Cheap Marketing for e-commerce

Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, Jabong, Snapdeal, Yebhi!! The list covers less half of the giants or rather giant startups which are ruling the e-commerce segment. But what about new entrants with little or no funding? How would they compete with these giants while selling the same products? Would they be able to survive even with their much better services? With the huge marketing budgets of these giants keeping in mind that they are still to make a huge profit, the chances for the small ones are are really little although not impossible. 

Let us analyse the usual marketing strategies used by these giants:

1) Television Ads

2) Social Media marketing

3) Google Ads

3) Billboards

4) Heavy Discounts and free gifts

5) E-mails/ SMS etc.

Of all these, the small fishes could use e-mails/SMS but others would prove to be pretty costly and not affordable. And the e-mail/SMS strategy would hardly make even a scratch in their market because they are also doing the same with all other activities. So, what could be a possible way out?

The basic idea of marketing is talking to your potential customers and gain their trust to try your product to start with. And the best way to gain trust is to let other customers talk about it or making your potential customers believe that people are already using your products. Human is a gregarious animal and it has always lived in herds and followed the herd. Its our basic trait to follow others, we tend to trust those which others trust rather than finding a new one and taking a risk.

So, going by above policies, to make others to try your products, you need to make them believe that there are many others who are already buying it. So, what would be the best way to do so in the domain of shopping portals?? Any guess?? Ok, so you might have seen delivery boys on bikes on the roads driving beside you. And what do you think when you see them?? Ähan!! So, people are using this portal for shopping!!". Yup, you got it!! Hire delivery boys make them run around the city, without actually delivering anything. It will give people an impression that a lot of shoppers are using your portal. It solves the purpose!! How??

1) Cheaper than TV/Social Media advertising.

2) It is much more effective than anyother advertising as it builds trust.