Selling your products online is the need of the hour. In addition to being an extra sales channel, having an online presence is critical to your branding. It allows you to interact with your customers and provide them with personalized user experiences.
Here’s how you can use an online shopping marketplace to boost your sales.
Table of Contents
Build a brand
As Google ex-CEO Eric Schmidt said, “Brands are the solution.” And if you’re looking to build a brand, there’s no better pick than online marketplaces. Here’s how you can build a brand online.
● Focusing on the quality of content: Don’t expect visitors to come to your local online marketplace and purchase immediately. Most people visiting your site will be first-time visitors who have no idea what you sell. So, make sure to focus on the quality of the content. Use beautiful product pages with high-quality, detailed product images. Pair them with compelling copy and FAQ sections to build trust and move the visitors smoothly through the buying pipeline.
● Include cards within the package: When you send an order, don’t forget to include promotional cards within the package. Cards with your brand logo and a message of gratitude can go a long way in building your brand.
If you want to take your branding a step further, consider adding a degree of personalization to your online marketplace. You can do it by sending personalized offers or showing product suggestions specific to the preferences of the user.
Pick a niche, then branch out
This point might not be applicable for niched businesses. But if you’re a general online marketplace platform that sells everything, it’s better to specialize in a niche first.
For example, you can start by selling self-care products only, and then expand to grocery, apparel, etc. Specializing in a niche also allows you to create content around it and leverage the power of content marketing.
Selling a specific product(s) can also help you cement your reputation as a trustworthy online shopping marketplace. Now when you decide to launch a new product, you won’t need to do upfront work to attract customers.
Focus on growing locally
Yes, eCommerce gives you the license to sell across borders. And it’s good to be ambitious, but there’s already immense competition out there. So, your first step should be to start locally and build a reputation in your country. Once your online marketplace has gained enough traction, along with an insight into how the online marketplace works, you can move to overseas markets.
Pick fulfillment and warehouse partners carefully
Your online marketplace strategy is limited to attracting customers and providing them with a seamless customer experience. But once they place an order, you are at the mercy of your shippers, warehouse partners, and suppliers. After all, you can delight the customer only when they receive the product, right?
So, spend enough time in researching warehouse and fulfillment partners, especially if you’re shipping internationally. When selecting warehouse partners, look for a process that focuses on reducing errors than weighing on price. Technical support is also a crucial part of the delivery process. Make sure your warehouse partner has in-house support.
Localization is critical
When you expand globally, focus on going native. A study suggested that 75% of shoppers prefer buying products from a local online marketplace that uses their own language. 67% of customers prefer navigation and content in their language, and 59% don’t want to buy from English-only sites.
Most international online marketplace platforms make this mistake of just setting up a Google Translate. If you want to sell globally, you’ll need to focus on the localization of language on each page of the site, ranging from product pages to a site’s navigation button. All in all, shoppers won’t hesitate to shop online from a global brand as long as the site is presented in their native language.
Another crucial element of localization is the currency. More than 92% of shoppers said they’d prefer buying from an online marketplace where prices are listed in the local currency. Besides, 33% of shoppers are likely to not purchase from a site that has prices listed in USD only.
Local payment systems
Let’s say you’re a US-based shoe brand trying to sell in South Africa. But the only payment modes you accept are PayPal and American debit and credit cards. While PayPal is a globally-used wallet, it’s not used a lot outside of the US. Thus, relying on PayPal would mean limiting your sales and customers.
So, when you’re trying to sell globally, look for a local online marketplace that supports payment options according to the regional preferences.
For instance, countries in the Middle East, South Asia, and Eastern Europe might not support red cards or digital payments. In such cases, allowing Cash on Delivery (COD) can help you encourage more sales.
Aim for a feature in “Buy Box” or “Lightning Deal”
Amazon is the most popular online marketplace platform in the world. But it’s also the most competitive. In order to meet customer demands and support top sellers, Amazon uses two tools: Lighting Deal and Buy Box.
The Lightning Deal is a time-sensitive offer when Amazon features two products on its Deals page. Here’s how you can get a place on the Deals page.
● Have a professional account
● Have an overall 3.5-star rating or more and received at least five ratings a month
● Have products that are eligible for Amazon Prime
● Have products with a sales history of at least 3-star rating
● Have a product with multiple variants (size, color, etc.)
Buy Box, on the other hand, refers to the placement of your product in a box on the product details page. Criteria for appearing in Busy Boxes are:
● A professional account
● Sufficient order volume
● A low Cancellation Rate, Order Defect Rate, and Late Shipment Rate.
Conclusion
Selling online is important, but make sure to do it the right way. You won’t make sales by merely listing your products on a popular online marketplace. Create an online marketplace strategy, pick the right partners, and focus on providing a localized experience to your customers.