2022 eCommerce Marketing Calendar

Your 2022 eCommerce Marketing Calendar

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[Click HERE to download your FREE 2022 eCommerce Marketing Calendar]

A marketing calendar is an important tool which every business should use. Creating an outline of the holidays and promotions in advance will give you enough time to prepare your graphics, emails, social posts, and website billboards. Rushing through your marketing is a recipe for disaster.  Instead, use our marketing calendar or create your own so that you’re fully prepared for the year ahead. 

Once you have outlined your holidays and promotions, what should you do next?  Follow these easy steps to get started. 

  • Plan Your Holidays and Promotions
  • Decide which marketing channels you will use to share your message
  • Remember that different marketing tools need different content.  What you would post on Instagram is probably different than what you’d post on Facebook. 
  • Write your promotion outline 1 month in advance
  • Design your graphics 3 weeks in advance
  • Setup your email marketing and social media 2 weeks in advance
  • Proofread all of your content at least one more time 1 week before it runs
  • Schedule out your website billboards to be setup and taken down 3 days in advance
  • Remember to setup any coupon codes or discounts the day before your promotions go live

[Click HERE to download your FREE 2022 eCommerce Marketing Calendar]

Marketing can be lots of fun if you plan it out and execute your plans well.  If you need help, we’re here for you.  Give us a call at 866-515-2057, chat with us online at www.venturawebdesign.com, or email us sales@venturawebdesign.com to schedule a free consultation today.  

Top 5 eCommerce Site Features to Test RIGHT NOW!

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As the holiday season begins to wrap up, it’s still important to make sure your website experience is worth it to your consumers. Head into the New Year with the most optimized website out there!

eCommerce websites directly rely on website conversions. So, in order to drive those conversions, the right tests should be conducted to make sure you’re getting the most out of your website. 

Before we get into the features you should always be testing on your website, let’s go over the different types of User Testing out there.

 

Moderated Testing

This may be the most preferred method of testing because of the type of feedback it provides. You’re able to communicate directly with users online or in person and you can even screen record through this method of testing. Moderated Testing may be a bit time consuming, but you’re able to ask targeted questions which is massively helpful when accessing which elements need to be fixed on your website.

 

Remote Moderated Testing

This type of testing allows you to test specific pages and actions on a website. This fast and effective method of testing allows users to provide feedback while working remotely.

 

Card Sorting

Card sorting is a method of testing that helps design or evaluate the information architecture of a website. Users can categorize topics based on their preferences. Card sorting can be done online with sorting tools or done with pieces of paper.

 

Preference Testing

Users are presented with up to 6 different UX design elements and are asked to choose. Examples of elements include: logos, color palettes, buttons, and videos. Users provide their feedback on the aesthetic appeal and how well they communicate a specific message or idea.

 

Five Second Test

This method of testing tracks a users impression within the first five seconds of viewing a design. Five Second Tests are usually used to test how effective a website’s design is communicating a specific message or idea. 

 

Now that you know the types of tests that exist, let’s get to the features you need to be testing frequently.

 

Homepage

Your homepage is typically the first thing that website visitors will see. Your website’s homepage should give viewers an overview of what to expect from the business. A well-designed homepage can heavily impact how long a viewer spends on your website.

 

Product Details Page

Your website visitors made it past your homepage—great! You want your product details page to be optimized to reflect the factors that influences visitors decision-making the most. It’s a great idea to put all of these elements on your product details page.

 

Checkout

This needs to be a seamless endpoint for website visitors. Their experience could make or break your sale.

 

Call to Actions

CTA’s can directly influence conversions across your website. Ensure that all of your buttons work and are linked appropriately to their respective destinations.

 

Mobile Page Speed Test

Optimizing your website for mobile devices is critical when it comes to attracting and retaining customers, as more than half of the world’s internet traffic comes from mobile devices. If your website takes anywhere longer than five seconds to load, the likeliness of potential customers leaving the page rising exponentially.

