Making a presence on multiple ecommerce sales channels has become the need of every other business these days. It helps them to connect with their customers right where they are. Such businesses offer exceptional commerce experiences to their customers and establish a strong brand identity.
Getting the sales channel right will eventually help you to grow your business by easily reaching previously hard-to-access customers. Thus, we have presented the ultimate guide to sales channels for e-commerce businesses so that they can clearly get a hold of the term to leverage their profits.
What is a Sales Channel?
A sales channel refers to the path a business uses to sell its products or services to end customers, directly or indirectly. It is associated with different ways a business markets its products and services in front of its ideal customers. An ecommerce sales channel of any business decides how effectively a business can offer exceptional commerce experience to its customers while setting a strong brand identity.
How Choosing the Right Sales Channel can Improve and Boost the Profitability of E-Commerce Businesses?
Sales channels are the mediums through which you sell your products and thus they are the key deciding factors on your profitability. Hence, choosing an effective sales channel for your business to maximize your sales is quite important to boost the profitability of your e-commerce business.
It is important that you mark your presence on all the important sales channel platforms to ensure that you are there wherever your customers are searching for a brand or product like yours. For this, it is important that you are aware of your customer base and their buying behavior to ensure that you use the best ecommerce sales channels. Below are some of the benefits of using the right sales channels -
- Expand your audience: The right sales channel will help you expand your audience base for your business. It increases the chances of a new customer discovering, loving, and buying your products.
- More buying options: The right sales channel provides more opportunities for your customers to buy your product and thus helps in improving profitability.
- Expansion at a low cost: Sales channels act as an expansion for your business and widen your reach to acquire more customers at a very low cost. It’s much cheaper to add sales channels to your business than to open physical stores and branches in various locations.
- SEO improvements: Having more quality reciprocal links through different sales channels to your online store improves your profile and SEO.
Top Important Sales Channels for E-Commerce Businesses
Website
Your website is one of the most important sales channels that can effectively help you sell your products online to your customers. Your e-commerce website is a direct platform through which customers can explore a variety of products offered by your brand and make a transaction online. E-commerce is a huge platform that is expected to rise with the expansion of the market.
Pros
- Offers lower startup costs since you don’t have to pay for a physical brick-and-mortar storefront.
- Sell on your own terms and conditions without having to pay any commission to other platforms.
- Provides your customers with ease to purchase your products directly from your online e-commerce website as per their comfort and get directly engaged with your brand.
- You can easily collect and keep a track of customer data through your e-commerce platform to optimize your business strategies.
Cons
- All the marketing and business strategies need to be applied by the self.
- You might face higher return rates because of the lack of direct or physical contact with customers.
Mobile App
Another important sales channel that can help you leverage your sales is your Mobile App. The mobile app makes your products accessible to your customers directly in the palm of their hands through their phones.
Mobile commerce sales have seen a great expansion over the past few years and it is something that continues to capture the attention of consumers. Customers are turning their heads towards mobile apps to make their purchases because of easy convenience and exclusive offers provided by brands.
Pros
- Customers tend to spend more time on apps rather than on websites which can help you boost your sales.
- Customers can easily access your store directly from their phones with a single tap by logging in once.
- Stand out from your competition by providing an exclusive Mobile App for your store.
- Leverage your business sales by providing special discounts to your customers for downloading and making a purchase through your app.
Cons
- Building a mobile app for your brand can be both time and money-consuming.
- Mobile apps need continuous upgrades to keep them up-to-date with current technology and market demands.
Google Shopping
Google Shopping is one of the most trusted sales channels for many businesses to list and sell their products on. Your e-commerce store can immediately get noticed by potential customers by displaying your products right where they are finding them.
Google shopping helps e-commerce businesses to upload their products directly online so that their products are visible on Google whenever a customer is searching for a similar or same type of product. It helps you boost your sales by making your presence where customers are searching for you.
Pros
- List your products on a platform where your customers are already there and give a boost to your sales.
- Provide your brand and products with better visibility and recognition.
Cons
- You need to pay a certain amount to advertise your products on top among many other products on Google Shopping.
- Customers purchase according to products rather than the brand from Google Shopping and don’t help in the brand recognition process.
Online Marketplaces
There are various online marketplaces like Amazon, Etsy, eBay, and many more that allow e-commerce businesses to list products on their platform. This helps them to enhance their visibility by displaying their products to customers who are already searching for either the same or similar products on these platforms.
Customers tend to purchase according to products rather than the brand from such websites and thus it is an effective source to maximize sales. Also, it helps e-commerce businesses to utilize the advantage of the pre-built customer base of such sites.
Pros
- Showcase your products on a platform where your customers are already there.
- You can use the distributors and marketing channels already in place on such platforms.
- Customers easily trust you because of the credibility and legitimacy of these online marketplaces.
