E-Commerce Seller Financing   •   March 19, 2021

Online marketplaces can be a great starting point for new vendors willing to break into the e-commerce market as well as a way to expand for those who’ve been in e-commerce for some time now. A huge downside to selling on marketplaces, however, is the high competition that an online vendor has to compete against, making it much harder to succeed as an online marketplace seller.

Nonetheless, there are various ways in which e-commerce businesses can improve their business processes and strategies in order to achieve success on online marketplaces.

Best Practices to Succeed as an Online Marketplace Seller

1. Know Your Customer

First and foremost, an online marketplace seller has to have a thorough understanding of their ideal customer, their needs, problems, and challenges. This will not only help you to choose the best possible products for them, but also customize your message and assets in a way that makes them compelling to your target audience.

You can do so by developing buyer personas or avatars which pinpoint the data about your ideal customers, such as their age, gender, income, marital status, interests and more. In addition to that, you can also survey and ask for feedback from your existing customers.

2. Optimize Your Product Listings

Not all product listings that shoppers see will also convince them to buy. To succeed as a marketplace seller, you need to ensure that your product listings are more appealing to your potential buyers than your competitors’

So, create compelling yet not too salesy product descriptions and descriptive titles. Place your products in the most appropriate categories and improve the quality of your product images.

3. Don’t Shy Away Paid Advertising

Even if you stand by our product and believe that it is truly beneficial to your customers, your products may not be the first that potential customers will notice. This can happen if you are a new online marketplace seller or if you have fewer reviews and your products show lower in search results.

You can get more exposure and possibly immediate results and sales if you take advantage of paid advertising. According to studies, marketplace sellers who utilize paid advertising grow on average 63% faster than sellers who do not.

In addition to using the internal advertising tools that marketplaces supply, you can also advertise on paid advertising platforms such as Google, Facebook, Instagram, and more.

4. Expand When You Are Ready

If you have chosen one of the best online marketplaces for your needs, there is no reason to not sell on another. When you are ready to invest time, effort, and funds into expanding your business, assess how other marketplaces work and expand your offerings.

Moreover, don’t just limit yourself to marketplaces. Having your own website where you sell your products can be another way of growing your e-commerce business.

5. Spread the Word about Your Brand

Even if your products are the best on the market, potential buyers won’t know about them if you keep quiet. So, if you have an e-mail list of existing buyers or social media pages for your brand, let people know about your products. Make sure that your message isn’t overly salesy as that can deter potential buyers.

6. Explore Your Shipping Options

Nowadays, the majority of customers expect free and fast shipping. In fact, long wait times can actually turn customers down and make them abandon their carts. Yet, for a marketplace seller, offering the fastest shipping option can be pricey and lower your profit margins.

So, carefully explore different shipping options. If you qualify for a marketplace program such as Amazon FBA, this can take some load and pressure off of you and get your products to your customers much faster. Alternatively, you can also look into third-party shipping providers.

You also do not need to stick to a single shipping option. Perhaps, UPSP is a good option for some of your products, but private carriers like UPS or FedEx may be better for others.

7. Calculate Your Profits and Track Metrics

Knowing what your profit margins are will allow you to not only stay in business but also grow. So, make sure to calculate expenses such as packaging and shipping to know how much you expect to bring in.

Additionally, keep an eye on the metrics, especially if you use paid advertising. Else, you may be paying more for bringing a sale than you actually earn in return. If that’s the case, you may need to reevaluate what you may be doing wrong and adjusting your strategies accordingly.

8. Adjust Pricing When Necessary

Keep an eye on your competition and ensure that your product prices remain competitive. Even an adjustment of a few cents could sometimes show a beneficial impact on your sales. At the same time, you also need to ensure that your profit margins do not suffer significantly from adjusting the prices.

If your products legitimately are of much higher quality or have features that your competition does not offer, instead of lowering your prices and sacrificing your profits, include these distinguishing features in your product descriptions and highlight them in your product images.

E-Commerce Seller Financing Can Help You Grow as a Marketplace Seller

Are you an established e-commerce vendor bringing in steady sales and looking for opportunities to expand? E-Commerce Seller Financing is ere to assist you.

We offer competitive financing options with easy terms, fast approval rates, and no hidden fees so that you can continue growing and exploring new strategies and sales revenue options. Learn more about our financing options for marketplace sellers.