Marketing Automation Trends One Needs To Follow in 2021

Sabah Noor

Jul 08, 2021

10 min read

What Is Marketing Automation?
Benefits Of Marketing Automation
Lead Generation
Efficiency In Working
Enhanced Conversion Rate
Error-free Reporting
Marketing Automation Trends To Look Forward In 2021
Personalized Content Supremacy
Establish Presence Everywhere
Chatbots And Artificial Intelligence
Customer Retention
Smartphone Approach

Marketing is one of the prime topics that every business looks forward to and most probably the first thing in mind when a company wants to open up its trading channels. Marketing is a method to build an engaging relationship with your consumer base and is considered an ever-lasting procedure to provide them with what they want. With the advancement in technology, marketing, and other business functions have experienced significant improvements in their functionality. Modern-day technological changes have revolutionized marketing; it has become more efficient yet more complex. The future of marketing shall focus on delivering a top-notch customer experience. There will be extensive utilization of data and analytics to create better marketing campaigns.

What Is Marketing Automation?

Having that said, this gives rise to a modern-day concept called Marketing Automation. Marketing automation has generated a huge buzz; all credit goes to its ability to generate revenue and save costs. As the name suggests, marketing automation means using technology and advanced software drivers to maneuver marketing functions for any business.

Marketing-Automation

Source: Pexels

There has been an incredible spike in the percentage of CMOs using sales intelligent platforms to get closer to their customers. According to a recent survey, 90% of the CMOs, from some of the world's leading companies plan to incorporate marketing automation tools by the end of 2021. Automation has a profound outcome on marketing and other tasks of managing a business firm by keeping it updated and relevant to customer’s demands. It is also a well-known fact that technology is taking over every aspect, department, and task. Therefore, it is better to make the most of marketing automation to become more effective in terms of market reach and cope with the challenges of the marketing function.

Benefits Of Marketing Automation

Advertising about your product/service in local newspapers or putting out advert and bulletins on a business website is a must-to-do chore; however, it could sometimes become repetitive for the department. Automation comes into play and drives the marketing functions of your business firm in a much simpler, productive manner. Along with that, it plays an essential role in providing numerous benefits to your business like -

Lead Generation

It is one of those things that a business firm strives for via its daily operations. Lead generation is a process where the customer grows interested in your offered product or services. Bringing automation into marketing functions aids your business to get more prospects in lesser time and simultaneously focus on the demands of those leads. Using technology-driven strategies, you can get closer to consumer behavior and a detailed report of their expectations from you.

Efficiency In Working

One of the primary aspects of bringing automation technology into business marketing is the potential to unlock operational efficiency. While you can free up your departments’ half of the work and get it done online, it is better to allocate human resources on strategic projects or maybe your business’ core operations. Once you establish automation into marketing, you will align your business goals in a much better way, with strategic planning and effective implementation.

Enhanced Conversion Rate

A conversion rate refers to a visitor on your website becoming a consumer after successful purchase of a product or service. It is astonishing how you can increase the conversions for your business by targeting and retargeting the customers to manage what they want from your website.

Error-free Reporting

Making business reports and analyzing the marketing outcomes can seem like an arduous task. Still, you can get better and more refined results without any procedural errors if you align marketing automation practices into the process. Online software could quickly assist you in streamlining report-making tasks and target the mistakes for you to fix them.

Marketing Automation Trends To Look Forward In 2021

The future of marketing is here, and so is the list of latest trends that your business must follow -

Personalized Content Supremacy

As per numerous researchers, it is essential for every business, big or small, to customize its ideas, product approach, and effective communication. In the coming time, most customers will expect firms to understand and predict their interests regarding offered products/services. Content will drive the marketing and sales force towards lead generation. Thus, it has become imperative to focus on customer’s backgrounds, procure details of their purchase history and behavioral characteristics towards a product brand.

Establish Presence Everywhere

Next marketing automation trend could be using multiple channels and online resources to sight the target groups. Once you begin interacting with customers on different channels, be it email or social media, your business will better use automation to provide seamless and ongoing support. Further, as the company sustains itself on numerous live channels, you can enjoy the inclusion of leads and conversions achieved by strategic actions.

