Branding plays a crucial role for businesses, especially in the e-commerce market. An effectively built brand in the e-commerce market helps customers recognize and favor the brand, leading to a tendency to shop on e-commerce websites and become loyal customers in the long run. Building a brand on an e-commerce website is the key to sustainable growth for businesses in this market.

Here are 10 prominent trends in building brands on e-commerce websites applied during the current ‘new normal’ era!

Ecommerce Trend: Unique Style

One of the most important tasks for any business during development is to establish a unique style for the brand, especially on e-commerce websites. …Creating an impression in the consumer’s mind helps customers distinguish the brand’s products from competitors. Simultaneously, establishing a unique style creates consistency across all products/services that the e-commerce website provides.

Mobile World Investment Corporation (MWG) has designed a logo and layout with characteristic imagery and uniformity across all e-commerce websites of its brand chain, such as The Gioi Di Dong, Dien May Xanh, Bach Hoa Xanh, Nha Thuoc An Khang. This helps customers of one of the four brands to recall the other brands within MWG.

Ecommerce Trend: Brand Storytelling

Brand storytelling is a method to attract customer attention to a brand through the brand’s origin story and promoting the brand’s mission and vision. Sharing brand stories on e-commerce websites helps businesses create a connection to customers’ awareness.

With the goal of creating a brand image through storytelling, the ‘Coolmate Story’ section on the e-commerce website is built based on its name ‘Coolmate,’ with ‘cool’ symbolizing the cool, dynamic appearance of men and ‘mate’ symbolizing the brand’s mission – to be a companion in men’s fashion. Building a story about a fashion brand for men has made Coolmate’s e-commerce website a popular online shopping destination for young male customers in Vietnam.

Ecommerce Trend: Proudly Vietnamese Brand

The trend of building a “made-in” Vietnam brand is not unfamiliar to customers, from supermarkets with the motto “Vietnamese people use Vietnamese products” to the branding method of “Proudly Vietnamese Brand” appearing on e-commerce websites of Vietnamese brands such as Vinfast, Gumac, Highlands Coffee, etc. … Eliciting pride in the Vietnamese nation and calling for support from customers.

The branding strategies of Biti’s, especially for the Biti’s Hunter product line, are always closely associated with the “made-in-Vietnam” message. When launching the online store https://bitis.com.vn, Bitis also subtly incorporates national elements into every corner of the website, such as images, product information, banners, and blog posts.

Ecommerce Trend: Social Responsibility

Brand positioning associated with community benefits, such as supporting charities, donations, non-profit sales, or becoming a brand that encourages support… Building a brand through charitable activities helps enhance the company’s image in the eyes of consumers, promoting online shopping support on the brand’s e-commerce website.

Vinamilk is always a pioneer in social responsibility activities. Vinamilk has established several community funds to support activities to improve nutritional knowledge, healthcare, and improve clean living environments for surrounding communities, such as the School Milk Program (since 2006), the Vietnam Tall Milk Fund, the 1 Million Green Trees Fund for Vietnam. These messages are consistently conveyed on the company’s website.

Ecommerce Trend: Eco-Friendly

By designing the brand or product lines displayed on e-commerce websites in line with the environmental protection trend, brands can increase public and potential customer sentiment.

Cocoon, a cosmetics brand from Vietnam, has successfully built the “Eco-Friendly” brand image on the current e-commerce market. The “Eco-Friendly” element of Cocoon is immediately shown in the website’s title tag as 100% vegetarian cosmetics. The content on the website consistently emphasizes the brand’s direction of environmentally friendly cosmetics, sourced from natural ingredients, not tested on animals, and certified by international organizations. Thanks to this, Cocoon has successfully positioned the “Eco-Friendly” brand in the hearts of Vietnamese beauty and nature lovers.

Ecommerce Trend: Survival Change

This is a new trend that helps brands maintain their values but adapt their business direction to fit the new normal period, such as:

F&B shifting to cloud kitchens, Travel companies offering touchless and virtual tours…

Changing business models have breathed new life into brands, creating a transformation for the brand. This stimulates curiosity about the brand’s changes among customers.

