Usually, when customers decide to purchase a new expensive product, they go to a physical store so they can compare various models and test different features. Today, with limits on social outings, for most customers, such a well-researched shopping trip is out of the question. If you were running a physical shop, you would certainly have noticed the transition as well.
You need to change your strategies and take your company online to cater to this shift in the way customers are purchasing these days.
This article has been compiled to share all possible ways of selling online with benefits so that you can cut short your study and concentrate on developing your virtual presence and launching your brand online. It will help you set up an online store easily so that your customers can purchase their goods from your store online and conveniently pick up their products.
1. Sell through the online eCommerce website
We encourage you to try your way and create an online shop. Creating a website can be tedious but with the aid of an eCommerce platform, you can do it with fewer efforts. The first move is to head over to the home page of eCommerce platforms and look for the right theme.
The name of your store will become your domain, or the URL to which your customers go when they want to buy from your store.Then create your brand’s unique identity with a logo. Add products to the website, have a robust UI, multiple payment and shipping options, and all the necessary features.
You can take expert help in eCommerce website development. KnowBand offers website development services for PrestaShop, OpenCart, Magento, and Shopify platforms.
Benefits of online store
- It increases your customer base humongously.
- No need for a physical store or warehouse- you can start it from your home.
- Easy to reach people using various digital marketing techniques.
- Larger customer base therefore more sales.
2.The marketplace is the popular choice available
You may not like the idea of creating your website or you might have a website but the profits you are making is not what you were looking for. In that case, you can convert your store into a full-fledged marketplace. The marketplace is a platform for small businesses that can not afford or fail to manage a website. Marketplace allows sellers to sell their products on behalf of commission fees and membership plans.
You can also sell your products on an existing marketplace created by any local vendor or the world’s famous brands like Amazon, Alibaba, or Etsy.
Benefits of selling on a marketplace
- Instant access to a larger customer base
- Easy to create your brand identity
- People trust a marketplace more than a single seller website
- The minimal cost involved in marketing
- You can spread your brand globally
Create your marketplace and allow others to sell
To convert your website into a marketplace, the plugins specially designed for the purpose are advantageous. Knowland’s marketplace plugin are affordable and can be configured easily. Also, the marketplace plugin is available for PrestaShop, OpenCart, and Magento eCommerce platform. It has a separate admin panel and seller dashboard with multiple customer benefits.
3. Integrate your website with existing marketplaces
In addition to your own online store, you can consider selling on Amazon, eBay, Etsy, or another third-party marketplace. It’s a good idea to search the business name idea on popular e-commerce sites to ensure that the names are available to you, even if it’s not in the plan, and so that consumers do not confuse you with another established business.
The integration plugins can help you list your products on various marketplaces. Some of the popular platforms are:
eBay- marketplace integration module
Etsy- marketplace integration module
Benefits of selling on the world’s most popular marketplaces
- You can sell on-demand at your convenience
- Simple to manage so anyone can sell
- You don’t have to keep an eye every time
- You can always start small and grow big
4. Sell on social media platforms
From Facebook’s Marketplace to Yotpo and Instagram,social media platforms can help you list your products on social media in front of the large user base.
Sell on Facebook Marketplace:
You can sell your products on a social media platform like Facebook that has its marketplace. The user base of Facebook is approximately 2.45 billion in the world. Facebook provides selling the facility to the businesses as well as frequent sellers. If you want to draw more prospective customers, get better deals, and sell your goods quicker, while designing your Marketplace listings, take into account the following best practices.
- Take your own pictures for product images
- Provide detailed and honest information about the product
- Do not overprice your products
- Be professional with your clients
Use Facebook Page Shop to sell your products:
It is a new feature of Facebook for business pages that allows the page owner to create a Facebook page shop where they can add products and their details.
Instagram Shop Now option can be a great platform:
How visual it is one of the best things about Instagram. When customers can imagine the product in use, it’s easier to sell. Your fans are more likely to buy when you’ve painted an image of what your product looks like in real life.
Now with the ‘Show Now’ button on Instagram, they will.
If you sell a physical product and want to get people who like your photos to purchase your products, adding the Shop Now feature to your posts is worthwhile.
More is coming from Instagram, but in the meantime, selling your goods through social media is still a solid location.
Benefits of selling on social media platforms
- A variety of products can be sold
- Hardly any cost required to get your first client
- Low-cost marketing options
- Interactive UI and no need for a website or development service.
5. Go local with the hyperlocal marketplace
The hyperlocal marketplaces are considered the new-age retail solutions as they allow local sellers to sell their products online through a website. The local sellers and merchants can register on a hyperlocal website or can start their hyperlocal website for the small businesses.
The big brands like Amazon and others are planning on hyperlocal and this industry is getting a lot of attention from the investors.
These marketplaces have become the solution to the online shopping needs of the country’s discerning customer base by marrying the ease of online shopping with the comfort and trust element of a neighborhood brick-and-mortar store.
Benefits of selling on Hyperlocal marketplace
Al the marketplace benefits will come for the hyperlocal marketplace but some of the major advantages will be:
- Customer can trust a hyperlocal marketplace because they will be familiar with the sellers
- Easy to manage the orders
- On-time delivery
- Best for FMCG (Fast-moving consumer goods)
How to create your hyperlocal marketplace?
Create your hyperlocal marketplace using the module developed by KnowBand. It has all the necessary features of a marketplace with time and location features. The GPS, location, and distance can be added by the sellers. To manage the deliveries, the marketplace manager can use the delivery boy app and for more convenience, a mobile app can be built.
Conclusion:
Selling online can be challenging for the people who find it difficult to manage the businesses digitally. The user base is large and that becomes a problem when sellers fail to attract quality traffic. Cybersecurity is another threat to online businesses.With good digital marketing like content marketing, email marketing, or social media campaigning, quality traffic can be attracted.
You need to make sure the website design is clean and appealing. When selling on a marketplace or social media platform, use high-resolution images, and add an honest product description. You can sell online in these 5 different ways and these platforms will generously improve your business.
If you find this article helpful then let us know by dropping a comment below. For ant eCommerce, module customization, website development, or marketplace assistance do write a mail at [email protected].
Happy selling!