Today's e-commerce world holds good promise for small-scale enterprises. In 2022 alone, online sales exceeded $5.7 trillion & it's also predicted to reach $8.14 trillion in the next 5 years – according to Statista. The limitless potential of selling online is rapidly evolving the entire business landscape. So, if you're the owner of a brick & mortar store & planning to expand your business online, this could be the right time to invest in e-commerce.
To unlock the full potential of your small business, consider venturing into online sales using a dedicated home decor application. Embracing e-commerce not only diversifies your sales channels but also opens doors to a broader customer base, as highlighted by top custom ecommerce development companies. However, for a successful online venture, meticulous planning and a strong foundation are imperative, as they can help you navigate the common challenges faced in the Indian e-commerce landscape. In this blog, we will explore the lucrative opportunities of selling online for small businesses, providing you with insights on how to embark on this promising journey. Let's dive in.
How to Sell Products Online Successfully?
The e-commerce industry is a competitive playground where you can get a number of opportunities to accelerate your business growth if you follow the right ecommerce conversion tactics & strategies. Online selling is not only finding a marketplace & listing your products there, this also involves proper planning, expertise, and marketing skills.
Now the question is where to start.
For your convenience, we have created a 9-step guide for how to start selling online successfully.
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Step 1 |
Find your competitive angle |
Do a deed market research Evaluate your business idea Make a business plan Know your competitors |
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Step 2 |
Find your target audience |
Run a proper customer survey Find your competitor's audience Create buyer personas |
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Step 3 |
Choose products you want to sell |
Select a business model Make a list of in-demand products Price all your products |
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Step 4 |
Build an online store/choose a marketplace |
List all products Optimize your checkout process Manage your inventory |
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Step 5 |
Find your sales channels |
An online store Online marketplaces Social commerce Wholesale or B2B |
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Step 6 |
Configure payment processing |
Credit & debit card payment options Digital wallets Buy now & pay later |
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Step 7 |
Consider your shipping process |
Domestic shipping International shipping International shipping |
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Step 8 |
Market your products |
Promote products on social media Run paid ad campaigns Partner with social media influencers Invest in SEO |
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Step 9 |
Improve your business |
Automate time-consuming or repetitive tasks Modify with in-person commerce |
What are The Best Products to Sell Online?
When it comes to selling products online, you will get a variety of options. However, if you want to gain high profit, you sell only the most profitable products that have a huge market demand. This can be anything from fashion accessories & apparel to home appliances & electronics. By making a trending product category, you can successfully grab customers' attention to your products and generate more sales. Here is a quick list of demanding products that you can sell online:
- Gaming accessories
- Smartphones & Electronics
- Pet products
- Clothing & fashion accessories
- Jewelry products
- Fitness products & accessories
- Skincare products & cosmetics
- Home decorating products
- Furniture & home appliances
- Books & hand-crafted items
- Food products
- Lamps, candles & shades
- Curtains & window blinds
What Is The Best Platform to Sell Online?
No doubt, selling on an online marketplace is one of the best ways to make money online. For that, you need to choose the right platform where you can sell your products with ease. In today's market, there are too many online selling platforms available that help you sell products online. For your convenience, we have made a complete list of the most popular online selling sites for your business.
1. Amazon
Amazon is one of the most recognized and largest eCommerce marketplaces that attracts approx 20.6 million customers per month. Its years of presence and worldwide reputation makes Amazon the ultimate choice for many small and mid-scale e-commerce businesses. Selling on this platform makes a good sense of reliability & comfort for your potential customers. The Amazon marketplace is great for those sellers who want to sell their products in large quantities & need good exposure to a wider audience base.
Benefits of Selling on Amazon
- Improved brand protection
- Stress-free order shipping
- Great chance to reach a worldwide audience
- Get noticed with advertising
- Item recommendation algorithm
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2. eBay
With more than 130 million worldwide active buyers and nearly 18 million active sellers, eBay is one of the largest online marketplaces that has diverse product categories. The auction pricing system makes this marketplace different from others. This feature offers an excellent way to instantly make extra income. From electronics & books and to jewelry, furniture, and essential oils, there is nothing that you can't sell on this platform. However, to become a successful seller on eBay, it's important to hold a great level of customer feedback ratings.
Benefits of Selling on eBay
- Excellent seller protection
- Private product listing
- Integrated shipping options
- Easy-to-use online selling platform
- Auction pricing system option
3. Etsy
Unlike broad-scale online marketplaces like Amazon & eBay, Etsy is a very unique and easiest online selling platform for creative sellers, artisans & craft enthusiasts who want to sell handmade products, antiques, artworks, and collectibles. This online marketplace is accessed by approx 40 million worldwide active users. The easy-to-use interface, sales tools, built-in analytics, and advanced ecommerce solutions of Etsy help you reach your potential customers effectively.