National Geographic – U.S. National Geographic Society has developed a virtual tour of Vietnam’s Son Doong Cave on its website, combining augmented reality (AR) virtual reality (VR) technology. This achievement not only contributes to the attractiveness of Son Doong Cave but also enhances the brand position for National Geographic, becoming a case study for many famous travel websites about virtual tours.

Ecommerce Trend: Focus on Product Quality

Consumers today are becoming more discerning and will not easily accept low-quality products on the e-commerce market.

Building a brand that focuses on a few high-quality products on the e-commerce website can make customers loyal to the brand and enhance the brand’s reputation.

3 Sach Food, a brand that focuses on providing clean, chemical-free, non-stimulant, and preservative-free products, has successfully attracted a group of customers interested in the quality of food. Thanks to the focus on product quality, 3 Sach Food has successfully attracted the attention of customers interested in food quality.

Ecommerce Trend: Viral Content

Content contributes to developing the relationship between the brand and customers.

Building content with the potential to spread among customer groups will help the brand establish a faster image in the eyes of consumers.

With the goal of building viral content, CellphoneS focuses on updating dramas, hot news, reaction videos, etc., to attract the attention of the youth on the blog website and cleverly embeds technology products, encouraging shopping activities.

Ecommerce Trend: Speak the Customer’s Language

To connect emotionally with customers, businesses need to speak their language.

Responding to customers in the language they use for communication will help them react more quickly to brand marketing campaigns and contribute to leaving a more positive impression after brand-building efforts.

Durex, dubbed the ‘content saint’ in the marketing world, always impresses people with its ability to creatively create content using customer language even on the e-commerce website. Applying customer language not only helps the brand increase sales growth but also becomes a companion in every ‘love affair’ of customers.

Ecommerce Trend: User Experience Enhancement

Brand positioning through digital brand experiences, integrating automation, AI, and virtual reality VR, is considered a new trend for ecommerce businesses. Increasing touchpoints for the brand on e-commerce websites through enhancing the customer experience.

Fitin provides a completely new furniture shopping solution for customers on the e-commerce website and mobile app by integrating 3D technology: VR, AR, Homestyler. Thanks to this, customers not only experience new, professional shopping but also contribute to affirming the position of the Fitin brand in the furniture industry in the eyes of consumers.

Doing ecommerce business in Vietnam is undoubtedly a long-term game for any business entering this market. To develop sustainably, building a brand on e-commerce websites is a prerequisite that cannot be ignored. However, building a brand on eCommerce websites is still a relatively new story for many businesses in Vietnam.

To inquire about free consultation on eCommerce solutions, please contact SECOMM for expert advice.

To gain a competitive advantage in the Ecommerce market, businesses need a detailed strategy outlining the transition stages and implementation measures for each stage. Determining an Ecommerce business strategy helps provide a comprehensive view of the market, business products, and brand development potential. Below is an Ecommerce business strategy for businesses to reference and guide their operations.

STAGE 1: ONLINE BUSINESS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Transition the traditional business model to online business on popular social media platforms. This stage allows businesses to test the viability of their products in the online market. Conducting business on social media helps save costs, increases reach, and enhances interaction with customers.

Support Platforms: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Zalo.

Business Process on Social Media:

• Establish social channels for the business: Facebook Fanpage, Instagram Shop, TikTok Account, Zalo OA Official.
• Develop brand content and images.
• Implement marketing campaigns: Engagement, Lead Form, Message.
• Collaborate with delivery services to fulfill orders: Grab, Giao Hàng Nhanh, Giao Hàng Tiết Kiệm.
• Maintain social channels: Update information, improve ads, diversify content.
• Use supporting tools to enhance business operations: Order management, Analysis, and Reporting.