We run tests like these to ensure our clients’ eCommerce website is the best of the best. While we’ve shared 5 features to test on your website, there are countless other features to test like: landing page design, testimonial pages, contact pages, videos, forms, and more. 

 

Your customers’ shopping experience is imperative to the success of your eCommerce business! Schedule your FREE Consultation with us now to get the support you need to run tests like these as well as get the on-going support you need to grow your eCommerce business.

Social Media Marketing & eCommerce in 2022: What to Expect

Social Media Marketing & eCommerce in 2022: What to Expect

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We’ve seen social media change the way we go about marketing and advertising our businesses to the world. Social media is an incredible avenue to maintain top of mind awareness with your shoppers.

 

Influencer Marketing will Evolve

Influencer Marketing has taken the internet by storm. While it was once a trend, it’s more common than ever before. Influencers are typically experts on the platforms you see them on, they already have an engaged audience, they know what kind of content their audience is interested in, and they know that they can influence their audience with the information they put out.

Many micro-influencers have a relationship with their audience that mimics the “regular guy/gal” brand archetype, making them more relatable and leading their audience to trust their opinions and recommendations. This is a great way for a business to leverage brand awareness and grow their audience even more.

 

Short-form Video Content will Continue to Rise

Many of us heard of Tik Tok at the start of the global pandemic and vowed to ourselves that we would never download it. As we’re over a year into the global pandemic, many of us can’t stand by that statement anymore. We’ve been consumed by the hilarious, relatable, and educational videos that are widely spread across the internet.

Short-form video content takes less time and space to create and it also falls in line with the current fast paced attention spans of online audiences. Long-form videos can offer much depth about a product, brand, or service to your audience but ask yourself….who has time to watch one five-minute video when they could watch 15 short videos in the same time and take in MUCH more?

 

Mobile Optimization will be EVEN MORE Critical

Consumers spend more and more time on mobile devices every day. As buying power continues to grow amongst Millennials and Gen Z audiences, mobile friendly websites will generate more revenue than slower, non-optimized online stores.

Mobile optimization not only encompasses your website, but also things like email marketing, for example. Consider ways that you can deliver a mobile email experience to subscribers.

 

Social Responsibility will be Prioritized

We are all aware of the global pandemic that started in 2020. This along with other world events, caused social responsibility, ethics, and transparency to matter much to consumers more now than ever before. Consumers care about brands that care about them, their employees, and shared causes. 

You may see that some businesses have already begun to shift their social media marketing strategies to focus more on inclusive initiatives, promotions and offerings all while highlighting causes or missions they support.

 

It’s all About the SEO

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) refers to how discoverable your website and content is. SEO is not new in the slightest, but you can expect to see SEO be ingrained within much, if not all of your marketing tactics and strategies.

 

Virtual Events are Here to Stay

We’ve had the entire year of 2021 to work through the kinks of what business will look like in 2022. As we saw many virtual events in 2020 and 2021, 2022 will be more of a hybrid approach. Expect to see businesses using more physical opportunities for their audience in 2022. Although there may be less virtual events, that DOES NOT mean that virtual events are null and void. 

 

Social Media Marketing is (if not already) going to be HUGE for your business in 2022. Get ahead while you can and schedule your FREE consultation with us, NOW!

2021 eCommerce Holiday Checklist

2021 Holiday Checklist

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Who doesn’t want a successful, stress-free holiday season? You, us and shoppers alike!

To set yourself up for the best holiday season yet to come, we’ve put together a checklist so that you can be on top of all things business and eCommerce this holiday season.

 

Monitor your Online Tactics & Strategies

Continuously monitor your Website, Advertisements, Social Media profiles, SEO, Marketing Promotions, and Sales to make adjustments as they may be needed.

 

Update and Test NOW

If your website needs fixes, improvements and/or updates, the time to make those changes was yesterday. Wait no longer because the holiday rush is already upon us. This includes making changes to design, too to get visitors in the holiday spirit!

