In eCommerce, diversifying where you sell is key. With online shopping booming, competition is fierce. More sales platforms mean more chances to stand out.

Smart sellers use multiple channels to improve their market share. This guide will highlight how engaging in multi-channel sales on Amazon can benefit you and outline strategies for success, aiming to boost your online sales.

What is Multi-Channel Selling?

Multi-channel selling means you sell your products on more than one site. This includes your own website and big sites like Amazon, Walmart, or eBay.

If you have a physical store or use social media to sell, you already use more channels. Basically, anywhere you sell is a channel.

Starting multi-channel selling can feel overwhelming, but it’s a great way to grow. Selling in more places helps you find new customers and expand your business. Seller Candy can help streamline this process by managing your Seller Central operations, allowing you to focus on expanding your sales to new platforms without the administrative overhead.

Benefits of Multi-Channel Selling

Ready to expand your business to people far beyond your neighborhood? Multi-channel selling is your answer. Consider moving your shop online. This will avoid problems with location, too little parking, and unpredictable numbers of people walking by. 

It’s about growing your business by reaching out to customers no matter where they are while keeping costs down.

Find More Customers

Getting more people to see what you’re selling is necessary for growing your business. By reaching a wider audience, you’re bringing in more potential buyers. Why stick to just one way of selling?

When you start selling on big sites like Amazon or Walmart Marketplace, you open your doors to hundreds or even thousands of new people who might want what you’re offering.

Putting your products on various sites means your reach grows instantly. This helps you find more customers quickly. Selling in many places can also show you groups of people you haven’t sold to before, who might want your products. This lets you fine-tune your marketing to attract these new buyers. 

Diversify Your Income

Spreading out your income sources keeps your business safe and can make your sales tactics stronger. It means looking for fresh ways to make money and making the most of those chances.

Selling on various channels lets you create tailored marketing plans for each place you sell, matching what your customers like and need. By reaching new customers, you’re not just counting on the same few people to keep buying. You’re not stuck with one way to make money.

If there’s a problem with one way you sell, having money come in from different places keeps things stable. This way, your business keeps earning, no matter what.

Boost Brand Recognition and Trust

Showing up where your target customers shop makes your brand seem more familiar and trustworthy. In psychology, this is called the mere exposure effect. 

The idea is simple: The more someone sees your brand, the more they get used to it. As they start to recognize and remember your brand, they start to trust it more.

6 Ways to Streamline Multi-Channel Sales

Going multi-channel doesn’t guarantee instant success. Like all parts of your business, you need to think through and manage multi-channel selling carefully. Knowing the main factors that make multi-channel work is key to doing well.

You might want to jump into the biggest sales places immediately, but it’s important to look at your whole business first. Growing too fast or picking a market that doesn’t fit your products can cause problems. Keep reading to find out how to succeed with selling on multiple channels.

Select the Right Channels

The first step is to choose to sell on multiple channels. Next, you need to figure out where to sell. Think about your brand, how your business works, how you handle payments, what you sell, and your aims.

Here are some things to ask yourself:

• What kind of products do you offer?
• Are your prices competitive?
• Are you selling everyday items or high-end goods?
• Do you make your products yourself?
• Are you selling wholesale or directly to customers?
• Do you use drop shipping?
• Do you ship products yourself or use a third party?
• Can your shipping partner handle more orders?
• How much storage do you have?
• Can customers pick up items in a store?
• What payment options do you provide?
• Which selling method brings in the most money?
• What are your profit margins?
• Are your products for a specific niche or everyone?
• Do your products need special care or follow rules?
• Are your items custom-made or handmade?
• How fast do you want to grow?

Answering these questions will help you pick the right places to sell. The best choice depends on how ready your business is in terms of growth, handling orders, and how much you sell.

For instance, Amazon’s Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) service is great for handing off shipping duties and selling more easily on Amazon. They also offer Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF), so you can use Amazon’s shipping for sales from other sites, like your own on Shopify, WooCommerce, or BigCommerce.

Starting with Amazon and then exploring others like Walmart Marketplace, Wish, Rakuten, Etsy (for unique or vintage items), or eBay is a good way to learn and improve on one channel before adding more.

You can also sell through social media, like Facebook and Instagram.

Find the Right Fulfillment Partner(s)

After picking the places where you plan to sell, it’s key to find a fulfillment partner that fits your business needs and supports growth.

Start by knowing what your business needs. Then, look for partners ready to handle the kind of products you sell. Talking about how well they can connect with your tech setup early on can help make your fulfillment process smoother and keep you updated on your operations.

