Is multi-channel selling now essential for all online businesses?

[quikshop]

What system provides the easiest to use multi-channel selling through a single user interface?

 

[antropy]

What system provides the easiest to use multi-channel selling through a single user interface?

Is that really the right question to be asking? Shouldn't you be asking "Which system will provide the most profit for my business"?

 

[quikshop]

Is that really the right question to be asking? Shouldn't you be asking "Which system will provide the most profit for my business"?

I'm guessing most multi-channel systems are variations on a theme and provide similar outcomes, i.e. your products are listed on multiple channels.

What multi-channel system provides the most intuitive, easy to use interface?

 

[antropy]

I'm guessing most multi-channel systems are variations on a theme and provide similar outcomes, i.e. your products are listed on multiple channels.

I don't think that's the case and I think the price varies considerably also!

 

[quikshop]

I don't think that's the case and I think the price varies considerably also!

you mean there are multi-channel systems that don't list your products on multiple channels

 

[antropy]

you mean there are multi-channel systems that don't list your products on multiple channels

Haha well there are a lot of channels, do you think all solutions support all of them, in the same way, with the same features, for a similar cost?

 

[quikshop]

Haha well there are a lot of channels, do you think all solutions support all of them, in the same way, with the same features, for a similar cost?

You mean they're not all the same and cost different amounts

I'm only interested in thoughts on my original question, which system have traders found to be the most intuitive and user-friendly.

 

[ukbf0001]

ECWIDS - one dashboard , you can then copy / paste the code into ANY website or webpage, plus you can put straight into FaceBook. So you arent reliant on just Ebay or Amazon etc.
Personally I would never sell on there anyway - I woudl rather sell direct from withing FaceBook plus my other speciality websites - no brainer for me

 

[David G Rees]

Depends on your business. I would say a website and social media page are essential in this day and age. Most people search for things online these days , in-fact a recent survey says its now over 50% that use a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet so having a mobile responsive website is more important than ever.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

I have not read all the middle pages but

There are plenty of other options that do not involve the web to build up sales, with vast numbers of companies using traditional advertising as a alternative.

Many web based people are so involved in working the web they see it as the god of gods which can be a rather narrow point of view. There is life still outside Google, Amazon and EBay to name a few, but there can be a outlook that allows all advertising or selling using all traditional and modern methods

B2C is maybe a bit harder but the one area where so much effort is made to be the lowest price which also means normally the highest % costs

 

[James Lees]

I am joining this one late but to answer your initial question I would say it is essential yes.
But with a channel being essential does that mean it has to be your core focus? No
I look back to the pre panda and penguin days and many online retailers but all their eggs in the SEO basket and eventually got bitten.
From that point online retailers have switched reliance on other channels as wide as they can which reduces the risk as well.
If you look at the main direct sales channels such as SEO, PPC & Affiliates.
The re-engagement channels such as email & social
Add into that multi channel
Then you will have a successful business generating orders from all angles.
My previous employment was at a huge ecommerce agency and they have invested massively in their multi channel service and functionality for their clients as they realised how important this was becoming.

 

[Cococarb]

I would avoid VOLO by all means.

 

[Karl Ciz]

StoreFeeder is a great solution to mix and match - certain items can be sold on one, or many channels at the same time - with stock control and order management thrown in. The team at StoreFeeder have a world-class reputation and are a Royal Mail Group company so you can rely on them to help you expand with great quality tools. Expansion into new areas can be tricky so we always recommend test trading on the channels you wish to try. If you are seeing good sales on eBay or Amazon in the UK you should also see quite good results if you choose to sell internationally. The answer to your question is that if you have the right tools in place you can mix and match opportunities - the most successful traders have a multichannel policy that includes at least 2-3 channels to safeguard their business and to put some eggs into different baskets... the number to call for a chat is 0115 784 2157

 

[Karl Ciz]

Multichannel is absolutely essential for most businesses that sell online. The old addage of "not putting all your eggs into one basket" applies in e-commerce as much as in any other business. Diversification helps you stabilize your business and opens up new opportunities, greater visibility for your products and ultimately protects against the losses that may be incurred if your single sales channel loses ground against the competition. Diversity, whether it be numbers of different channels, or internationalisation can help secure your business and even take it to the next level. We specialise in Multi-channel and have seen many businesses go from strength to strength by adopting an -e-commerce policy of diversification of sales channels. Multi-channel (& omni-channel) is the future of e-commerce!

