Home Business How to prepare my ecommerce store for the Apple iOS 14 & Google update

How to prepare my ecommerce store for the Apple iOS 14 & Google update

by Lee Mark

If you are running an ecommerce store and have been struggling with social media advertising, keep reading because we’ll give you expert advice on how to keep revenue going up with the database you’ve already created plus using email marketing strategies to engage and convert with your already interested customers. It’s not a secret that Email Marketing Agencies have been growing and there’s a reason behind it.

What are iOS & Google updates and how does it affect my business 

The main update with these BIG two is the way you’ll be able to use third-party data (the information we normally collect on users through an indirect relationship) Both the Apple iOS 14.5 update and Google (soon) phasing out its third party cookies update essentially mean one thing — unless the user has opted in for allowing their data to be tracked, advertisers cannot get access to the browsing behaviour or track the cookies of the user.
This means  the Advertising and knowledge of our customers will be a challenge that we need to address with new strategies.

Now that non-marketers understand better the use of cookies, they are more concerned about their privacy, that’s why governments and big companies such as Google & Apple have had to adjust the way they track users’ information.

So, just to summarize: advertising on third-party platforms is becoming more challenging and expensive and less efficient because marketers have lost their ability to create personalized messages to consumers. This is not the end of digital marketing but the beginning of a new era since companies will need to collect data directly from highly interested consumers.

First-and Zero-Party Data & a Shift of Mindset

While third-party data is not explicitly opted-in to, the first-and zero-party data means consumers are explicitly consenting companies to use and track their information, this is why all our marketing strategies should direct to a new whole purpose where we put customers first.

Don’t feel overwhelmed with all what’s happening, even though the Apple iOS 14 could impact your business is also a good time to redesign your Marketing Strategies and even take advantage of this New Data Privacy era before anyone does. Here are some tips we’ve gathered for you.

  1. Acquisition tips 
  • Zoom out of attribution on a channel-by-channel basis and instead measure your ROI of paid Ads as a whole.
  • Since hyper-targeted ads are now less effective, promote your brand story and collections instead of specific products if your SKUs are limited and promote your Best Sellers if you have more SKUs offer.
  • Take advantage of Lookalike audiences. Use Customer-first Data you already have such as email and phone numbers to connect and reach lookalike audiences, for example with Facebook.
  • Change your Ads Goal: use your leads to collect email addresses rather than quick conversions. Gather First-party data instead to grow your list, understand their behaviour, engage and convert.
  • Build trust around the creativity of your ads. Use UGC (User Generated Content) to hook the audience and engage. With these updates it becomes harder to personalize your target audience in paid media so there’ll be people who might be hesitant to purchase from your brand, use social proof to captivate them and get them to subscribe to your list.
  • Experiment with channels you haven’t considered before such as Organic Social Media, Influencer Marketing, SEO, Public Relations
  1. Conversion and Optimization tips 
  • Capture website traffic data by Signup forms: Pop Ups, Embedded forms or Flyouts. Be creative, AB test to see what performs better and offer a good user experience so that visitors are more likely to subscribe.
  • Gather as much information as you can to create a complete profile of your customers, email and phone number is not the only data you can ask for: birthday, preferences or interests are other examples of extra information you can add to your signup, checkout form or quizzes.
  • Optimize your website and landing pages. As more unqualified traffic comes to your store you’ll find it harder to convert if you don’t focus on the experience you’re offering. Make sure you have the complete information they’re looking for in the website or landing to decrease the bounce rate.
  • Retargeting and Remarketing as your new MO. Since not every shopper will convert as soon as they visit your website, use their email address and phone number to get them through the funnel. You can set up automated email or SMS to engage and eventually convert as a Remarketing strategy. As for Retargeting don’t underestimate the power of your email list and use it to retarget audiences on Facebook.
  1. Retention and loyalty tips 
  • Grant loyalty points or rewards for every purchase made. Loyalty programs will help you retain your clients and get them to come back and purchase also, if you incentivize properly they’ll recommend your product to others gaining more “organic” traffic.
  • Offer a great post-purchase experience. Keep in mind that post-purchase might determine the success of your brand, 48% of ecommerce transactions are from repeat buyers so invest a good time in this experience to make the difference and ensure a good relationship with your customers.
  • Focus your attention on LTV and RPR. Constantly marketers tend to look at top of the funnel metrics but with all these updates it’s becoming more important and essential to look at the LifeTime Value and Repeat Purchase Rate which are going to help measure if marketing strategies are indeed working.

The implications of the data privacy changes are significant and will have a long-term impact on how marketers advertise. If you want to succeed in today’s competitive advertising landscape, it is essential that your marketing strategy considers these changes. Being Email Marketing one of the biggest solutions to face this challenge take a look at these Great Email Templates for Email Marketing to inspire and send amazing campaigns to engage and convert.

Now that you have on your hands valuable information to proceed don’t give for granted Email Marketing strategies and set your goals accordingly. Growing and nurturing your list is the new Paid Media so invest the time and money and they’ll pay off.

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