When choosing a fulfillment partner, ensure they offer a complete solution that fits your needs. 

Consider:

• Location: Do they have the right facilities where you sell?
• Stock management: Can they manage your inventory and let you know about stock levels?
• Trustworthiness: Does this partner know how to handle your specific products reliably? Do they have good reviews from others they’ve worked with?
• Tech compatibility: Will their system work with your technology, or will you need to adapt?
• Cost: Is their pricing reasonable for your budget? What does the price cover?
• Managing orders and changes: Can they smoothly handle customer order updates? Do they have a system in place to avoid mistakes and keep communication clear with customers?
• Customer support: Do they offer help and support for your customers?

Carefully Structure Your Logistics Strategy 

When planning your shipping and storage strategy, using a complete view that includes all your sales channels will keep you flexible and efficient.

Depending on where you sell, you can get extra help with shipping and storage for a cost. This frees up time and energy for other parts of your business.

For instance, if you sell on Amazon, you can use Amazon’s own services like FBA or MCF, do some shipping yourself, and use an outside company for some shipping tasks. This mixed approach works well with selling in many places.

Using different ways to fulfill orders and making sure your shipping plan does not miss any orders will keep your customers happy and maintain your good name. Think about which products go through each shipping option (like 3PL, FBA, Walmart’s service, or your own efforts), and always know what you have in stock everywhere (your partners can help with this).

Make Room for Conventional Retail

If you have a store, using your online platforms to talk about your shop can help you stand out from online-only competitors. But, if you don’t have a physical store, there’s no need to worry! You can still enjoy the perks of in-person shopping without the need for a permanent location.

Consider Pop-up Shops

Pop-up shops are a cool way to mix your products with other sellers or places for a special shopping experience.

Say you sell workout gear. You could team up with local gyms for pop-up sales. Talk about these events online, stream them, and use social media like Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok to let people shop from anywhere. This way, they get a taste of being there without actually being there.

If your products are handmade or custom, think about setting up shop at a market that happens regularly, like weekly or monthly. This gives you the feel of a store without the need to run one all the time.

If you already have a store, don’t forget it’s part of selling through multiple channels. Look for ways to share what’s special about your store online. Want to bring online shoppers to your store? Offer discounts that they can only use if they come in, or talk up in-store only sales and events online.

Optimize Your Listings Per Platform

You might think about just copying your product listings across different marketplaces, but that’s not a good idea for selling on multiple channels.

Here’s why:

• Each marketplace has its own way of searching. You need to tweak your listings for each one to help your products show up higher in search results.
• Marketplaces use different tags, so you need to check and fill these outright to make your listings stand out.
• The people shopping in each marketplace can be different. Your listings should talk to them specifically, not just use the same approach everywhere.

It’s better to spend time making your product listings fit each platform. While you can use some of the same info, taking the time to adjust your listings for each marketplace makes them better for searches. This helps your products get noticed more easily. If any trouble occurs, Seller Candy’s team of experts can help ensure your listings are optimized per Amazon’s standards.

Elevate Your Marketing Game

After setting up your sales strategy for different channels, it’s time to get more eyes on your products and fine-tune your marketing for each place you sell. Make sure you really understand your customers so you can give them a shopping experience that feels just right, no matter where they’re buying from.  For instance, if someone bought something from Amazon with Prime delivery, show them more items they can get with Prime and tell them about Amazon-only deals. Every customer, no matter where they buy from, should get a consistent look and feel of your brand in all your marketing materials.

And when it comes to marketing, don’t hesitate to promote across different platforms! Share links to all your selling spots in your email newsletter, talk about them on your social media and make sure your website shows where else people can find your products. This helps bring in and win over customers from everywhere.

Are you tired of getting bogged down by daily Seller Central tasks? With Seller Candy, you can offload the routine of case management, order searches, listing updates and more. We empower you to focus on expanding your business and refining your sales strategies. Why waste time on administrative tasks when you could be scaling up? Let Seller Candy handle the details so you can focus on growth.

Conclusion

Ever thought about selling where your customers already hang out? Multi-channel selling is all about that—bringing your business to various online platforms to boost sales and stay ahead of the competition.

So, how do you choose the right platforms? Start by asking, “What’s unique about my business?” and “Where do my customers like to shop?” Answer these questions to make the journey to expanding your business smoother and more strategic.

Feeling overwhelmed? Feel free to reach out to us at any time. Our seasoned professionals offer a broad range of services and can help refine your processes to propel your business forward. Liberate yourself from the demanding chores and concentrate on what’s really important—expanding your business. Contact us today to discover how we can simplify your operations and help you reach your selling goals!