Chatbots And Artificial Intelligence

AI has already impacted many businesses by bringing positive outcomes in efficiency and better customer engagement sessions. Having that said, this shall continue to be an automation trend for many coming years that will simplify the customer’s interaction with your business. AI also helps in analyzing behavioral attributes of customers while they spend time on your website and turn that data into better opportunities for your business. On the other hand, Chatbots ensure that your customer’s query is addressed in a much qualitative way so you can improve and gain credibility in the market.

Digital-Marketing-Company Source: Pexels

Customer Retention

Better late than never, customer retention will remain one of the primitive tasks of a marketing department. Earlier, it was proposed that acquiring more and more customers is the key to profit-making. But, studies have shown that providing a quality-driven experience to the customers and making all efforts to retain them will be a part of marketing campaigns for any business. Retention of customers must be done in two ways: provide quality service and be on toes to address their concerns. And second, retargeting and keeping in touch with them by building credible relationships and trust.

Smartphone Approach

With the increasing use of intelligent mobiles by almost every individual out on the street, this is an ideal opportunity for your business to acquire mobile traffic on your website. Gone are the days when people wanted to visit the stores and make a purchase physically. Now all they want is to shop online, so having your business application or a Progressive Web Application helps you acquire those prospective customers that use smartphones to shop. Having that said, the number of mobile shoppers is increasing with every passing day, thus, opening the doors of new opportunities for your business to bounce and act upon mobile marketing automation.

Applying marketing automation strategies could seem like a daunting plan, enter Saffron Edge. We proudly offer various marketing services to aid your business operations so you can benefit from the marketing automation techniques and get an edge over your rivals. Our team of experts shall help you with email and website marketing, one of the main ways to engage and enlarge your customer base. We also make an effort to enrich our client’s marketing campaigns with the proper guidance and manage them with software programs to earn larger profit values. To know more, contact our team today and transform your business mechanism!

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Buy Now, Pay Later: Does BNPL Strategy Work for Businesses?