Your website will see a significant increase in traffic in the next few weeks, so your website needs to be able to support that. Tell us…would you wait for more than 8 seconds for a website to load? Images can slow your website down quite a bit, so you want to make sure they’re all optimized to yield the fastest loading time. Don’t delay Santa’s shopping by making him wait for slow images to load on your website.

You should be testing things like: the checkout process, shipping calculators, mobile displays, site navigation, all payment methods, coupon and discount codes, any CTA’s, and all outbound and internal links.

 

Create Marketing Campaigns

Consider promotions like free shipping, seasonal add-ons, free gifts with a certain purchase, or discounts on orders over a certain amount as part of your Holiday Marketing Campaign. Incentivize early shopping as much as you can in your marketing collateral.

 

Know your Top Sellers

You should have a good idea about which products are most popular and sell out quickly. Use this information to ensure your inventory is what it needs to be for all the goods to be purchased. Furthermore, think about making these top sellers a priority in your holiday marketing and promotions.

Consider adding gift cards as an option for buyers! Also, use your top selling insight to upsell and bundle products.

 

Prioritize Security

Cybercriminals create mischievous ways to access customer information and that could lead to a lot of harm for your business. Take the time to assess your website security to ensure the best security for your business and customers alike.

 

Manage Expectations with Communication

Its cliche, but communication is key. Make things as easy as possible for your customers. Be proactive and advertise shipping dates so they can get their purchases on time, send email reminders as the holidays approach, and speak up about returns. Clear communication will give your customers the confidence they need to become a repeat customer.

TIP: The best place on your website to place important information would be on the homepage, landing pages, product pages, and shopping cart pages.

 

Provide Tracking Information 

As much as your business may be obsessing over delivery dates, your customers are too. Provide your customers with tracking numbers so that they can easily track their orders via UPS, FedEx, etc..

 

Save yourself the stress and check these items off of your to-list now! If you’re thinking you may need some help with some of these items, go ahead and schedule your FREE consultation with us, today!

Ventura Web Design & Marketing Among Top B2B Service Providers on UpCity!

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Ventura Web Design & Marketing is thrilled to officially announce that we are a part of the UpCity community of top B2B service providers!

How did we earn this title?

At Ventura Web Design & Marketing, we’re proud to offer services such as website and eCommerce site design, digital marketing, search engine optimization, graphic design, and more. This makes us the trusted advisors that business owners need to develop their brands and grow their businesses online. We have helped our clients generate over one billion dollars, and counting, in revenue with our wide array of services and dedication to quality.

 

UpCity is a resource that helps connect businesses to service providers they can trust. With more than 70,000 listed providers—from marketing agencies to accounting firms to HR consultants to IT specialists, and many more—2 million businesses (and counting) have visited UpCity to research and identify the best partner for their needs. 

 

UpCity’s proprietary algorithm utilizes a variety of digital signals to measure the credibility, trustworthiness, and recommendability of B2B service providers across the U.S. and Canada. These digital data points like reviews (both on UpCity and other third-party review sites), presence in relevant search results, domain authority, website speed, and experience help UpCity connect businesses with outstanding service providers like Ventura Web Design & Marketing. 

 

We are proud to be listed in this vibrant and growing community and want to thank our clients for all of the love and support you have shown our business. 

 

Stop spending your time and effort working endlessly on your website & marketing. Let us handle the heavy lifting for you!

Get your FREE Consultation, NOW!

eCommerce Design Terms for Website Building

Design Terms to know when building your eCommerce Website

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Whether you’re building your eCommerce website yourself or you’ve hired a company like Ventura Web Design & Marketing to do it for you, it’s always a good idea to understand the most commonly used web design terms so that you can be on the right page.

Let’s jump right in!

ALT-TEXT

This is also sometimes referred to as an alt-tag. This is the descriptive text attached to an image file. You may see this text pop up while the photo loads. Alt-text helps with SEO and it also helps the search engines understand the keywords that describe the photo.

 

ASPECT RATIO

This ratio defines the proportion of an image’s width and height. Square images are 1:1 for example, while widescreen images are 16:9.

