Many businesses have to choose between selling on an online marketplace and building their own website when they are confused about where to sell products online. While each alternative has its own set of advantages and disadvantages, there is not a single solution that resolves all the issues. Though, the businesses that are serious about eCommerce should have their own website.
In fact, marketplaces (such as Amazon, Etsy, eBay, and Walmart Marketplace) can be excellent sales platforms for many businesses, but they do have certain drawbacks. Customers will soon expect to be able to “research, explore, buy, and purchase effortlessly throughout multiple devices and on other platforms. So, being in a marketplace alone is not enough.
Now, let’s talk about why you need an eCommerce website :
In today’s digital era, a standalone commerce website is essential for your business to be sustainable and profitable in the long run.
Build a customer Email list and take advantage of Direct marketing:
One of the most significant advantages of having your own website is the ability to market directly to visitors and consumers, who are your prospects. In the case of marketplaces, people who purchase your goods become marketplace customers, not yours. When you sell directly to consumers on your website that allows you to capture their valuable contact information. You can now send emails to them regarding different promos and discounts and announce new product offerings.
Having your own commerce website gives you the ability to promote directly to visitors and consumers. Unlike marketplaces, where you don’t have direct contact with your clients, getting repeat purchases is considerably more difficult in a marketplace. This limits your ability to deliver excellent customer service and market your other products. Because it is easier and less expensive to keep an existing customer than to acquire a new one, interacting with existing customers is an important aspect of producing money for your company.
You know who has previously purchased from you, as well as what they purchased, how much they spent, and what they are interested in.
Establish your brand and strengthen its identity:
Your products are listed in a general manner when you offer them on a marketplace. There is little to no room for customization or branding, from character constraints or word count restrictions to the use of a logo. The marketplace’s brand, not yours, is in the spotlight. The buyers may or may not look at your brand. Building brand awareness and recognition are practically difficult as a result.
Most visitors and customers assume your product belongs in the marketplace before realizing you exist. To put it another way, customers will remember the marketplace rather than you.
As a marketer, your main focus should be to make consumers associate your product with your brand and think of your brand when they think of that category. When you manage your own website, you have complete control over how it appears, what it says, and how it functions. The options are limitless. The best thing is that you get credit for your goods instead of a third-party marketplace! So why do we need an eCommerce website to establish our brand identity?
Know more about your prospects:
Owning an eCommerce consultant website allows you to gain a deeper understanding of your consumers. This includes information like their age and gender, contact details, and how and where they discovered your website and learned about you. You can examine their online behavior, such as what they looked at and how they came to buy from you.
You might opt to focus your efforts and spend more money on particular traffic sources that are bringing in wonderful consumers for your business because you know they are profitable.
You can learn not just about your current consumers but also about where those who did not make a transaction fell off. There aren’t enough user reviews, decent photographs on a product page, or consumers abandoning shopping carts due to exorbitant shipping prices.
Your homepage may be confusing and lacks a user-friendly design, or perhaps your checkout procedure lacks the payment methods and options that your target customers expect to find in your eCommerce business.
You must also use this information to improve and optimize your website in order to maximize conversions and help you sell more. So, why eCommerce website increases the conversion rate.
Design your eCommerce website the way you like:
When you run your own eCommerce store, you have more control over the consumer journey and user experience:
- Now, you can include product photographs and videos wherever you like.
- You can change the navigation and layout.
- The color palette and website theme can both be changed.
- You can change the text and location of the buttons.
- You may narrate anything about your organization.
- You can add new blogs, and content.
- You can highlight specific consumers.
- Add consumer reviews.
Most significantly, unlike a marketplace, now you won’t have to worry about your competitors’ products appearing next to yours.
Ecommerce website builders enable you to design your website with clear product categories, product descriptions, product photos, and other eCommerce features, providing store owners with a personalized eCommerce design solution.
You can also choose how to organize and price your products, as well as whether or not to provide free shipping. Customers want to believe they are receiving a good deal. Thus, offering something for free during the checkout process can affect online consumer behavior.
It’s easier to experiment with your own website because there are no hard restrictions or laws to follow. You also don’t have to worry about the impact of these changes on your conversions because, unlike in a marketplace, you don’t owe a percentage of each sale to a third party. You have complete control over your storefront with a website, and you can test and confirm what works for your online business.
Run creative campaigns to attract customers:
Having your own website doesn’t guarantee that clients will flock to you. Once you have a store, you must try to attract customers. The first stage in attracting clients is to increase traffic to your website using a combination of SEO methods and a strong social media presence. Setting up the correct campaigns isn’t always easy, but you have a lot more choice in terms of how consumers find and buy from you.
Ecommerce companies can personalize their marketing strategies to their target consumers and their individual shopping behaviors.
To reach your target demographic, some common strategies can be deployed, including Facebook and Google ads. You can also generate website content by researching and implementing the keywords consumers use to find a solution like yours. You can run promotions or flash deals to stimulate interest and retarget past consumers.
Clutch reports that 37% of buyers say discounts or coupons might entice them back to a retailer’s website. Overall, there are a plethora of strategies to draw customers to your brand, from generating videos to holding a contest. So, why eCommerce website – leverage maximum benefits from your marketing campaigns.
Your eCommerce strategy should include having your own website. It gives you a fantastic opportunity to build and grow your business, attract loyal customers and be more creative with your marketing strategies. Using a single channel for all of your sales, on the other hand, can be problematic. As eCommerce gets increasingly competitive, diversifying where you sell online can help you reach new clients.
An eCommerce website can significantly boost your profit and brand reputation.
Author Bio:-
Ronak is a serial entrepreneur who has worked with small-medium-large companies. He is having 8+ Years of expertise and closely working with eCommerce ventures since 2009. Ronak Meghani is the Co-Founder of Magneto IT Solutions, a full service of Commerce Development in the USA, UK, and India. He’s enthusiastic about fitness, start-ups, entrepreneurship, and all things marketing.