Inspire - Tips To Grow Your Business, Productivity & Relationships

Are you launching a new eCommerce company and are looking for ways to reach the largest possible audience? Or are you an existing brick-and-mortar store that’s ready to start selling and shipping online?

Having your own online store is one thing. But no matter how effective your marketing strategies are, you’re website traffic potential is limited. That’s why it’s crucial to sell your products on large, reputable online marketplaces.

Not only can you expose your products and brands to millions of new customers, but you can outsource many services such as shipping and customer service.

In turn, you can focus on scaling your business. So what are the top online marketplaces to sell your products on? Keep reading to find out now.

1. Amazon

Amazon has become the largest and best online marketplace in the United States in a relatively short time period. They’ve amassed hundreds of millions of customers.

And not only does Amazon reach the entire country, but they also branch out into many other nations. This includes Canada, Italy, Germany, the UK, and others. 

While each marketplace offers independently, as an Amazon seller, you can ship your products to warehouses in the appropriate countries to broaden your audience. 

When it comes to selling on an effective, reliable marketplace, Amazon is hard to beat. One of the biggest benefits of selling on Amazon is the Fulfilled by Amazon program (FBA). With FBA, you can send your products in bulk to Amazon warehouses across the country. 

When a customer purchases your product, Amazon packs it up and ships it for you. They also process customer service and returns. This helps many sellers who want to operate lean businesses, not own and operate their own warehouses. 

You may also get to benefit from insane traffic and sales during peak times, such as Prime Day, as well as Black Friday and the holiday season, where Amazon, and all marketplaces, kick into overdrive. 

2. Walmart

While Amazon may be the most popular online marketplace platform, Walmart is still the largest retailer in the world. This is due, in large part, to them operating over 10,000 physical stores across the world.

But Walmart has invested heavily in eCommerce, growing all the time to compete with Amazon. Today, they have over a hundred million shoppers visiting their site each month.

But without a program similar to FBA, sellers need to pack and ship their own products sold through the platform. And you need to do so quickly and efficiently to maintain status as a Walmart seller.

However, Walmart is drop shipper friendly. So if you operate a hands-off eCommerce business, Walmart can be a great addition to your marketplace list. 

3. eBay

eBay was originally launched as an online garage sale. It was used primarily for individuals to sell off used items online.

Today, this part of eBay remains intact, but there is now far more opportunity. Today, many companies sell on eBay, as you can sell new or used products to their extensive customer base from around the world.

New sellers will find shipping products a breeze, as label purchasing and printing is handled automatically through the platform. You can also run your own promotions on eBay, just like you would do on your own website. 

When signing up to become a seller, you won’t have to apply. However, you’ll need to select a selling plan, which ranges in cost and features, though all are very affordable.

4. Etsy

Etsy offers a different twist on eCommerce but still appeals to many sellers and customers alike. The original goal of Etsy was to offer a marketplace where individuals could sell handmade goods. This way, customers knew they were purchasing unique products often not found on other marketplaces.

While the handmade aspect of Etsy is very much still active, it’s not nearly as limited as before. Today, many people sell digital or printable products, collectibles and vintage items, and customizable products.

As such, Etsy is designed for smaller or medium-sized sellers, as opposed to larger brands. You can create your own storefront on the platform, so intrigued users can browse all of your products, read your reviews, or contact you.

The Etsy seller app will also help you manage your business if you occasionally sell products in-person, such as at an event or pop-up shop. 

5. Rakuten

Rakuten is one of the largest online marketplaces in the world. Based in Japan, the platform offers you the chance to sell to a global audience. 

Similar to Etsy, you’ll get to create your own custom storefront on the platform to allow you to control your brand and image on the site. They also offer plenty of features that can help you earn sales and encourage repeat purchases.

With the Rakuten Super Points loyalty program, customers are encouraged to make more purchases to earn points redeemed on future orders. Rakuten also participates in the Ebates program that rewards customers on online purchases from participating retailers.  

Sellers will also enjoy a simplified fee structure with Rakuten. Instead of paying the platform a percentage of each sale, you only pay a flat $0.99 for each item you sell. There’s also a modest $39 monthly fee to be a seller. 