Benefits of Selling on Etsy
- Instagram & Facebook shop integration
- Built-in analytics & easy to use interface
- Built-in customer base
- Quick setup & maintain
4. Bonanza
Though this isn't as familiar as the above-mentioned online marketplaces, it is a very popular choice for independent business owners. Bonanza has a standout feature known as Hand-Picked Lists by which users can easily make thematic product collections for customer viewing. Moreover, this online selling website is also ideal for those who aren't able to pay the listing fee. Bonanza offers three membership pricing options such as:
- Gold ($25/ month): Best for beginning sellers
- Platinum ($55/ month): Best for most sellers
- Titan ($167/ month): Best for high-volume sellers
Benefits of Selling on Bonanza
- Multi-channel synchronization
- Quick access & integration
- Lower selling fees
- Best for independent sellers
5. Facebook Marketplace
With the rapid demand for social shopping, this platform has also become a very popular choice for online sellers. With Facebook Marketplace, you don't have to think about the cost of product listing, you only need a proper account. This marketplace allows users to:
- Look for products to purchase
- Find for-sale products by category and/or location
- Make product listings
- View current & previous transactions
- Contact buyers or sellers through Facebook Messenger to close the deal
Benefits of Selling on Facebook Marketplace
- Quick communication
- Easy to setup & maintain
- High community engagement
- Zero cost to list products
- Provides high brand exposure
6. Build Your Own Website
Last but not least, establishing a custom ecommerce website Shopify for selling your own products can be the best option to create a unique brand identity. It allows sellers to directly sell their products and reach out to their target audience without the presence of any middleman. A custom-built Shopify development store marketplace also offers a new way to make an unparalleled shopping experience that fits your business preferences.
However, maintaining a custom website initially can be challenging as too many things are involved such as web development, hosting, maintenance, features and functionalities, etc.
Benefits of Selling on a Custom-built Website
- Control over business branding
- Sell products on your own terms
- High-profit margins
- Conveys your brand's value
- Provides an excellent user experience
Tips for Selling Products Online Successfully
Once you have found the best platform to sell your products, you may think about how to drive more sales & stand out of the crowd. Here are the top 5 tips to sell items online successfully.
1. Create a Business Strategy Map
Firstly, you need to build a proper business strategy map so that you can easily determine how to attract more customers, fulfill their orders, ship products securely, etc. A strategy map accurately outlines your online business & the process to fulfill orders for your consumers. It also helps you transform your effective business ideas into reality through a proper business plan and deep market research.
2. Minimize Customer Friction
Reducing customer friction is another important factor in determining whether you are selling items online successfully or not. You can do anything you can to ensure that your consumers get the ultimate experience. It also helps you modify your product description with proper positioning, manage product shipping & delivery, customer reviews & testimonials, etc. If you thoroughly describe how your product fixes consumers' pain points adequately, you will get a 90% chance to sell your products online successfully.
3. Focus on Advertising
Advertising is one of the important pillars of any online business. If you would like to gain your attention with your online business among a good customer base, you need to focus on online advertising & digital marketing solutions. These solutions help you expand your business digitally by promoting your best-selling products online. Proper advertising techniques also boost your social media presence and increase the conversion rate of your website effectively.
4. Make Your Shipping Strategies Diversified
Every customer wants fast, secure, and free shipping options from any e-commerce site. Therefore try to make your online checkout & shipping process simple & straightforward. If you do not manage both these processes properly, no matter how excellent products you offer, your customers don't prefer to buy them from your website. Moreover, you should also pay extra attention to free shipping options as almost 90% of customers prefer free shipping. It's also important to access competitive shipping and carrier pricing choices.
5. Provide an Excellent Customer Service
The level of support & services you offer to your customers strongly influences their purchase decisions. Excellent customer service always leads to increased sales, repeat customer visits, and high referrals to your online business. Whether you're a brick & mortar store or an online marketplace, customer satisfaction will be your ultimate priority. According to ecommerce development companies, understanding every customer's needs and delivering them a friendly support service helps you create a great impression.
Benefits of Selling on Online Marketplaces:
E-commerce offers a convenience shopping experience and opens new opportunities for both buyers and sellers. It makes online shopping methods fast, secure, reliable, and scalable. As a result, modern retailers are preferring to start selling their products on the best platforms to sell online. Some of the prominent benefits of selling products on e-commerce marketplaces include:
- Fast access to a broad number of customers
- Quick launch times and streamlined shipping processes
- Proper protections against disputes, unpaid bills, and risk of fraud
- High possibility to optimize acquisition cost
- Easy to scale business efficiency
- Built-in tools & web3 ecommerce solutions
- Benefits from the marketplace's marketing power: Good search engine visibility, reputation, brand-building expenses, etc
- Less technical and marketing hassles
- Customer trust and loyalty
- Great possibility to utilize storage space & deliver solutions provided by the marketplaces (e.g. Amazon FBA, Global Shipping Program of eBay, etc)
- Ability to quickly advertise your products & study your target audience
- Benefits of leveraging multi-channel sales strategies
- Great opportunity to sell products globally so you can easily expand your business with less effort
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Final Words
Selling products online is a very lucrative option for today's business owners and it has too many long-term benefits. With eCommerce solutions, you can sell products to anyone across the globe & grow a very profitable business. However, before you start selling online, having a proper plan and strategy is important to avoid challenges and unwanted expenses. The above-mentioned tips will help you with the right path to achieving success in this field. For more info, get in touch with our professionals.
