6 Must-Practice Marketplace Habits!

There is no debate on how online marketplaces have opened doors to many a seller’s dream of expanding reach. Apart from financial convenience, there are also the advantages of technology and marketing, which would otherwise require specialized expertise and knowledge.

The year 2014 marked the onset of steep discounts and unbeatable offers in the ecommerce space in India. But this year, marketplaces have begun to concentrate on profitability and the discounts seen last year may not appear again.

But the sales still live on. Marketplaces no longer need a reason to have a sale. How ethical or effective they are, is something that’s left without any definite answer. Our recent report on the Jabong Supersale weekend gives a sneak peak into how these sales are operated; is it any surprise that customers get agitated and take to social media to express their dissatisfaction?

While it’s easy to blame a dip in sales on marketplaces, how about taking stock of your own practices and habits of selling on marketplaces? Are you compromising on corners to gain that extra rupee? Are you not expanding your product range just because they sell well as is?

Agreed, there is no one right or wrong way of selling on marketplaces. What works for one need not work for another. But there are certain practices you must avoid to ensure you keep shining with your customers. Below is the right way to go about things:

Keep gross profit in mind, price right

In the rush to sell more and increase volume of sales, some sellers don’t even make adequate calculations on the returns they would get. The competition is high in the online space so make sure you are pricing your inventory accurately.

Solve listing errors immediately

It’s human to make mistakes. But if you ignore them without rectifying at the right time, it could hamper your sales, sometimes to the extent of your listings getting suppressed by marketplaces. Listing error could be due to anything like repricing or incomplete data, but when it happens:

• Review and fix it
  
• Identify what went wrong. Decide on a process to ensure it doesn’t repeat.

Sell on different channels, sell different products

If you have the means to sell on multiple channels, then why not make the most of it. Yes, the ecommerce giants like Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal etc. have the credibility tag on them. But the Indian consumer has warmed up to ecommerce in general, the rising numbers of online marketplaces and stores testimony to that. So look beyond these names and explore others based on the products you sell.

Instead of focusing on hot categories in just one channel, look into potentially better categories in other channels. Explore more; choose a category with lesser players than one with too many players in the space.

Remove bad products

While it’s good to expand your product range, just getting them up on the marketplaces is not enough. Just like good products could be promoted more, bad products need to be removed so that your ratings don’t get affected.

Analyze and track the performance of products. Are there products, which get returned often or have shipping difficulties? These are the ones you need to do away with. Considering the time and effort you put in to sort and list, and ship them, it would not be worth it to keep these just to show variety in your portfolio.

Don’t take product data from other sellers

For a consumer, your product would probably be one among the many listed on the platform. Another seller might even be selling the same products as you. But don’t take product information from another seller’s listing.

Always, optimize titles and descriptions from your end such that it appeals to your target customers.

Input the specifics about the product based on marketplace suggestions.

Use the suggested title formats and add bits of extra information that could appeal to curious customers.

Invest in a multi-channel tool/service

Sometimes the small things in daily operations take up more time and get you off-track from the more important tasks at hand. It is better to invest in a good service like Browntape that will handle your online sales activities so that you can focus your time and energy into your product line and sell them more effectively.

What other habits have worked for you while selling on multiple marketplaces? Do you think there are more such habits an online seller should make note of?