Rashida
Unless you’ve been living under a rock (no hate, Patrick), you’ve heard about the incredible potential of running an eCommerce business.
Along with that, you likely have heard of a whole host of strategies to increase conversion rates, like social proof, user-generated content, content marketing, search engine optimization, word of mouth, paid ads, and many more.
Hearing about all of these methods is great, but you know how the old saying goes about “seeing is believing.”
Sometimes the most inspiring advice is a good old success story.
That’s exactly what we’ve got in store today, a few eCommerce case studies.
Let’s jump right in.
Away- Stellar Content Marketing
Who wants to read about suitcases? Raise your hand! Don’t see many hands raised… and that’s exactly what the brand Away thought.
At the core of their business was a simple product: a better-quality, affordable suitcase. Simple enough and pretty reasonable.
However, the luggage market is pretty saturated. And pretty, well, boring.
This success story is based on excellent content marketing, branding, and storytelling.
Basically, Jen Rubio, away co-founder, positioned away as a travel brand. Rather than just focusing on suitcases, they developed a strong brand image and story woven into traveling as a whole. Based on this, they crafted compelling content about the travel lifestyle.
This approach helped them stand out and reach their target audience. It also led to excellent engagement and impressive growth, including $125 million in revenue.
The lesson here? Use content marketing to show your audience what your brand helps them do. Every piece should provide value to your audience. It’s not just about what your product is, create materials that connect to the broader purpose of the problem you help solve.
Allbirds- Word of Mouth
Sick of the flashy, overpriced name-brand sneakers of his pro soccer career, Allbirds co-founder Tim Brown set off to much his own version, Allbirds are known for their comfort and sustainable construction. Furthermore, they are simple, with solid colors.
In just two years, Allbirds generated $100 million in revenue. By 2018, the company was valued at over $1.4 billion.
In a social media-heavy world, Allbirds impressively generates many sales from word of mouth. Make no mistake, they certainly leverage social media for customer support, product research, and more. 40% of their traffic is direct, which shows their strong brand presence.
The primary way the company has generated such strong word-of-mouth support (aside from having an excellent product) is through a robust unique selling proposition. They make sure to weave their top unique value points into all marketing material. This helps reinforce those ideas to their audience, who share them with their own network.
Dollar Shave Club- Customer Experience
Next, we revisit an oldie but goodie: Dollar Shave Club. We already have a deep dive into their success story, but here’s a rundown.
Dollar Shave Club is an affordable razor subscription service. The base subscription is $3 a month, but they now offer several tiers and add-ons.
DSC made an immediate splash with their hilarious, relatable introduction video. The video alone generated over 12,000 signups in 2 days.
While the video may have garnered attention and some sales, what keeps people coming back is the excellent customer experience. When you sign up, you join the “Club.” The Club includes a community, welcome notes, free samples, and an entertaining monthly newsletter.
Of course, DSG dedicates resources to key online channels like social media. They share a wealth of user-generated content and send prizes to customers that post.
However, where they really excel is customer experience. The lifetime value of a customer is crucial for their subscription model, so they make sure to create an environment that retains customers.
SumoJerky (Well, Noah Kagan in general..)- Target Audience
Noah Kagan is an extremely successful entrepreneur who has started and grown several companies to 7+ figures in revenue. One of those companies may be familiar, the budgeting service Mint.com.
Noah let his followers choose a business idea to prove he could start any business and make $1,000 in a day.
That’s how SumoJerkey, the beef jerky subscription, came to be. And yes, it made over $1,000 in 24 hours.
The biggest thing that helped SumoJerky succeed was the excellent target audience avatar. Noah created a very detailed customer avatar to nail down his target audience. Based on his avatar, he began reaching out to prospects who may be interested. When someone made a purchase, this gave him more information to refine his avatar. From there, he continued to spread the word to the most relevant target audience.
Warby Parker- Social Proof
Warby Parker is an online glasses brand. You can upload your prescription and order up to five pairs of glasses to try on at home. Keep what you like and send the rest back.
In recent years, Warber Parker grew immensely. This is largely thanks to a shift in their marketing strategies.
At first, the brand focused on the press. However, as time went on, they recognized the importance of social media, including social proof and user-generated content. They leverage PR campaigns with influencers in their target audience and shifted focus to social media.
MeUndies- Backlinks for Search Engine Optimization
MeUndies sells incredibly comfortable, stylish underwear for men and women. That’s a pretty jam-packed market, so how did they generate attention?
Backlinks are a crucial part of SEO that many newer eCommerce brands don’t leverage. Backlinks to high-authority sites are a powerful search ranking factor that can help your site make it to the top of the search engines. However, it certainly does take a lot of time and energy to build links.
MeUndies took a blue-collar approach and asked authority domains in their industry for features on their “best-of” lists. Using this method, they made it into BuzzFeed’s “21 Expensive Gifts for the Cool Guy In Your Life.” It also helped them get on some smaller sites, namely The Pearl Source.
Another strategy they use to acquire backlinks is to sponsor podcasts. They offer listeners a special discount using a dedicated landing page for each podcast.
With the help of these backlinks, MeUndies was able to rank for very competitive keywords, including “boxer briefs.”
eCommerce: What Can We Learn?
The eCommerce case studies above are just a few of the hundreds of success stories out there. Each success story focuses on a slightly different slice of the complex eCommerce puzzle. While your brand should leverage a number of marketing strategies to ensure success, it’s vital to prioritize the strategies that suit your niche, target audience, and brand image.
