Growing your eCommerce business takes time and effort, not to mention a little creativity. To gain the competitive edge over other sellers, you may need to employ strategic marketing or sales techniques to reach a larger audience of customers more effectively. From product research to logistics, every step in the journey to being a top online seller influences your overall success. The good news? We’ve broken down how sellers can expand their online stores, in just six easy steps.
1. Tap into new channels
Use your existing inventory and make sure to list it in as many channels as possible. And don’t forget to promote it in each and every channel as well. If you currently sell your products on your own website ‒ make sure to list your items on other marketplaces. If you’re selling your products only on Amazon, try other international markets on Amazon or eBay. Look into Walmart and other channels that show high demand for your products.
2. Tap into new countries
If you identify demand for your products in other countries, you should make an effort and learn how to sell in those markets. Learn the culture. Find a logistics partner, set up a local business entity, and use your knowledge to add more sales channels. It’s easier and easier today to sell internationally, and with the right research, you can easily cross borders to expand your business and increase your sales.
3. Find new suppliers
Increasing the number of products you offer has a direct effect on your sales volume. Make an effort to find new suppliers ‒ whether they are new drop shippers or actual brand owners. Everyone would be happy to have you as their marketing agent and as a customer if you show them how professional you are and the opportunity you present for selling their products in new markets through the channels you specialize in. In order to get in front of coveted suppliers, however, you will need to do the legwork.
4. Improve your logistics
Maintaining a high customer satisfaction level helps ensure that your customers will come back to you again and again, and gives third-party marketplaces the motivation to direct more customers your way. Working to improve your shipping times and costs can greatly affect your customers’ experience and lead to more positive reviews. Be sure to be transparent about your product. Provide clear explanations and images to ensure customers know what to expect when your product arrives.
5. Use your working capital wisely
Always keep the turnaround time of your inventory in mind. Products that sell faster can generate more revenue simply because you have more money available to buy (and sell) other products. If your $100,000 worth of inventory sells within three months, the fast turnover gives you the opportunity to make four times the profit over inventory that takes 12 months to sell. Do not be afraid to renegotiate your manufacturer and fulfillment agreements as well. If your products sell well then use that leverage to get better terms and save more money.
6. Excel at managing your inventory
Make sure your bestsellers are always in stock and that you get rid of slow movers to make way for more bestsellers. Having a top-selling product out of stock hurts all the hard work you did to promote the product, not to mention the loss of potential customers. Keeping a slow-moving product in your online store can cost you even more than the money you used to buy the product. It also costs you inventory space and the time needed to update and maintain listings. Wouldn’t your money and time be better spent selling products with higher demand levels? Be diligent about evaluating your products and their market demand.
As you see it’s really not that difficult to grow your eCommerce business with cross-border selling That’s why cross-border selling is becoming increasingly popular. But like all good decisions, you should start with good data, not by simply following your intuition or following the crowd. By providing clear data and insights into 16 different Amazon, eBay, and Walmart marketplaces, Algopix is a good place to start. With data-based reports that help identify what to sell and where to sell it, online sellers can reduce risk and increase profits.
If you are considering expanding your business by selling to new markets it might make sense to start with a closer country first. For example, if you already sell to the US, it would be relatively easy to start selling to Canada as well, or likewise, if you sell in Europe, it would be easier to expand to selling in another European country first. So before you get started, reread our tips and do your own research. We hope Algopix will be part of your plan.