Sixty-seven percent of Gen Z respondents to a Statista survey the same year reported using a BNPL service during the previous three months. Buy now, pay later is a convenient and popular way to shop for a broad variety of goods and services. Mozo found that among Australians who are already utilizing BNPL services, 67% are buying needs like furniture and household appliances, 57% are buying luxury items like designer apparel and jewelry, and 27% are buying basics like food. A second payment method that firms might use is the "buy now, pay later" model. When they make a purchase, they may get their hands on it right away, and they also have the option to spread out their payments. Also, customers can feel more at ease purchasing an expensive item like luxury apparel or furnishings if they can spread out their payments over time. By allowing customers to make installment payments, you may be able to enhance both sales and client loyalty. A purchase now, pay later option can help customers whose budgets have been thrown off by the spread of COVID-19. History of how BNPL became so popular Let's go back to the beginning of BNPL to learn more about its history and how it got to be what it is now. Many of these warehouse stores have also experimented with layaway and other payment plans in the past. The widespread adoption of credit cards has led to the demise of these alternatives. Many stores now provide their own credit cards and actively encourage their use at the point of sale as a means of boosting customer loyalty and increasing sales. Key features of BNPL, according to researchers, are lower transaction values and the absence of a credit check or conventional underwriting. This debt is unavailable to creditors because BNPL services do not report user activity to credit bureaus. In most cases, a 25% down payment is required at the time of purchase, with the remaining 75% divided into three equal installments due every two weeks. The buyer must authorize automatic payments using a debit or credit card in order to complete the BNPL transaction. A definition of "Buy Now, Pay Later" With Buy Now Pay Later, a client may make an immediate purchase and then pay for it in monthly payments over a short period of time. In essence, you will be granted a short-term loan, the whole amount of which must be repaid either in monthly installments or in a single payment. If you repay the loan on time, you won't have to pay any interest. Though yet in its infancy, BNPL's promising future is assured by its rapid development. Online purchases are a common reason that borrowers seek out these sorts of loans. The speed with which loans may be approved sets it apart from more traditional approaches. As long as you don't postpone payments, it won't have any effect on your credit score, which is still its largest perk. There is a plethora of BNPL service providers in India. Mobikwik, Amazon, Simpl, PayPal, Alibaba Postpaid, and Paytm Postpaid are all part of the group. Nonetheless, at this point, you're probably wondering how BNPL makes money. Exactly how does BNPL function? It's finally here. Explaining the Operation of BNPL Read on to learn how the BNPL system benefits both shoppers and stores. The shopper continues shopping as usual and proceeds to the checkout counter. BNPL begins the same way that every other online purchase does for the buyer. You go to several internet retailers, choose items, and get ready to check out. The BNPL provider the store has selected offers a buy now, pay later payment plan. The consumer can pay with BNPL, along with other payment methods like credit cards, at checkout. The borrower's credit is given a "gentle pull" by the lender. When a consumer chooses to pay using BNPL, they must provide the BNPL lender with basic identifying information (such as a full address and Social Security number). In order to ensure that the borrower would repay the loan, the lender does a mild credit check right away. Since this form of credit check is not shared with credit reporting agencies, it will not have a negative impact on credit ratings. The store must pay a fee to the BNPL provider. The BNPL provider will deduct a fee from each sale made at retail and pass the cost on to the store owner. Fees (usually 2-8%) are withheld from the amount the BNPL lender transfers to the retailer. This is analogous to the partnerships between banks and shops that enable the use of credit cards. The consumer makes payments against the outstanding debt. In most cases, BNPL sellers may waive interest charges entirely if you pay off your debt in a very short amount of time (typically 30 days). Lenders often provide a variety of payment plans, each with its own set of terms and interest rate, to clients who may require additional time to repay the principal. As is the case with credit cards, the consumer will save money on interest charges if they pay off their balance quickly. Where do BNPL businesses get their money? The next obvious question is, how does BNPL make money? Who or what is providing the funding? Earnings via retailers: BNPL provides a platform for businesses to expand their clientele and hence their revenue. As