 

CODE

These are commands that tell websites how to appear and function. There are a few different types of code to note:

  • HTML (Hypertext Markup Language): communicates with the web browser how to display images, text, and other multi-media on a webpage.
  • CSS (Cascading Style Sheets): describe how HTML elements should be presented.
  • Javascript: Used to create interactive elements and effects on a webpage. Think about a countdown timer for a product launch, for example.

 

COLOR CODE

These are alphanumerical codes that specify exact colors. There are a few different formats like:

  • RGB: This color profile is specifically used for screens, making colors consisting of red, green, and blue.
  • HEX: This code consists of 6 digits representing the intensity of red, green, and blue.

 

FAVICON

This is the small icon that shows in your browser that is specific to your website. You’ll also see this appear in your browsing history and other places in the internet.

 

FILE FORMAT

Here are the best basic file formats for images on your website:

  • JPG: This is maybe the most common file type. Jpegs have a fairly small file size, which will result in faster loading times, but your image may lose quality.
  • PNG: Typically, this is a larger file size than a jpeg. It allows a transparent background and does not lose image quality.
  • GIF: These are those short video animations you see sometimes as “memes”.

 

FONT

Try not to interchange this term with “typeface”–that’s something different. There are two main types of font families:

  • Serif: have small ticks or “serifs” on the endpoints of letters. Think of Times New Roman.
  • Sans Serif: have NO ticks or serifs. Look at the font this post is typed in for reference.

There are TONS of typography terms, but we’re sticking to the basics. There are also a few more font terms to know.

  • Times New Roman is a font family.
  • 12pt or 12px is a font size.
  • Italic is a font style.

 

METADATA

This is the information about your content–post titles, headings, publication dates, authors, categories, and tags.

 

RESPONSIVE

This term refers to web design that adapts to fit the size of screen it’s being viewed on appropriately.

 

THUMBNAIL

This is the icon-like image that appears to represent a blog post, for example.

 

WIREFRAME

This is a mock-up that shows a basic outline and structure of what your website will look like. This is more-so used for WHERE content will go, NOT what the content will look like.

 

Need an expert to help with your eCommerce Website & Marketing?

Get a FREE consultation with us to get started!

4 Mistakes that are KILLING your eCommerce Website

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First Things First:

These mistakes are costing you money.

Second Things Second:

Ventura Web Design & Marketing is here to help!

The main point of your eCommerce website is to generate sales, yes?

Yes.

That means that your website is your most valuable employee. Your website doesn’t go to sleep or clock out. It is constantly working to showcase your brand & products to your ideal audience. In other words…your website is a big deal.

 

If you find yourself making any of these mistakes, Get your FREE Consultation with us NOW!

 

MISTAKE #1: LONG LOADING TIME

People leave websites if they take too long to load. Make sure things like your server, images, web design, and plugins are optimized.

 

MISTAKE #2: LACK OF TRUST

Most times when you’re selling products, your website is the only impression you may get to make on your audience. You don’t get the chance to welcome them, ask their name and shake their hand. This means you have to gain their trust and make yourself credible in other ways. Your audience may not be as trusting when they visit a site with outdated web design, confusing navigation, and a complicated check-out process. Your website should be clean, optimized, and attracting your ideal customers. People buy things from people they trust.

 

MISTAKE #3: OVERWHELMING NAVIGATION

Having too many options or not describing in depth what’s being displayed is a huge mistake. If your viewers can’t find what they need, quickly…they’re going to leave your website. Your menu and navigation options should get viewers to where they want to be in the LEAST amount of clicks as possible.

 

MISTAKE #4: NOT MOBILE FRIENDLY

Your website should work for mobile users just as well as it does for desktop users. 54.8% of global website traffic happens on a mobile device. Not sure if your website is mobile friendly? Find out here!

 

If you’re new to the eCommerce world, or you’re looking to improve what you’re already working with, make sure to avoid these mistakes! Get your FREE Consultation if you’re wanting to extend your team to help with these mistakes.

