You are a brand new startup entering the online e-commerce world. Unlike other companies, you have no customer base to speak of as you are literally starting from the ground up. You have the product that you believe will be the next on-demand trend that customers will want now as well as for years to come. Yet how do you reach customers? How do you tell people that your business and product exists so you can direct them to the right marketplace page?
At the moment, your main problem is not having a company brand. Your brand should not only be instantly recognizable, but also trusted in your market segment and memorable so that when customers need a product solution for their needs, your company is the first that they remember and will contact. Building a marketplace brand is achievable on many different levels. We will provide tips on how to build your brand on, as well as off, the marketplace to direct customers to your products.
Building Your Marketplace Brand On the Marketplace
Marketplace Ad Services.
Your first way in building a brand on the marketplace is to use the available ad campaigns that the platform, and advertising companies, feature. You need to create ad content that is unique in nature, is SEO optimized, and will intrigue people to your page.
Provide Excellent Customer Service.
The best marketing tool you have is positive word-of-mouth from customers who make a purchase. Since you are just starting out, now is the perfect time to really lavish your customer service skills on them to provide the most pleasing experience. Answer questions and concerns in a timely fashion, and have an established return policy to address packages that are damaged or are lost. With a great interactive user experience to go along with purchasing a desired product, people will tell their friends and family about your company in a positive light.
Thank Your Customers for Making a Purchase.
Customers will return if their shopping experience is appreciated by your company. Send a personal thank you card in the box, or add in promotional materials and coupon discounts for the next purchase that they can make. This will entice them to return to the marketplace to purchase more products from your company, or at least share the promotional codes and discounts with other people that they know.
Ask for Product Reviews.
While word-of-mouth is great, being able to feature positive reviews on the marketplace will help new customers better decide if they should purchase your products instead of going to the competition. People will search for products based on star-reviews. So you want to collect as many as you can that can boost your product ratings. Also, positive reviews can make your items become the featured and bestselling product in the marketplace, as the product will appear more often on first page search results.
Building Your Marketplace Brand Off the Marketplace
Start a Blog.
Many potential customers will look for companies off the marketplace to find out more about them. The customer may be seeking to learn more about how the products are made, what the company vision is, and whether you have a brick-and-mortar location in their area. They may also want to find out more information on how the product works and what the many uses are for your product.
A blog is a way to connect with customers to provide information that they are looking for and provide solutions to their problems. You can provide case studies, white papers, videos, and other details that will make them come back to learn more and continue buying from your company.
Interactions on Social Media.
Social media platforms are a way to instantly connect with visitors. You can share stories, talk with actual customers, and engage with people’s concerns. You can also garner feedback, talk about new product lines and features, and share company news. With social media, you can keep track of how well your industry and products are doing, as well as see how customers’ interests change as you can use this information in your future marketing strategies.
Email Campaigns.
Email is free and can be used to always stay in contact with customers. Email can be used in a variety of ways along with marketplace analytical tools. When a customer doesn’t go through with a purchase as they abandon the contents of their shopping cart, you can use an email campaign to find out the reason why in case there is any issue that you can resolve for them immediately. You can also use email campaigns to cross-sell other products that would go hand-in-hand with the customer’s previous purchase.
Additional Marketplace Branding Options.
Once you brand yourself on and off the marketplace, you can seek out other company branding efforts to solidify your position as a market leader. Other marketplace branding options include:
Forming Brand Partnerships for Cross-Selling Activities.
Other brands may have products that go well with your products, such as a jewelry cleaning product that can be sold with your custom jewelry creations, or down pillows to go with your satin personalized pillow cases. You can form partnerships with other brands that will be a benefit for both companies. Each brand will offer cross promotional opportunities to increase sales for all products.
Package Branding Options.
Many sellers forget that packaging can be a branding tool for their company. Unfortunately, they will simply send the item off without any bells and whistles as the product is in a bland wrapping. If your product has to come in a package, then spend time designing graphics that are intriguing, unique, and one-of-a-kind. You can also make your packaging reusable or recyclable, as you’ll be surprised on how often people keep the packaging to reuse in other ways.
Guest Posts, Podcasts, and Influencers.
All these marketing endeavors require you to reach out to others to help you further market your product, your expertise in your industry, and your market segment. Yet once you start gaining customers and followers, you can reach out to people to be featured in guest posts and podcasts to build your audience by sharing your experience and knowledge. In addition, you can use influencers — people who have already purchased your product and are raving about it — to share their experiences with the wider audience of followers.
Managing Your Marketplace Brand.
Once you successfully build your marketplace brand, you have to continuously maintain it. Continue to market your brand through all platforms and mediums, and address any negative feedback to perform reputation management. While the occasional bad review and word-of-mouth comes with the territory when becoming a marketplace seller, you don’t want to let things get out of hand where there is a serious problem going on that is damaging your brand but you don’t notice it because you are too focused on getting new people to hear about your company and your products.
You can build up your marketplace brand to the point where you have a solid customer base and brand loyalty that will bring in the profits you desire. Use the above tips to help you get started if you are a startup company that is new to the marketplace and still trying to get your brand known by potential customers.