a result, customers with low balances can still make purchases. Additionally, it provides a new method of vendor compensation. As a result, they will be charged a transaction fee of 2-8% of the total purchase price. This raises a red flag for the sellers who are footing the bill for the hefty transaction costs, but the rising average order size speaks for itself. Obtaining Funds from Customers: Interest- BNPL's clientele are a significant source of revenue. Depending on the customer's credit or the length of time before the balance is paid off, some businesses impose interest rates anywhere from 10% to 30%. The borrower is responsible for paying interest on the loan if he or she extends the loan's repayment term. However, there are a select few businesses that will not assess any fees so long as the loan is repaid on time. Payment postponement - The client is responsible for the late fees if the payment is not received by the due date. It is a major source of income for BNPL enterprises. It's possible to accrue interest at a rate of 30% or more. It is the penalty for late payment, even when the consumer pledges to reimburse the remaining amount promptly. They are also interested in developing their own online marketplaces in order to generate revenue. This will allow them to boost their earnings by encouraging customers to swipe their cards more often. As a result of referring clients to their business partners, they might collect a commission. Another significant revenue stream comes from the display advertisements they host. There are several brands that use ads to boost their credibility and sales. Inevitably, there is a cost associated with running this ad. In exchange for advertising space, these companies are paid by the brands that advertise on their site. Many still have not subscribed, thus the money from this source is low. Earning money from data is the way of the future. They now have access to a wealth of personal information about you that might generate income for them in the future. This information is extremely valuable and might be transferred for monetary gain. They may put that money into expanding their business in the future. Now that we've covered BNPL firms' primary income streams, it's time to learn about BNPL's benefits. What are the benefits of “buy now pay later” for business? It may be hard for you to see how accepting this kind of payment will benefit your company. That's hardly surprising, considering the prevalence of layaway plans in retail sectors. Here are four benefits that should help you see how this payment method may be used in a business-to-business setting: Reduce cash flow stress as much as possible. If most of your cash flow is already being spent, it may be impossible to pay for new or used equipment right once. Services that allow you to make a purchase now and then make a payment at a later time can help you better manage your finances. Smaller payments can be made starting after the selling date, rather than all at once. If the equipment can be put to work generating more money, then it more or less pays for itself. Second, don't use up all of your available finance options. Do you prefer not to use your available credit at the bank? Do you wish you didn't have to use all of your company's credit? You can think of BNPL as a distinct line of credit from your other options. In this way, you won't have to worry about draining your credit account in order to get the necessary tools. Third, think about arranging a special payment plan. Do you think it would benefit your company if you could finance machinery with no money down and only interest to pay for the first six months? Instead, how about a payment plan that adjusts with the seasons? With BNPL finance, there are several flexible payment options for business-to-business transactions. The sellers and their partner lenders may surprise you with their willingness to negotiate. Fourth, shop with complete ease. There are a plethora of BNPL system sites readily available on the web. In addition to checking out items, making automated payments, and downloading data for internal reporting are also options. Inquiring about the seller's ability to offer financing at a later date never hurts. After nearly two years of navigating the effects of global economic volatility, many small businesses are on the road to recovery. But most decision-makers are aware that they require the proper equipment to do the job and bring in money. If your business is ready to take the next step but needs a financial bridge, buy now, pay later services might be the solution. Is BNPL the Best Option for Your DTC Company? In recent years, the option to finance purchases with delayed payment has skyrocketed in popularity, and it's not expected to disappear anytime soon. As more and more vendors provide this choice, not providing it might put a store at a competitive disadvantage. You should thoroughly research your potential BNPL provider and make sure you have the funds available before committing to using BNPL for your company. Verify that the supplier you're thinking about will work well with your present sales infrastructure. ...