STAGE 2: BUILDING ONLINE STORES ON ECOMMERCE MARKETPLACE

Officially join the Ecommerce game by establishing an online store on Ecommerce Marketplace. Utilize existing customer groups on these platforms and leverage support utilities to improve customer services, such as payment services, delivery services, and marketing services.

Support Platforms: Shopee, Lazada, Tiki, Sendo.

Business Process on Ecommerce Marketplaces:

• Set up official stores: Shopee Mall, Lazada Mall, Tiki Official Store, SenMall.
• Update store information: Product names, prices, detailed descriptions, categories, images, videos.
• Configure shipping and payment methods.
• Use available utilities for marketing, fulfillment, sales management, analysis, and reporting.
• Maintain the store: Update information, handle faulty orders, and manage negative feedback.

STAGE 3: BUILDING AN ONLINE SALES WEBSITE

Build a website to position the brand in the online market, utilize search tools to reach a larger potential customer base, and provide business and product information.

Popular Platforms: Wix, Weebly, Spacesquare.

Website Building Process:

• Purchase hosting and domain.
• Choose a platform and register an account.
• Select a suitable interface for the industry, business, and customers.
• Design and edit content: Homepage, Product page, Blog, Recruitment, Contact.
• Integrate supporting tools: Marketing, Analysis, and Reporting.
• Maintain the website: Update information, post blog articles.

STAGE 4: BUILDING AN ECOMMERCE SYSTEM

Designing an Ecommerce website helps businesses expand their online sales channels, connect with more customers, and increase brand coverage in the market. Having a proprietary Ecommerce system allows easier data exploitation and reduces dependency on data from other Ecommerce platforms.

Support Platforms: Sapo, Haravan, Shopify, WordPress, Magento, Bigcommerce, Woocommerce.

Basic E-commerce System Building Process:

• Register an account on the system.
• Design the interface: Choose a template and edit website content.
• Build system functions: Product categories, reviews, product search.
• Provide payment and shipping services.
• Complete legal procedures with the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

STAGE 5: DEVELOPING A DEEP ECOMMERCE SYSTEM

Developing an in-depth Ecommerce system helps maximize Ecommerce revenue, allows easy system upgrades and customization based on specific needs, and introduces new features to enhance the customer experience.

Platforms: Magento, Bigcommerce, Woocommerce.

In-Depth E-commerce System Building Process:

• Define goals for each stage: Brand positioning, revenue increase, user experience enhancement, marketing support.
• Choose a suitable platform for the business model.
• Select a provider based on criteria: E-commerce expertise, professional team, clear processes, available systems, quick support, warranty and maintenance commitments.
• Collaborate in developing the E-commerce system, monitor progress, quality testing.
• E-commerce growth: E-commerce marketing, SEO.
• Maintain and upgrade the E-commerce system.

STAGE 6: OMNI-CHANNEL SALES FOR ECOMMERCE BUSINESS

Implementing Omni-channel helps synchronize all sales channels for easier data management and maximizes Ecommerce business efficiency. Omni-channel creates a seamless experience for customers, allowing businesses to sell through multiple channels and increase conversion rates.

When implementing Omni-channel, businesses can use service providers like ETP Group, NEF, Goell, or choose a centralized system like Magento, ERP.

Omni-channel Implementation Process:

• Collect data: Customer data, Sales data, Marketing data.
• Analyze data to identify areas for effective Omni-channel improvement.
• Design customer journeys, synchronize campaign messages across sales channels.
• Test, measure, and optimize Omni-channel effectiveness.

The journey from Social Commerce to Omni-channel is a common strategy for businesses entering the E-commerce market. However, E-commerce has become increasingly popular in all industries, whether Low-involvement or High-involvement. Many businesses deploy social media channels, Ecommerce platforms, and proprietary E-commerce systems early on to shorten the conversion time, keep up with market trends, and meet the diverse needs of customers.

Depending on the overall business strategy and current situation, each business needs to plan the most suitable development roadmap!

Contact SECOMM for free consulting!