How to sell products online – Platform wise Analysis

E-commerce platforms are boon for all us not just in terms of shopping online but selling too. There can be broadly two stages of online selling: First is when somebody is at stage where they are exploring ways to sell products online and second is when somebody is trying to increase sales through online channels. Through this blog post ” How to sell products online” I will be writing about

• Why to choose e-commerce selling with your current social media selling strategy
• Who all can sell on e-commerce platforms
• Platform wise analysis & opportunities

1. Amazon
2. Flipkart
3. Snapdeal
4. PayTM

• When to consider scaling up your business & ways to do it

On Ahead with digital, soon there will be a category for e-commerce selling. You can subscribe to scale up your business on different e-commerce platforms (Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, Paytm & others)

Now let’s move to our main focus – How to sell products online

Ecommerce selling Vs selling on Social Media

There is no doubt that social media channels like Instagram, Facebook are great places for marketing. They just not help in branding of your business but selling services and products. One great thing about these channels is their advertising platforms. One can reach to audience beyond their followers and reach the most relevant audience. If you are looking for ways to promote a small business on Instagram, then read this post

In case you are worried about less reach and engagement on Facebook, then read this post on how to boost post on Facebook

The question now comes is why there is a need of ecommerce platform when we have so many social media platforms?

Intent. Intent of audience matters a lot when it comes to buying. A person who intents to buy something will go to e-commerce platforms like Amazon & Flipkart rather than scrolling feed on Instagram. For example, person who wants to buy shirt is more likely to visit shopping sites such as Myntra/Flipkart/Amazon. That person has a willingness to spend time & money and therefore, is more inclined to buy at such places

If you are promoting something only on instagram or Facebook and get orders then you have no idea what potential these platforms have as

• There are millions of daily visitors on each channel so that you can reach to the wider audience rather than your page followers
• Your brand reach is not just limited to one geography but across borders
• Audience of different interest is present on the platforms so more chances of liking your product and buying it

Can you sell online?

The most apt question for any business is to ask If they can sell online?

I have encountered this question many a times from my clients as they are not sure in what conditions e-commerce platforms allow you to sell on these platforms? So here is an answer to the most asked question

You can sell on ecommerce platform if

• You have your own brand and manufacturing is also done by your brand. These platforms have provision to add every detail in your product listing. There are field options like Your Brand Name and Your Manufacturer Name. If you belong to this category then both these fields have same input as your brand name
• You own a brand but sells products manufactured by other brands. Basically you are reseller here. In field options Your Brand Name and your manufactured name, you will add different inputs.

What all platforms are available for selling products online?

Now the vital questions of this post How to sell products online are

• Which all platforms do we have for online selling?
• Which is the best platform to sell online

Now, we will be discussing Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal &Paytm mall in detail

1. Amazon

For Amazon there are two types of accounts available Seller central and vendor central account. Primary difference between the two is who will be selling your products

• Seller Central Account: For this account, one will sell directly to Amazon customers. This account has flexible delivery options like FBA (Fulfilled by Amazon), Self delivery or infact delivery by Amazon in case one is not having FBA from Amazon.

Other important pointers

1. Anyone can create seller account
2. Quick payment options
3. Price can be easily controlled

• Vendor Central Account: If you have vendor central account then you are first party seller with Amazon. In this type of account you are not directly selling to customer but sell in bulk to Amazon.

Important pointers

1. This is not open to everyone but only for those who get invite option
2. Amazon has your inventory so pricing is controlled from its end
3. Traditional Payment option

Let’s move to important aspect of e-commerce platform and the main part of How to sell products online

Amazon Advertising platform: One cannot just depend on organic part for the sales on e-commerce platform. When the brand is new, people are not aware and as per the e-commerce platform algorithm, you won’t be shown on search results instantly or on the first page. Hence, it becomes essential to have good advertising platform that helps in specific targeting and gives you full control of showing ads to relevant audience. No doubt Amazon is the best choice for selling as it has the best advertising platforms

Key difference from other e-commerce platforms

Amazon helps in targeting people basis on what they are actually searching i.e keywords. No other platforms helps in such targeting. It is the most important point in selecting advertising platform as this the best in implementing sales on the platform

2. Flipkart

To get started with Flipkart, one needs to start with seller account. There are two main parts of Flipkart selling

Firstly, one needs to create listing for all the products. One needs to be careful as Flipkart picks title automatically from the filled fields and these fields cannot be edited later. Subscribe to know how to create optimzed listing.

Secondly, after getting products listed one can run ads to increase visibility of the products. Flipkart as compare to Amazon doesn’t offer much control and options when you start with the platform. As you start selling more, it offers up gradation and provides more features.

Two types of ad options are there

• ROI campaigns – Here you can set the ROI of the campaign and Flipkart will deliver campaigns automatically to the most relevant audience
• Manual campaign :For these campaigns, one need to select bid for each product and basis those bids spends will be there for each campaign

Initially, one can start with ROI campaign and eventually can move to manual. Subscribe below and get to know how to increase sales through e-commerce channels.

3. Snapdeal

Snapdeal is good place to be present as you never know who might come on any platform. I recommend small businesses to be present here if they have enough funds otherwise one should try above two platforms to maximum potential. Let’s explore snapdeal platform as part of of this post (How to sell products online)

Organic listing: One needs to start with listing all the products. Once done with listing one can cross check if products are appearing organically. Similar to flipkart, one needs to be careful while adding title as option since changing title is not available.

Paid advertising: If the listing is not appearing upfront, one can run ads on the platform. Two types of ad options are there

• Automated campaign :Here Snapdeal will do the main work. One can go with these campaigns in a small budget
• CPT campaigns/Manual campaigns – For these campaigns, one is charged for every conversion.

4. PayTM

PayTM is a great option to explore especially its PLA platform(Advertisement platform). The process is same for PayTM as well. One needs to get first products listed and then can start with ads

Are you ready to scale up your business?

If you think your products needs better exposure and visibility then there cannot be better place than e-commerce platforms. I created this post on how to sell products online to help you take a better decision when it comes to e-commerce platform. I would recommend the use of platforms for scaling up business in the following order

Amazon >Flipkart>PaytM>Snapdeal

Hope you like this post on How to sell products online. Do share your views in comments and subscribe