Best B2B SaaS SEO Practices: Driving Organic Traffic and Growth

Search Engine Optimization’s marketplace never stays the same. It keeps changing; last year, Google updated its search algorithm more than 500 times — that's almost like changing the guidelines every day, sometimes twice! SEO is a foundation for content marketing guides to make decisions based on data and analysis. It is central to understanding what is saas marketing, crucial in awareness and expanding the reach to connect with your ideal customers. The significance of SEO best practices is not just about being visible; it's about making life easier for your customers. When you know exactly what your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) is searching for, you can smoothly lead them through your marketing journey. Additionally, 59% of B2B marketers state that SEO significantly impacts their lead-generation goals. According to a recent study by McKinsey, the desire to revert to in-person sales among B2B buyers is only around 20% to 30%. The significance of SEO best practices is not just about being visible; it's about making life easier for your customers. We will discover B2B SEO Best Practices that make things simpler and better. By the end of this blog, you'll have the answer to how to build an online presence that attracts and communicates smoothly with your audience. Saffron Edge specializes in providing the perfect solution for businesses that struggle to gain visibility and rank higher in search engine results. With our expertise in technical and semantic SEO, we optimize your website's structure, functionality, and content relevance to ensure maximum performance. What is B2B SEO? B2B Search Engine Optimization consists of three core elements: on-page SEO, off-page SEO, and technical SEO. These three building blocks together form a B2B SEO strategy, which increases your content's visibility on leading search engines. Here is a brief introduction to these pillars that contribute to forming the Best B2B SEO strategy: On-page:Updating meta elements, conducting thorough on-page audits, creating engaging content, interesting user experience, and keyword research. Off-page:link-building, securing valuable backlinks from social media platforms, and engaging in authentic digital PR activities. Technical SEO:Technical SEO makes your website easily discoverable and user-friendly, focusing on indexability, crawlability, page load speed, images, and alt-text, implementing schema markup, and site architecture. Ranking up your website isn’t easy. It is more about creating engaging content and maintaining an online presence with your needs. What are the Common B2B Marketing Challenges? B2B SaaS marketing, in terms of SEO, is difficult as it faces many challenges. The B2B SaaS marketplace is worth over $170 billion. The stakes are high, the competition is fierce, and the journey is filled with many ups and downs. Let's chat honestly about the challenges people face in this SaaS Market and how SEO best practices can be your guide. 1. Global Competition: Imagine a marketplace bustling with activity, where competition isn’t just local but global. The SaaS space has increased by 500% in the last seven years, and the competition is fierce, especially with the U.S. hosting around 8 times more marketing SaaS companies than any other country. 2. Narrow Target Audience: SaaS products are typically designed for a specific industry, company size, or type of customer. This makes it challenging to reach the right audience with your marketing efforts. But it becomes easier if you use the tools for b2b marketing. 3. High-Commitment Decision-Making Process: B2B SaaS is a commitment. Businesses don’t make random purchases; they court, research, and make decisions based on long-term compatibility, making it a high-commitment investment.Companies do significant research to find and ensure that the product resolves their pain points and aligns with their b2b saas company culture and saas marketing budget. The annual contract values have remarkably increased over 5 times in six years. The monthly renewal nature of SaaS subscriptions adds additional pressure, making every month a critical decision point. 4. Monthly Subscription Renewals: Companies have to make purchase decisions every month, which means your product must prove its worth every month. It’s not a one-time courtship; it’s a monthly revalidation. 5. Continuous Proof of Value: B2B SaaS customers need to be constantly convinced that they are making the right choice by purchasing your product. This requires marketers to provide ongoing proof of value, such as case studies, testimonials, and free trials. B2B SaaS marketers also need to consider the following: The need to stay up-to-date with the latest industry trends and technologies. The importance of creating high-quality content that is relevant to their target audience. Using social channels to connect with potential customers. The importance of tracking and measuring marketing ROI. What are the top marketing metrics for SaaS? As you implement B2B SEO practices, understanding and revising the key metrics is also important. Here are our top marketing metrics for SaaS. Each metric helps you understand how much money is coming and enables you to attract, retain, and maximize the value of your customer base. Regularly analyze these metrics and tweak your SEO strategy accordingly. Churn Rate: The churn rate, indicating the percentage of customers discontinuing your service within a specified period, holds significant importance.For B2B SEO practices, monitoring churn helps you identify potential pain points in your SaaS Marketing customer journey. By optimizing your SEO content to address these issues, you can enhance user experience and reduce churn. Customer Retention: High customer retention is a testament to the value your SaaS solution provides. Implementing B2B SEO practices by creating content focusing on customer success stories, testimonials, and case studies. Optimizing these pages for relevant keywords enhances their visibility, boosting your credibility and attracting potential clients. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): Calculating the Customer Acquisition Cost is essential for understanding the resources invested in acquiring a new customer. In the B2B SEO market, focus on creating specific content that focuses on the needs of your target audience. Use relevant keywords and update landing pages to increase organic traffic, reducing the overall CAC. Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR): Monthly Recurring Revenue is the lifeblood of SaaS businesses. Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) reveals the revenue generated by customers within a single month. Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) quantifies the complete revenue a business anticipates from a single customer throughout their entire engagement.B2B SEO practices can contribute to CLV by creating relevant, evergreen content and attracting organic traffic over time. This not only aids in customer retention but also expands the customer's lifetime value. How to pick goals for your B2B SEO Strategy? Picking goals for your B2B SEO strategy involves a thoughtful and strategic approach. We'll break down the process in a way that helps put your efforts in the right direction: Keyword Research: Quality Over Quantity: Instead of focusing on many different keywords, focus on quality. Aim for a list of 3,000 to 9,000 keywords, a range that provides enough diversity without overwhelming your strategy. The precision should be accurate; each keyword you choose must align with your business objectives. Strategic Keyword Mapping: Select 6-7 keywords strategically. These should mirror what your ideal customers are searching for. Use these keywords as a guide to organize your website menus, plan your content, and identify areas for improvement. This approach makes your content relevant and valuable to your target audience. Aligning SEO Goals with Business Objectives: Connect your SEO goals with your broader business objectives. For example, decide whether to boost overall traffic or attract individuals ready to purchase if you aim to attract more leads for a SaaS product. This decision shapes the metrics you'll focus on to measure success. Key Metrics to Focus On: Many SEO specialist tells us to focus on search volume, while it is not harmful to look at a few other metrics: Volume: Estimated monthly searches for a keyword. CPC (Cost Per Click): The cost of advertising for a keyword; higher CPC often indicates higher conversion rates. Competitive Density: How many advertisers compete for a keyword in paid search? Keyword Difficulty: Measuring how hard it is to rank organically for a keyword; higher difficulty means stronger competition. B2B SEO strategy is all about balance. Balancing the number of keywords, aligning SEO goals with overall business objectives, and focusing on key metrics. By keeping it simple and strategic, your B2B SEO efforts can increase visibility, better lead generation, and overall business success. Creating an SEO Strategy that Drives Success for B2B SaaS Creating a successful B2B SEO strategy requires a systematic approach prioritizing impact and user-centricity. Follow these steps to implement the best B2B SEO practices: 1. Conduct Technical Audits: The foundation of a successful SEO strategy lies in a solid technical foundation. Start by conducting a thorough technical audit to identify and face any issues that are hindering your website's crawlability, indexability, and overall performance. This includes checking for broken links, optimizing site speed, (essential for fast-loading SaaS dashboards),ensuring mobile-friendliness, and implementing structured data markup. 2. Perform Competitor Research: Identify actual organic competitors through keyword research and reverse engineer their successful SEO strategies, particularly those focused on SAAS lead generation. Analyze insights to improve on-page SEO, off-page SEO, and content marketing efforts. Analyze and improve upon competitors' strategies to strengthen your long-term SEO approach especially in a saas marketing in a startup. 3. Invest in User Research: Conduct user research to gather quantitative and qualitative data that help create the best B2B SEO for SaaS companies. Interview sales teams to understand key switch points and customer pain points for targeted content creation. Analyze CRM data to identify converting personas and create content strategies accordingly. Scrape review sites for user sentiment and language, shaping benefit-driven copy. Here is a breakdown: Talk to Your Sales Team: Have a chat with your sales team. Ask them about the common problems users face daily. These insights help shape your content strategy and pinpoint what matters to your audience. Check Your Customer Data: Take a look at your customer data. Identify the types of people who become your customers most often. This helps you create SEO personas and imaginary profiles representing different customer types. This way, you can plan the strategy and determine what content will best connect with each group. Read Reviews on Sites: Scrap review sites like G2 and Capterra. Find out who your current users are – their job titles, industries, and what they're saying about your product. It's like understanding their language and concerns. This helps you tweak your messages to align better with your audience. Create Small, Targeted Content Plans: Now, use all this info to create small, targeted content plans for each type of user. Make sure your content covers every step of the buyer's journey. In short, you must turn your website into a helpful guide that speaks directly to your Ideal Customer Profiles (ICPs). Investing in user research is like being a detective for your business. You're gathering clues about who your customers are and how they think. This way, your website doesn't just attract people; it keeps them interested and ready to do business with you. 4. Conduct Behavior Analysis: Track key user actions on the website, including CTA clicks, scroll depth, and user behavior flow. Analyze the customer journey to understand page interactions from first touch to conversion. Develop hypotheses and conduct conversion rate optimization(CRO) tests to guide users through a logical journey, focusing on brand building over immediate sales. 5. Run User-Focused Keyword Research: Focus on content that adds value to users at all funnel stages, including insights from user personas. Gather data from Google Search Console for 'real' volume on keywords, including low-volume keywords with high intent. 6. Build Topical Authority: Use insights from user and keyword research to tackle topics. Develop an internal linking strategy to enhance perceived topical authority for both users and search engines. Focus on winning quality backlinks using our backlinking strategies, brand mentions, unique content creation, and answering search intent. 7. Prioritize Efforts & Seek Assistance: The important thing is to prioritize tasks based on business goals and decide whether to outsource or build an in-house team. Recognize the competition for SEO talent and ensure exceptional offers when hiring. Align SEO strategy with business goals, whether through outsourcing or building an in-house team. 8. Measure SEO KPIs: Establish KPIs such as overall revenue, non-branded vs. branded search success, organic traffic by content, conversion rates, and keyword SERP rankings. Allow sufficient time for the SEO strategy to yield results, typically a minimum of three months. Regularly measure and analyze KPIs to adapt and improve the SEO strategy for ongoing success. Implementing these best B2B SEO practices will result in a holistic approach that combines technical excellence, user understanding, and strategic content creation for sustainable success. Conclusion This outline consists of all the essential components of a successful SEO strategy, from discovering that mastering SEO is not just a strategy but a complete roadmap for SaaS success to b2b SaaS meaning. We also explored the challenges and roadblocks, clarifying that the best B2B SEO practices blend technical finesse, user-centricity, and strategic content creation. While implementing B2B SEO practices, remember the importance of agility, KPI measurement, and the fusion of technical expertise, user understanding, and engaging content. Outperform your competitors with Saffron Edge—a leading digital marketing company that creates and implements custom SEO strategies for B2B clients. Saffron Edge focuses on true growth and scalability, offering a diverse approach for long-term sustainable success for your SaaS brand. Partner with Saffron Edge today! ...

