincare e-commerce clients into an urgency-driven buying journey where limited stock cues and time-bound offers motivated customers to act immediately.
6. Host Contests and Giveaways on Social Media
eCommerce social media marketing is a powerful tool. And hosting contests and giveaways on social media engages your followers in a fun way, and it spreads the word about your brand.
Imagine hosting a photo contest where customers share pictures using your product. It could be as simple as a hashtag campaign. You can offer a free product or a big discount as the prize.
For social media giveaways, you can ask your customers to like, share, and comment on a post for a chance to win something special. You can also run eCommerce ads for these contests and giveaways.
These tactics get people talking and sharing. It builds community, and best of all, it drives sales without breaking the bank. At Growth Hackers, we helped an eCommerce brand selling tents, hammocks and camping equipment launch a hashtag-driven Instagram giveaway campaign that increased engagement and significantly expanded their organic reach within a single promotion cycle.
7. Add ChatBot to your eCommerce Website
Adding a chatbot to your eCommerce website is a modern twist to customer service. What does it do? It answers questions 24/7, guiding customers and making them feel attended. chatbot acts like the sales assistant who helps us out in physical stores.
You can use an AI chatbot to offer personalized product recommendations as well. AI chatbot can use customer data to suggest products they might be interested in based on their past purchases, just like a salesperson in a store would.
It might seem difficult to install and Ai-power chatbot and that’s working working with an eCommerce specialist can do wonders as they have the experience implementing it.
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8. Leverage Engaging Content
Valuable and engaging content plays an important role in customer acquisition for eCommerce businesses. Blogs, videos, guides, or even content like client video testimonials can offer value to your customers.
Take a fashion store, for example. If they share blogs about how to match outfits or create different looks with a single dress, customers will likely spend more time exploring. They might even find more things to buy.
You can use sales dashboards to see what types of content are performing well, and create more of these. At Growth Hackers, we treated one beauty client’s content strategy like a digital showroom, where every blog, video, and guide helped customers explore products the same way they would browse inspiring store displays.
9. Host a Referral Program
Referral programs work for both B2C and wholesale e-commerce by turning your existing customers into brand ambassadors. By offering them incentives to refer new customers, you encourage them to spread the word about your business.
Consider a popular online store offering a $10 credit for every friend referred. The friend also receives a $10 credit to start shopping. It’s a win-win.
You can also use referral programs to grow your brand’s Instagram following.
10. AI-Powered Personal Shopping Assistants
AI-Powered Personal Shopping Assistants revolutionize the eCommerce shopping experience by providing highly personalized product recommendations.
Utilizing advanced algorithms and machine learning, these virtual assistants analyze customer preferences, past purchases, and browsing behavior to suggest items tailored to each shopper’s unique tastes.
This not only enhances the customer experience by making shopping more efficient and enjoyable but also significantly increases the likelihood of purchase.
By integrating AI assistants into their platforms, eCommerce businesses can offer a cutting-edge, customized shopping journey, setting themselves apart in a competitive digital marketplace.
The H&M virtual shopping assistant exemplifies the innovative use of AI in enhancing the retail experience. Its features like ‘Find in Store’ and ‘Visual Search’ not only simplify the shopping process but also personalize it by adapting to customer preferences and offering instant updates on product availability and new collections.
Thus, generative AI for retail and eCommerce stores is paving the way for the next wave of intelligent commerce, where digital assistants not only support transactions but anticipate desires and curate experiences in real time.
Final Words on Utilizing Growth Hacking for eCommerce Stores
Growth hacking is the way to grow your eCommerce brand and maximize profits by optimizing your entire sales funnel.
By employing strategies like upselling, email marketing, and exclusive sales, you can increase customer lifetime value. The focus isn’t just on new customers but on retaining the existing ones, making them order more frequently.
So, try implementing the strategies provided in the guide and watch your business grow.
Growth Hackers is a seasoned e-commerce digital marketing agency helping businesses from all over the world grow. There is no fluff with Growth Hackers. We help entrepreneurs and business owners elevate their eCommerce game with growth hacking strategies, increase their productivity, generate qualified leads, optimize their conversion rate, gather and analyze data analytics, acquire and retain users and increase sales.
We go further than brand awareness and exposure. We make sure that the strategies we implement move the needle so your eCommerce store grow, strive and succeed. If you too want your business to reach new heights, contact Growth Hackers today so we can discuss about your brand and create a custom growth plan for you. You’re just one click away to skyrocket your business.