 

[Mistahclarke]

Multi-channel, multi-media. It seems with business these days you have to do absolutely everything to break even.

 

[japancool]

I don't know why everyone is so fixated on the web - there are so many other channels to market.

Maybe because this is the e-commerce subforum?

 

[cracklepop]

Multichannel is absolutely essential for most businesses that sell online. The old addage of "not putting all your eggs into one basket" applies in e-commerce as much as in any other business. Diversification helps you stabilize your business and opens up new opportunities, greater visibility for your products and ultimately protects against the losses that may be incurred if your single sales channel loses ground against the competition. Diversity, whether it be numbers of different channels, or internationalisation can help secure your business and even take it to the next level. We specialise in Multi-channel and have seen many businesses go from strength to strength by adopting an -e-commerce policy of diversification of sales channels. Multi-channel (& omni-channel) is the future of e-commerce!

this is a great summary of why this is such a good idea

 

[Modern Retail UK]

It’s not enough to simply offer customers the option of shopping in offline or online anymore, as the shopping experience is quickly fractured when there’s a lack of continuity across all channels of marketing. And as technology continues to advance, the number of channels to satisfy customer needs only looks to increase.

Now consumers can learn of a new product in an email or through a social media post, as well as traditional forms of advertisement, then explore more about that product.

Having multi-selling options mean more opportunities for you to connect with and engage your markets, but it also means a great deal more complexity. Keeping interactions consistent across multiple channels and ensuring a seamless experience for consumers is the new challenge.

If you're willing to put the time in to market and promote these multi-selling channels, then keep track to see what is working and what needs to be dropped, you'd definitely see the benefits.

 

[japancool]

It’s not enough to simply offer customers the option of shopping in offline or online anymore, as the shopping experience is quickly fractured when there’s a lack of continuity across all channels of marketing. And as technology continues to advance, the number of channels to satisfy customer needs only looks to increase.

Now consumers can learn of a new product in an email or through a social media post, as well as traditional forms of advertisement, then explore more about that product.

Having multi-selling options mean more opportunities for you to connect with and engage your markets, but it also means a great deal more complexity. Keeping interactions consistent across multiple channels and ensuring a seamless experience for consumers is the new challenge.

If you're willing to put the time in to market and promote these multi-selling channels, then keep track to see what is working and what needs to be dropped, you'd definitely see the benefits.

And in English?

 

[Modern Retail UK]

And in English?

haha, multichannel-selling is good if you want to put the effort in to it

 

[Yeongwonhi]

I think it is essential nowadays, and I do not see anything wrong with trying to market your products via ecommerce platforms.

I mean, we could try every means there is possible.

Good luck!

 

[japancool]

If you do choose to widen your market, an Order Processing system would be a great option to make it simpler and you would be able to access all your orders in one place. A low cost high quality system that does this is One Stop Order Processing, they offer a 21 day free trial. It has really helped me speed up processing my orders as i can automatically download my Amazon and Ebay Orders and send the details straight to the courier from the software. It also lets me create and print my Emails

Would that be One Stop Order Processing made by the same Mole End Ltd. that you work for Zoe?

 

[Zoe Strassen]

Would that be One Stop Order Processing made by the same Mole End Ltd. that you work for Zoe?

Yes I do work for them on there support team , However i do have two of my own business' as well

I have a bath and beauty shop called The Natural Spa and Ebay shop helping people sell there items who are not quite so internet savvy. Therefore i do use the software and it really helps

 

[japancool]

Full disclosure is always better before you get caught out.

 

[Richard Ives]

I would love to promote our map products across more channels like Amazon but the problems for us are:

1. Some of our distributor agreements preclude us from doing so as they list their own products themselves and don't want us competing with them; or
2. The distributors don't block us but then sell at a price we can't compete with.

Maybe we are just selling the wrong products and need to find better suppliers...

 

[Ian CRA]

My exp of online retail was that the multi channels took a lot of the margin, which just got thinner and thinner. Again - depends entirely on what your selling. If its a common product expect not much action for anything but pence. Theres a man in China selling it directly and he's happy with pennies.