2021 Holidate Guide

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If you’re in business, you know that this time of year is one of the busiest. Consumers have quite the expectation for businesses during the holiday season–they want the best deal, latest products, and exceptional customer service.

As a business, it’s not only your job to meet those expectations, but to exceed them! To do that, you have to be prepared and being prepared means that you’ve thought through how your business will present itself during the holiday season.

We’re sharing the KEY DATES you should know and be prepared for as an eCommerce business during the holiday season.

 

ecommerce holiday marketing calendar

November 7: Daylight Savings

Don’t forget to set your clocks back one hour!

 

November 11: Veterans Day

Honor men and women who are and have served in the U.S. armed forces.

 

November 25: Thanksgiving

Give in to the holiday cheer by feasting with loved ones and taking advantage of the four-day weekend.

 

November 26: Black Friday

The official start of the holiday season! Give your audience a sale they can’t resist.

 

November 27: Small Business Saturday

Small businesses are supported now, more than ever before! Take advantage and in return, support a small business.

 

November 29: Cyber Monday

Keep the sales going! Give your audience the chance to shop Black Friday deals from the comfort of their homes.

 

November 30: Giving Tuesday

Take a moment to give back your audience and community.

 

December 13: Green Monday

Otherwise known as the busiest sales day of the month! Leverage all of those last-minute shoppers before it’s too late!

 

December 14: Free Shipping Day

Take care of shipping for your audience and watch what happens!

 

December 18: Super Saturday

Also known as “Panic Saturday”–the last Saturday before Christmas.

 

If you’ve found that you need help with your marketing this season, get a FREE consultation with us to get started!

Don’t forget to save this graphic for your reference!

B2B - Business to Business eCommerce

How to Sell B2B Ecommerce and Take Your Business to the Next Level

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What is B2B e-commerce?

B2B e-commerce, short for business-to-business electronic commerce is the sale of goods or services between businesses via an e-commerce portal. Because orders are processed digitally, buying efficiency is improved for wholesalers, manufacturers, distributors and other types of B2B sellers.

Businesses often buy goods in bulk for a lower price and turn around to sell them at retail value. The goods are usually purchased directly from the manufacturer or distributors. This is wholesale, and is a popular form of B2B.

Manufacturers produce finished goods on a large scale by utilizing parts and raw materials in combination with manual labor and machines. In a B2B model, the finished goods are sold to other manufacturers or wholesalers.

A distributor is a person who works closely with manufacturers in an effort to bring visibility to the goods they are producing, with the goal of increasing sales. In an e-commerce model, the logistics of the sale happen online, often through an e-commerce platform. Many manufacturers work with distributors, and taking things digital creates a greater opportunity for growth. Just like other B2B models, distributors are working to shorten the lead time from sale to delivery and create a customer experience that beats customer expectations.

B2B and B2C e-commerce may look the same, but they are quite different. Business buyers and retail consumers have different purchasing needs. Here are some differences:

  • Buying Impulsively vs. Buying Rationally – B2C buyers will buy on impulse and make one-off purchases, B2B buyers plan for purchases and make recurring purchases
  • Single Decision Maker vs. Multiple Decision Makers – B2C purchases are decided upon by the buyer, B2B purchases often involve several layers of approval and may involve different departments
  • Short-term Customer Relationship vs. Long-term Customer Relationship – B2C purchases are often one-off purchases, B2B purchases are based on long-term and on-going relationships

Why should you have a B2B e-commerce website?

  • You can reduce the overall cost of selling your product to customers, and B2B can even allow you to also move into B2C to sell directly to retail customers.
  • Your sales will increase tremendously. According to nChannel, B2B eCommerce is predicted to reach $1.8 trillion and account for 17% of all B2B sales in the US by 2023. The industry is twice as big as B2C. And just like B2C, more sales continue to shift from in-person to online.
  • B2B also increases order values and higher conversion rates. Since they buy in bulk, an average order value of a B2B transaction is around $491, opposed to $147 for B2C. And, conversion rates are higher. B2B websites report average conversion rates at 10%, while B2C experiences are around 3%.
  • You can grow your customer experience. With an entire catalog of products online, customers have access to more diverse product options than they did before. This also makes it easier to compare and contrast products and provides them access to earlier versions of products to test and trial before purchasing.
  • Lastly, you have the ability to sell to a lower margin, which allows you to gain smaller clients, and reach more customers.

