Effective Dropshipping Marketing Tips To Boost Your Sales

The eCommerce market is constantly growing, with approximately $4.8 trillion in sales in 2021. In such a booming industry, dropshipping remains one of the most attractive ways to enter the eCommerce market - especially since it’s accessible to anyone. With no need to handle inventory and shipping, all you need is a store and a trusted supplier, and you’re ready to go.

However, while there is a lot of potential for building a dropshipping business, it’s also a very competitive space. Reaching potential customers in such a saturated market can be a big challenge, especially if you don’t have much marketing experience. You can find quality products and start a drop shipping business, but if you don’t have a marketing plan, you will likely struggle to generate a lot of sales.

Naturally, not all new businesses succeed, but many of them fail because of a lack of effective business and marketing plans. In simple words, your dropshipping sales largely depend on the strategies you put in place. To that end, here are some tips that can help you boost your sales and make your dropshipping business a success.

Make A Customer Acquisition Plan

Although dropshipping requires a minimal investment in logistics, starting the business will be pointless if you don’t know how to attract potential customers. That is why, same as with any marketing strategy, you should start with a proper customer acquisition plan. To begin with, you should choose the appropriate channels and start running targeted ads.

If you don’t have a marketing team or relevant experience in the field yourself, you can always hire an ad agency to set up and run your ads. From Google display ads to Facebook and Marketing ads to influencer campaigns, using digital marketing solutions is essential for spreading the word about your business and getting potential customers through the first stage in the sales funnel.

To increase the organic traffic to your store, you need to also work on your SEO and optimise the store’s online visibility.

Move Prospects Down The Marketing Funnel

Once you’ve generated enough traffic from reach campaigns, you should start optimising your ads for sales. Remarketing - or retargeting ads - are a great way to target potential customers that have already shown interest in your store by either clicking on your ads or visiting your site.

For example, if they visited a specific product page but didn’t end up buying one, they might be motivated to do so once they see your ads and revisit your store.

It’s best to set your retargeting windows to 30 days to make sure your visitors still remember your store and their interest is still active. If you choose to automate your paid ad campaigns, you can even set up a calendar and have the system automatically send retargeted ads once a certain amount of time has passed.

Also, you should aim to double your budget for the ads around key periods, like holidays, as people might be more inclined to shop at those times.

Work On Retaining Existing Customers

If you want to not only boost your sales temporarily but keep the numbers steady, you should also invest in marketing strategies that help you retain your existing customers. A highly effective tool that also offers a great return on investment - and doesn’t require that big of a budget in the first place - is email marketing. 

Email marketing can help inspire new customers to make purchases if they’ve signed up to your newsletter, promote special offers, turn abandoned carts into sales, and help you connect with customers regularly.

With the right email marketing tool, you can automate regular newsletters and welcome offers to new subscribers, but you should also focus on segmenting your email list to send promotions and updates to the right customers. For example, you can send discounts on birthdays or recommend products based on previous purchases.

Let Customers Battle Their Competitions Like Gladiators

Another idea is to give shoppers the spirit of ancient Rome. Promote your discount page by naming, say, "The Spartacus Marketplace: Where Every Deal is a Battle Won!"

Make your customers feel like gladiators on a quest for unbeatable deals;

1. Upon entering the site, you are greeted with the thundering cheers of a virtual Colosseum.
2. The homepage features a dramatic backdrop of ancient Rome, with items displayed like legendary weapons awaiting their rightful owner.
3. Each product category is a different gladiatorial arena: "Armor & Apparel" for clothing, "Weapons of Choice" for tech gadgets, and "Victory Banquets" for gourmet foods.
4. As you browse, live-action animations depict gladiators showcasing each product, highlighting their features with the flair of a grand spectacle.

To make the shopping experience even more thrilling, customers can participate in "Gladiator Challenges" - limited-time offers where they compete for exclusive discounts by answering trivia about ancient Rome. Win the challenge, and you'll receive a personal victory laurel with your name engraved on it, alongside a unique discount code.

Every purchase includes a virtual scroll of valor, detailing the history of Spartacus and his legendary rebellion. All these ideas will remind users that they're part of a virtual world of fierce, independent warriors. And for the most loyal gladiators? Special "Champion's Discounts" for those who leave good feedback.

Should You Start a Dropshipping Business?

Frankly speaking, no. Because it's too competitive. Millions of people start their own dropshipping business and only a tiny percentage of them can succeed. If you're seriously looking to start a dropshipping business, stop reading this. Invest a few hundred dollars on a training course, then decide. Not for a beginner to take things lightly.

Here's what you should consider;

• Lower Profit Margins: Since you are essentially acting as a middleman between the customer and the supplier, your profit margins are usually lower than if you were selling products directly.
• Dependence on Suppliers: As a drop shipper, you rely on your suppliers to fulfill orders and deliver products to customers. If a supplier is out of stock or takes too long to fulfill an order, it can result in unhappy customers and lost business.
• Lack of Control over Shipping: Because you are not handling shipping and fulfillment, you have less control over the customer experience. You are reliant on your supplier to provide accurate tracking information and timely delivery, which can be frustrating for customers if things go wrong.
• Higher Competition: As more people get into drop shipping, the competition can become fierce. This can make it harder to stand out in a crowded market and attract customers.
• Branding Challenges: Because you are not handling the product directly, it can be difficult to establish a unique brand identity. You are essentially selling the same products as other drop shippers, so it can be a challenge to differentiate yourself in the marketplace.