Cons
- You have to pay regular commissions to such platforms to list and sell your products through their sites and those commissions can change according to different conditions and scenarios.
- You have to follow the terms and conditions of the marketplace if you want to list your products on them.
- There is a lot of competition as there are several other brands like yours on these marketplaces offering competitive pricing.
Social Media
Social Media are content-driven platforms that enable e-commerce to leverage their sales by regularly updating their content on such sites. It is an effective marketplace where you can engage your customers and attract potential buyers using effective marketing strategies. One of the most important aspects of such sites is that buyers are already there and e-commerce stores can take advantage of such platforms to meet buyers right where they are.
Pros
- Easily track your metrics through various analytical tools on different social media platforms.
- Easily promote and advertise your products directly to the customers right where they are finding you through various social media advertising campaigns.
- Provide instant customer support for better brand engagement.
Cons
- You need to adopt your own marketing strategies to market and advertise your products to the right segment of customers.
- Continuously create engaging content for your customers to keep your brand visible.
Retail (both temporary and permanent)
Retail includes both permanent and temporary stores like short-term rentals in a mall, booths, stalls at a local fair, and much more. It is basically physically setting up a store or kiosk to sell your products to your customers. It is one of the most traditional marketplaces through which you can get your products to reach end customers.
Pros
- Get face-to-face interaction with your clients to leave more personal touch and build a strong customer relationship with them.
- Eliminate the chaos of involving any other third-party and sell your products directly to the hands of customers.
Cons
- Increase in expense for setting up a physical store as compared to online stores.
- An additional task of handling store staff and employees.
- Increased charge of hiring store employees.
B2B
B2B sales are when a business sells its products or services to other businesses. This is also an effective sales channel to get your products to reach final customers. It can help you increase your sales profits as generally, businesses tend to have more budget rather than customers. Also, the B2B sales channel is an effective medium to keep repeat sales going through the same clients.
Pros
- Companies or businesses have more spending power which can help you maximize your profits.
- Providing good services and products to businesses can help increase your brand visibility through them and enhance your brand reputation.
Cons
- The limited market as there is only a particular type of businesses that are going to purchase from you.
- Businesses usually take longer to convert sales as compared to direct customers.
Wholesale
Wholesale is about selling your products in bulk to other businesses so that they further sell them in retail. Some businesses use it as the only sales channel to move their inventory faster and quicker. You can multiply the rate of inventory moment using this as an effective sales channel for your e-commerce business.
Pros
- Retailers and other businesses act as an intermediary between you and your customers and you can use them as effective brand advertisers and promoters for your business.
- Improve your inventory movement by quickly selling a large stock all at once.
Cons
- It takes much time and money to create products in bulk altogether.
- It involves the risk of higher loss if the inventory doesn’t get sold altogether.
Build a Strong Multiple Sales Channel Strategy to Enhance your Profits
Many new setters in the industry often stick with a particular sales channel for their business. However, scaling a business requires a robust multiple-sales channel strategy that can help you get identified among your target customer base. It helps you increase the chances of a customer interacting with your brand and enables e-commerce businesses to improve their profit generation.
Combining multiple sales channels effectively in accordance with your brand strategy has the agility to take your brand to a next level. Applying the right kind of multiple sales channel strategy in their business blueprint can help e-commerce businesses to climb up the ladder of success. Here are a few of the advantages of using multiple sales channels for your business.
- Retain More Customers
Using a multiple sales channel strategy will help you to retain more customers by allowing them to stay connected with your brand at their convenience. Companies using the best multi-channel selling platforms are able to retain 89% of their customers which indicates the profitability of using multiple sales channels. - Enhance Customer Experience and Satisfaction
Having multiple sales channels can help you enhance and improve your customer experience and satisfaction by making your presence right where your customers are finding you. - Increase Customer Spending Power By creating your presence on a multi-channel selling platform, you can significantly increase your customer’s spending power. The more integrative your sales channel is, the higher the probability that customers will stick to your brand with better brand recognition and thus indulge them in your purchase.
Conclusion
Futuristic Approach for Creating a Brand Using Sales Channel
It is advised to stick with your own website and mobile app as per the futuristic approach as you can easily use them on your own conditions. These two sales channels are the ones that promote your brand directly to your customers and help you maintain an effective brand image in the eyes of your consumers.
Quick Growth Solutions
However, for businesses looking to scale up their businesses quickly, using different marketplaces to promote their products is a wise option. Their already existing customer base will help you to rapidly market your products to the right type of customer segment so that you can improve your sales and boost profitability.
Using the right and multiple sales channel strategy for your e-commerce business is a wise choice that you can adopt to leverage your business profits. Enhance your overall brand strategy and provide enhanced customer service to your consumers by tapping into the different sales channels as per your brand vision.