What to look for in a B2B e-commerce platform

  • Price lists: Provide “members only” pricing, manage lists of pricing at SKU level, and give wholesale customers a discount when buying in bulk.
  • Group pricing: Apply discounts only to select groups across categories and certain products.
  • Manage your customers by location, behavior, etc.
  • Faceted search: Allows merchants to refine product searches based on multiple attributes like price, color, size and reviews.
  • Restricting users from being able to access certain content, which will help prevent competitors from seeing the pricing.
  • Allow customers to quickly reorder when they need to.

B2B e-commerce is still a small part of the overall B2B market but is fast growing. If you don’t set up at B2B website your competitors eventually will. Now is the time to move and be first or early to market.

Ventura Web Design & Marketing has been offering e-commerce and digital marketing services since 1997. Along the way, we have learned a thing or two about how to sell items online. Our dedicated design, development and marketing team would love to work with you.

Contact us online or by phone to find out how your business can take advantage of B2B e-commerce. The phone number for our Tampa office is (813) 556-7990 and the number for the Las Vegas office is (702) 515-2057.

2020 Holiday Marketing Trends And Planning

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How 2020 Holiday Marketing and Shopping Are Different

Moved Up Timelines

We see companies release holiday-related products in August. Expect to see holiday campaigns ramp up in September. Get your holiday campaign together now, so you’re prepared for the accelerated timeline.

Even More Emphasis on Online Sales

Shopify broke its 2018 Black Friday and Cyber Monday record with $2.9 billion in global sales. This was pre-pandemic and online shopping has only increased due to safety precautions. It’s not only essential to gear your 2020 holiday marketing to online sales, but make sure your website is optimized to handle an influx of visitors.

Highlight Safety Precautions

In your holiday marketing campaign, it’s important to make customers aware of precautions taking place in the business and if you are offering special services like contactless pick-up or delivery services. 

Emphasis on Affordability

It’s no secret that people will be looking for deals this holiday season. You should be tailoring your sales to emphasize affordability. 

Experiential Gifts are on the Rise

If you’re a business that can pivot to experiential gifts, it would be the ideal time to do so. Millennials have always loved experiences over tangible things, but it is becoming a more popular trend among other demographics. 

Typical Holiday Marketing Timeline

April – July: This is the typical planning phase. This timeframe is where all potential blunders are thought through and mitigated so you can come up with a foolproof marketing plan.

August – September: This is where you start spreading brand awareness with campaigns. 

October – December: After you’ve successfully created brand awareness and sales intent, you begin your full-blown holiday marketing campaign to generate revenue. 

2020 Holiday Marketing Timeline

Due to quarantine, most companies saw a sizeable decrease in revenue. We’re seeing companies like Starbucks react by releasing their Pumpkin Spice Latte in August, nearly a month earlier than previous years. This is expected to be a trend in the marketing industry to make up for lost revenue. 

With this new sense of urgency, it’s imperative to start pushing out a holiday campaign ASAP. Assume the traditional holiday marketing timeline has been accelerated by a month.

Planning Your Campaign

If you need help putting a plan together, we are here to help. We manage various clients’ marketing efforts throughout the year with fantastic results. Contact us online or by phone at (813) 556-7990 to let us know how we can help.

Let’s get started today!

Schedule a call
Schedule a call

Las Vegas, NV Location
1980 Festival Plaza Drive, Suite 300
Las Vegas, NV 89135
702-515-2057

Tampa, FL Location
5201 W Kennedy Blvd, Suite 720
Tampa, FL 33609
813-556-7990

Support@VenturaWebDesign.com