 

[Yeongwonhi]

It is not that it is essential, but it makes your life a whole lot easier. Being able to sell across multiple platforms will only increase your chances on sales.

 

[Cathey]

Cathey from Expandly here. I've been following this thread for a couple of weeks. I agree with a lot of the comments that have been made. It is horses for courses. Not everyone needs or even wants to go multichannel and going multichannel comes with additional cost and administrative overhead that some businesses don't want or need.

Any businesses who can see multichannel potential and want to try out a small business solution might want to have a look at Expandly. It is priced for small e-retailers and offers centralised listings, order management and shipping across ebay, amazon and webcart software.

 

[SamLH]

Hello Dear

- e-bay and Amazon both are multi channel selling on online Business
- Both are Nice Platform.

Thanks.

All of your posts sound like they came from an auto reponder.

 

[Idosell Shop]

Omnichannel marketing is essential but not the all channels are appropriate for all the business models. Amazon, eBay are ok for B2C approach but for B2B surcharges might kill the business.
B2B is much better on your own online store- it is up to your resources if you wish to go for drop shipping or cross docking. In some cases, drop shipping companies require the commitment of a minimal number of parcels shipped monthly.
Products addressed to B2C market with high margins can by distributed with no harm trough marketplaces. It is important to prepare pricing structures- this way that no matter where customers do purchase, they pay the same price for the same product. This way you control and protect your distribution network. Price fight is not the best idea in the long run.
I would recommend also to have multi-store approach with synchronized products catalog and inventories (mars/snickers competition game). The more automated sales process is the more margin you will remain at the end.

 

[Jeff Nev]

I have come across medium-sized businesses who were relatively successful within their niche in terms of eCommere, and they have eventually branched out into multiple different channels in order to maximise revenue. With the amount of competition these days, this should not come as a surprise.

 

[Pish_Pash]

I can't believe this thread is still running, it only needed one reply to the OP.

"Yes".

 

[Neil_Shah]

As a pro-active eCommerce brand, you want to scale up your business. However, in order to be successful, multichannel selling is the key as it enables reach to a much wider customer base.

But achieving measurable growth is much easier said than done. You risk the chance of losing control of your inventory, fumbling to manage orders, or forgetting your offline store.

It is easier said than done. Outsourcing few of the business operations as well as using multi-channel management software can come to your rescue. I use a customized software called eSellerHub made according to my business processes and logic.

 

[Idosell Shop]

The key to multichannel marketing is warehouse management system. There is nothing worse than chaos in business. One solid WMS and the same procedures to proceed all the orders builds up the business. Each of the channels has to apply to the same rules. Once you master or reach a certain level of proficiency you can launch another channel. I would say consistency pays off.

 

[brianlee1982]

Yes. You need to sell on multichannels, be it small or big. Everywhere is traffic over those multichannels. All u want is sales. Not 1 buyer will just stick to 1 online platform to buy things.

 

[Idosell Shop]

Multi selling is necessary nowadays, but do not forget about your own online store, you will need one when your business grow.

Multichannel/Omnichannel includes online store as a distribution channel- I cannot imagine an effective distribution model without an optimized online store.

 

[gustavowoltmann]

I know that managing multiple channels manually would be quite time consuming especially with making product is in stock, setting up products on multiple sites, dealing with complaints etc. I think the only way to professionally do this would be to use a piece of software to do this for you.

 

[Ekim Saribardak]

Multichannel is not an option if you're just starting a business, you just have to do it.
There are software and plugins for stores based on Opencart/Magento to make it easier.

 

[brianlee1982]

Well, for me, though I just start a business, there's no problem for me if the system has a bulk listing. As I know IT works, I can generate scripts out to assisst me. Not ev1 has the techniques. Not all channels has bulk listings. Some required to pay for the service. Just need to spend some time to do listings 1 by 1.

If u are able to create 1 bulk listings, keep it coz u can reuse and modify them later on.

 

[Shekharggn]

Instead of going for multi channel I recommend you to go for Omni Channel Solution. Multi-channel means selling your product with different available selling channels. And Omni channel means selling your product with different available selling channel connecting together.