Why E-Commerce store is important for your business

Mumbai - July 30, 2021

When deciding where to sell products online, many merchants choose between selling on a common marketplace and creating their own website. While both options have their own sets of pros and cons and there is no one-size-fits-all solution that works perfectly for everyone, it is recommended that e-commerce brands and business owners who are truly serious about their business should have their own e-commerce website.

Marketplace websites (like Amazon, Flip Kart, eBay, and so on) can be great sales channels for many business owners, but there are plenty of limitations within these. When you sell your brand’s products on an onlinecommon marketplace, they will be listed in a generic way and it will be made to look like the marketplace’s brand that is in the forefront – not yours.Most of the time, visitors and customers of such marketplaces may automatically assume your product belongs to the marketplace without even realizing the existence of your brand.

But if your goal is for consumers to associate your product with your brand or name and think of your brand when they look for purchases in that category which your brand specialised in, it is best to have your own e-commerce store, so you get to have full control of these.

So, one of the most important advantages of having an e-commerce websitefor a brand (big or small) is that the brand can market directly to website visitors and customers. Selling directly to consumers on your own e-commerce platformenables you to collect their contact information, like e-mail ID’s and phone numbers – and when you have these details, you can keep them informed and regularly updated on email marketing promotions, offer discounts, and announce new products. This can help elevate sales and being customers closer to you and your brand.

Having your own e-commerce store comes with the freedom to more directly impact the customer journey and user experience in many different ways - You can add product photos and videos in places as you wish to, You can change the colours, or website theme according to your preferences or schemes, you can tell your brand’s story, and give as much information as you would like to customers through the website and also add a blog, that includes articles related to the subject (this can help customers gain knowledge on certain trends, practices related to the products they are interested in), You can also feature loyal customers and their testimonials which can further help your business and may encourage more people to purchase from your brand. This sort of freedom will not be available with common marketplace options.

If you have your own e-commerce platform for business, you can also decide how you group and price your products, and what kind of shipping offers and payment options you want to include. And offering something for free at the checkout process is also a good idea to influence consumer behaviour, as customers like to believe they are getting a good deal. With your own website, it’s easier to experiment with this type of offers if possible, as there won’t be a need to worry about the impact these might have on your conversions, since you will notbe owing a percentage of each sale to a third-party, as with common marketplaces. And most importantly, you don’t even have to worry about your competitors’ products popping up next to yours like with common marketplaces, that can risk your sales.

The bottom line is that owningand running ane-commerce platformis a great way for retail businesses to grow their brand, popularize their products, acquire more customers, gain different insights, and get creative with marketing strategies.

To help you with e-commerce needs and enablement, you need to find the right digital partner who can enable a great e-commerce platform for your business and employ the right strong SEOs strategies that will bring in customers who are looking for the kind of products that you offer.