How can D2C businesses use Amazon A+ Content to boost their sales?

There should be no doubt referring to Amazon as the largest and most competitive eCommerce marketplace, having over 9.7 million sellers worldwide. Among these, almost 1.9 million sellers are actively promoting and selling their products on this marketplace. Now, the question is, how can you make your product and services stand out when millions of products are already striving for the same trophy? Well, Amazon’s A+ Content can be an efficient solution to beat your competitors to the draw and boost your sales. This blog will guide you through the world of Amazon A+ Content and its benefits to maximize your sales by improving conversions. So, let’s get started! What’s Amazon A+ Content? As described by Amazon Seller Central, Amazon A+ Content is an advanced feature that allows brands to modify the product description of branded Amazon Standard Identification Numbers (ASINs). It was formerly renowned as Enhanced Brand Content (EBC). Amazon A+ Content is a kind of additional information that Amazon sellers can include in their product’s description listings. Using this feature, you can showcase your product’s features to the users uniquely, consisting of enhanced images, brand stories, and text positioning. When you get access to the A+ Content, you can add the following features to your product description: Precise and informative introduction of the product Detailed and more comprehensive product description Highly optimized images HD videos that describe your product's features Comparative charts and tables of your competitors Attractive bulleted features list Inclusion of a section known as “What’s in the box?” Using A+ Content will efficiently help you convey your brand’s story and products’ benefits that add value to the customers. It will also enhance their experience, making them choose your products over your competitors. Since your brand will generate more value for your customers over others, you can observe a significant increase in sales. How to Create an A+ Content for Your Brand? Until mid-2019, Amazon A+ was only accessible for the sellers or vendors having a former EBC. However, now this feature is open-source and available to almost everyone. But you have to make sure you are eligible for a specific set of requirements. The first thing to remember is to have a professional seller account. Secondly, make sure you register yourself in the Amazon Brand Registry to be approved as a brand owner. Once Amazon verifies you, you can start including the ASINs of your products to A+ Content. When you update the content for the particular ASIN, it will be reflected for the parent ASIN and all the child ASIN levels. However, how strategically you create and optimize your content will help you get the proper conversions and sales maximization. Let’s talk about it in the latter part of the article. But what if your brand is new on Amazon? Well, that’s not an issue. You still have an option to be eligible for the A+ Content feature. Amazon also accepts and promotes emerging brand owners engaged in other managed selling programs, such as Amazon Exclusives and Launchpad's. Benefits of A+ Content for Your D2C Business You have already been told that Amazon is a highly competitive marketplace, and with the correct utilization of Amazon A+ Content, you can appear as the game-changer. It can provide you with a competitive edge to skyrocket your conversion rate and accelerate product sales. In fact, proper integration of A+ Content into your product marketing techniques can help you increase your product sales by 3% to 10%. Here are some advantages of A+ Content for your D2C businesses: Seize your shoppers’ attention The hardest part about selling a product on Amazon is grabbing your customers’ attention when millions of similar versions are out there. Amazon’s A+ Content helps you capture the eye of potential buyers as they are fed up looking at cluttered and messy product listings and no longer want to see them. However, with A+ Content, the product description is well-descriptive with large HD images and a video describing the product’s features and usage. Moreover, the formatted text and enticing bulletin points make it easier to grab your products' attention. A better option in terms of SEO One of the best things about A+ Content is that search engines like Google easily recognize it. Due to this, your brand and products get more visibility, and they appear on your users’ screens more often. One thing to note is that A+ Content is not indexed on Amazon, but Google does it, which means if you work correctly according to the algorithms, your products will be visible to your potential customers on Google. Enhanced product listings increase discoverability, optimize your brand rankings, and ultimately increase sales. Increase in conversions Well, this is normal. When you use high-quality images, HD videos, attention-grabbing, and SEO-friendly product listing pages, getting a higher conversion rate is no surprise. Your products eventually come into the limelight, making your shoppers click on the “Add to Cart” or “Buy Now” button confidently. More reviews and fewer returns! What do you usually do while shopping online? If you get sufficient time, you will try to gather as much information as possible about the product you want to buy from different sources and several reviews. However, when you use the A+ Content strategy in describing your product information, they get a clear picture of the product all at one stop. It helps the customers make the right and quick decisions. Furthermore, when they purchase a product with its complete understanding, there are negligible chances that they will return it. Also, the satisfied customers will leave positive feedback on your products page