How to Elevate Your Branding in eCommerce Merchandising
Updated October 7, 2024.
While you may not immediately see the connection, branding and eCommerce merchandising go hand-in-hand. Applying branding to your merchandising strategies helps establish and reinforce who you are and what you can offer customers. Your brand identity has likely been defined already, so today, we'll focus on letting it shine through your merchandising.
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Reinforce Your Brand Through Visual Merchandising
Imagery and visual elements are critical pieces of the puzzle when it comes to reinforcing your brand through visual merchandising. These include elements like your brand's logo, color palette, font styles, and images like photography and illustrations. For example, you can use specific filters, image styles, or graphical elements consistently in your product photography, social media posts, and advertisements.
LARQ, maker of the self-cleaning water bottle, uses consistent branding and visuals across their website: bright, cheerful colors with a modern font and decorative-yet-minimalist image backgrounds.
Personalize Your Customers' Interactions With Your Brand
In today's eCommerce landscape, personalization is more of a necessity than a "nice-to-have" feature. You should be tailoring your communication based on the behaviors and preferences of your customers.
For example, you can segment your email marketing campaigns to send specific emails to specific groups. You can send customers personalized recommendations, offers, and discounts based on their past purchases or most recent shopping cart.
Clothing manufacturer and retailer American Giant is a great example of how email personalization can help merchandising. Here, they send a follow-up email to help re-engage a customer who abandoned their cart.
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Foster Brand Advocacy and Loyalty
We've all heard that it costs more to find new customers than to retain existing ones. We've also heard that word-of-mouth is one of the most powerful motivators. That's why brand advocacy and loyalty are so important—both of which you can strengthen with a strong merchandising strategy. Here are a few ways you can foster them:
- Encourage and showcase customer reviews and testimonials, as this user-generated content increases brand loyalty
- Implement a loyalty program to reward and retain customers
- Leverage referral programs to build brand ambassadors
Skin- and self-care company Blume attracts and retains customers with its loyalty program, using its brand identity to drive home the perks of joining the program.
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Fast-Track Your Merchandising With Effective Branding
When you implement solid branding tactics into your broader merchandising strategy, you're setting your eCommerce store up for success. Remember to elevate your branding strategy through visual merchandising, personalized customer interactions, and fostering brand advocacy and loyalty.
It's also essential that you continuously evaluate and improve your branding efforts. This will ensure you build a strong and resilient brand presence that resonates with your target audience and drives success in the dynamic eCommerce landscape.
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