Leveraging Online Marketplaces

Yes, you should operate your own website and online store for your dedicated customers. But the best way to reach and sell to new customers is to sell on the online marketplaces they already shop on.

It’s an easier sell, as users already trust the platform. You get to leverage the authority of each platform, not to mention their list of customers.

And with so many great platforms to choose from, it can be tempting to try selling them all. But each has its own nuances and strategies for success. Focus on one at a time if you want to be successful.

Looking for more tips like this? Be sure to visit our blog today to keep reading.

Cybercriminals thrive on others’ uncertainty and ignorance. When you aren’t trained in cybersecurity best practices, hackers have a better chance of infiltrating your business’s systems. If you’re uneducated, hackers don’t have to bypass strong password security, watchful employees, or secure databases to reach their target; instead, they access can confidential data without much difficulty at all.

Unfortunately, uncertainty and ignorance has run rampant since the pandemic began. Many businesses were forced to switch to remote work but didn’t know how to adjust their cybersecurity policies to better fit the new changes.

If you’re considering implementing new cybersecurity changes, you’re already ahead of many business owners. We can’t give you a step-by-step guide in just one article on how to create a full cybersecurity plan, but we can show you where to start: by implementing a strong password security strategy.

The Importance of Password Security Management

Many businesses will invest in complex methods of security and data protection, such as multi factor authentication (MFA), virtual private networks (VPNs) and more. But sometimes, simple steps can make the biggest impact on your security. 

Passwords are essentially the key to your business’ data and documents, so you need to make sure that your employees are protecting them properly. Nowadays, businesses have so many different accounts, platforms, and apps that require password protection.

Chances are, at least a few of your employees have gotten a little sloppy. People often exchange convenience for security, and your staff is no exception. 

It’s important that you do your utmost to remind your employees of their responsibilities and the potential impact that poor password management can have on the business as a whole. To get them started off on the right foot, here are two powerful password security strategies that you should implement into your business.

Tip 1: Give Employees a Secure Way to Store Their Passwords

Most managed IT services and security experts say that the first step towards password security is giving your employees a secure way to store their passwords. 

Strong passwords can be difficult to remember and employees will actively seek ways to remember passwords that contain multiple cases, letters, numbers and special characters. If you don’t provide them with a secure way to store these passwords, they are likely to write them down in a notebook that can be left around or lost, or on a sticky note attached to their computer screens. This, of course, can be easily leaked. 

Instead, use the services of popular password management companies like LastPass. These companies will encrypt the password date and your employees will be able to use the software to sign into different programmes as and when they need throughout the day. 

These programs also allow employees to create separate folders for both personal and shared accounts. That way, they can manage their private passwords while accessing other passwords that your whole team uses.

Tip 2: Ensure Employees Separate Personal and Professional Password Security Habits

As we briefly mentioned above, employees have a lot of logins—and thus passwords—in both their personal and professional lives. Consequently, many use the same password repeatedly across both personal and professional accounts. 

Make sure they create brand new and unique passwords for professional accounts. To achieve this, you can implement software that requires a password change every three months. 

You should also request that they refrain from accessing business files through personal devices like laptops. This can make all the difference, especially in the world of remote work. 

You can protect your hardware all you like, but it won’t make any difference if your employees use their own devices for work. Many hackers bypass password security by accessing employees personal computers. Likewise, you should ensure that employees don’t use their business accounts on third party sites like Facebook or Amazon—especially if you’re worried that they use the same passwords for both personal and business accounts.

These, of course, are just two tips for stronger password security. But they can make all the difference. So, implement them into your business practice sooner rather than later, and you’ll be pleased by your results!

Having a balanced inventory is important for small and large organizations. Without it, you could have sales orders flying in and you could run out of stock on items. While it’s greats to have a large number of orders, being out of stock on goods for potential customers comes with its downsides. Think about it, if you don’t have the product the customer is interested in the more than likely they are to cancel an order and seek alternatives. On the other end, you could also order too many items that may increase carrying costs, or worse, be wasted. If you are interested in learning more about balancing your inventory spreadsheet to avoid some of these issues, make sure to check out the resource below.

Infographic created by WSI, an eCommerce fulfillment provider