that will help other customers choose your product. Hence, increase in sales! Minimize ACoS and Raise ROI When you run a PPC campaign for your product, it might bring you clicks in a large number but not necessarily guarantee sales. In addition, running a PPC ad can cost you a good amount based on your needs and target options. However, the right on-target and comprehensive A+ Content can easily convince your potential buyers to purchase by grabbing their attention on the products’ features. Also, you won’t be charged for using the A+ Content strategy (until you upgrade to the premium version). Therefore, with A+ Content, you get more sales, less advertising cost of sale (ACoS), and a higher return on investment (ROI). Best Practices Regarding Amazon A+ Content To get better results, you need to ensure that your A+ Content is optimized with the best practices. Here are a few tips for delivering quality A+ Content and a better customer experience: Emphasize the USP of your brand Remember that a product is not produced just to sell it, but for your customers to buy it. Therefore, see it from the customers’ point of view. Discover why they will need it or how it can benefit them. That would be the Unique Selling Point (USP) of your product that you must emphasize in your A+ Content. The advantages of your product will help drive emotions, the emotions that describe your customers' needs. And where the emotions are aroused, the purchases automatically take place. Keep your content short and clear It doesn’t matter how informative your product description is, your customers usually have the same time you would invest while purchasing for yourself. Nobody wants to wait, and no one has much time to read long and detailed paragraphs about your product. Therefore, make sure you stick to short and on-point A+ Content to accelerate the buying decision. Use the combined power of text and images You might have read or heard that the visuals speak more than text. Hence, in your A+ Content, combine high definition visuals along with the precise text. You can use banners to segregate your product’s listing and details page to make it more straightforward and offer a streamlined experience to your customers. Avoid errors and proofread your content before submitting Make sure you avoid using special characters in your A+ Content. Amazon forbids the use of some special characters, including copyright and registered trademark symbols. Moreover, you are also not allowed to use hyperlinks to other websites in your A+ Content. However, adding a link to any other ASIN is acceptable within the module type. Also, Amazon takes almost a week to approve your content describing the product listing and description. Therefore, make sure you proofread it for any grammatical errors before the submission. It is crucial because, for some reason, if you ignore the mistakes and Amazon approves your content, it will be live on the website. Later, when you realize that your content has some errors and you wish to fix them, you will have to submit the page again. However, until the mistake is resolved, it would have run live almost for a week. Keep your page designs uniform Always remember that you do not create the design or structure of your A+ Content for one page. Instead, you will be using it for the whole product catalog. Therefore, make sure to maintain consistency throughout the layout of your products page. Use minimalistic designs with optimized images and formatted text. Your products’ page design should be unique and signify your brand’s extension. Also, to avoid rejection from Amazon regarding your visual content, ensure that your images and videos are of appropriate resolution and size as per the policies suggested by Amazon. Guidelines for Amazon A+ Content You should not refer to your business as a seller or distributor. Don’t provide any contact information of your business or company. Avoid using purchase references, like “cheap,” “free,” “bonus offer”, “affordable”, “shop with us,” etc., in the product description. Don’t use any special characters including ?, ? or ™. Avoid using low-quality images with the unreadable textual matter. Do not add hyperlinks to any website inside or outside of Amazon. Don’t use images or graphics that might imitate Amazon logos or programs. Never mention anything in your A+ Content that shows association to any kind of criminal activities. Avoid mentioning debatable claims, such as “the best product,” “#1 selling item”, “the top product in the list,” and like. Ensure that the lifestyle images you use show the products. Your A+ Content (images, videos, or text) should be unique. Any changes or modification in the content is allowed only in the first two business days after publication. Don’t insert or mention anything that violates the Amazon selling policies. Amazon has the right to take down your page in that scenario. Wrapping Up As per an Amazon report, on average, around 4000 items are sold every minute by the small and medium-sized businesses located in the United States. This statistic might clearly tell you why all kinds of companies want to incorporate themselves with Amazon services. However, a wide presence of competitors can make it extremely challenging for you to distinguish your brand from them. Undoubtedly, A+ Content is an efficient method to make your own way in this cut-throat competition and grab the attention of your potential customers. All you need is to follow the proper guidelines to make your products stand out from the product. And the appropriate knowledge comes from experience. Therefore, it is worth investing in an efficient and proficient digital marketing agency to help you deliver high-quality A+ content to increase conversions and boost sales. ...

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