Introduction to selling your products online

Nick Martin eBusiness Advisor

www.investni.com

Agenda• The Basics• Beginning to Sell Online• Marketplaces• Developing your own eCommerce Website• Understanding Costs and other fundamentals• Multi Channel Software• Measuring eCommerce

Selling Onlinewww.investni.com

What products will sell online?• Generally easier for an established business to go online than starting

from scratch

• Do your research:– Google Shopping– General web research– Marketplaces

• Understand how and where people buy:– Marketplaces– Websites– Phone– Email

Understanding the Online Marketplace

Products CustomersPhone Email

What products will sell online?

• But my products wont sell on . . . . . You should have a good idea if your products will sell before putting them online – but don’t make too many assumptions – test and measure.

• Major factors:– Where products are listed for sale– Price of Product and Shipping cost– Titles, Description and Images– Speed of shipping and dispatch– Responsiveness of customer service– Return policies

What Products Sell Online• Not always obvious what will sell

• Can be tricky to sell online:– Low value big/bulky products– Very high value products

• Few extra challenges for NI Businesses– Shipping costs can be higher– Although labour is generally cheaper

Important Elements of Products

• Product title• Product description• Product Images• Prices • Variations• SKU• Barcode (EANs, UPCs, ISBNs. and ASINs)

Beginning To Sell

• Sell on marketplaces first• eBay is easiest to start selling on• Amazon relatively easy to setup• Good Guides on Marketplaces:

– NI Business Info: https://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/content/selling-through-online-marketplaces

– Tamebay.com

Begin to Sell on Marketplaces

eBay (Usually First)

Amazon (Usually Second)

Then Your Own Website

Beginning to Sell• Online Marketplace Advantages:– Gain experience of product presentation– Customer service experience– Shipping and Fulfilment– Returns and Complaints– Stock Control

• Much more difficult to go directly to selling through your website without selling on marketplaces first.

Marketplace Selling - eBay• Getting Started on eBay:– Don’t assume your products wont sell on eBay– You need to understand how eBay works before

trying to sell on it– eBay is generally slightly easier to start selling– Create an account– Setup PayPal– Buy some products and get positive feedback– Start Selling

Marketplace Selling - eBay• eBay - Tips:– Research competitors– Start with a reasonable number of products– Product Titles are very important– Pricing is crucial– Images need to be really good– You can test the water as a private seller then

upgrade your account to business

Terapeak – Competitor Research

Marketplace Selling - eBay• Factors influencing how listing appear on eBay:– Seller performance (feedback, defects, cases etc)– Product Title– Speed of dispatch (usually under 2 days)– Free Shipping Option– Express 24 Hour Shipping Option– How many items you have sold

Marketplace Selling - eBay• eBay Tips– Consider getting an eBay shop– Upgrade to Selling Manager Pro (Auto Feedback etc)– Regularly refine titles, images and prices– Fill out item specifics– Multiple good quality images are essential– Apply for PayPal fee discount (if T/O over £1,500/mth)– You will need to call eBay to increase the number of

items you can list.

Marketplace Selling – eBay Shops

Marketplace Selling - Amazon• Selling on Amazon UK:– Relatively easy to setup Amazon– More proof required around identity of seller– Products need to have barcode numbers– Products listed in a catalogue rather than

individual listings– Basic and Pro selling accounts available– Amazon processes payment

Marketplace Selling - Amazon• Factors influencing products on Amazon:– Seller performance (speed of dispatch, cases etc)– Price of product– Volume of sales– Amount of available stock– If you are using FBA (Fulfilment by Amazon)– Product titling (if you have control over this),

mostly you are listed against the catalogue.

Marketplace Selling - Amazon• Amazon Selling Tips:– Easier for limited and VAT registered businesses to

register on Amazon– Comply with strict customer service policies– Certain products will sell better on Amazon– If you make/manufacture products, get barcodes

International Marketplace Selling

• Get a good grounding in supplying to UK/Ireland first (Many NI couriers also do ROI next day)

• Relatively easy to open up international selling• eBay - Global Shipping Programme• Amazon – Fulfilment by Amazon• International courier prices

Your Own Website• Do Not Spend Too Much Money on Your first

ecommerce Website (a very common mistake)

• 2 Main Options:– Hosted Platform – Best Option for Most Businesses– Own Platform – Still a Good Option

Your Website• Hosted Platform

– Still can be setup by a web developer– Costs from around £25/month – Wide range of features including limited multichannel, courier

integration– Updates and backups done automatically– Large range of templates to choose from (mobile ready)– Relatively quick and easy to setup– Proven ecommerce model– A great first ecommerce website choice

Your Website• Own Platform– Usually setup by a developer using either an open

source of proprietary system e.g. Magento (developers very rarely write complete systems from scratch)

– Very customisable with almost limitless integration possibilities

– Usually more costly than a hosted solution, typical entry level costs are £3-5K

eCommerce Design & Best Practice

Website Design• Own website tips:– Customers are not impressed with over designed

websites. Stick to the ‘Cookie Cutter’ design– Do not customise too much– Make sure someone is patching, backing up etc– Functionality is important– Who owns the website code if you want to move?– Concentrate on the fundamentals of your

products, price, delivery, customer service etc

General Website Best Practice

• Regardless of hosted or bespoke:– Plan you website on paper first:

• Categories / Sub Categories• Info pages• Take time to learn the system

– Trust signals:• Business name, address, VAT number, policies (Samples on NI

Business Info).• 3rd Party Reviews• You will need an SSL (essential to do Google Advertising)

• Search Facility (that works)

• Keyword Rich Title

• Obvious call to action

• Multiple images

• Obvious delivery costs

• Layered Navigation

• Promises• Reviews

(consider 3rd Party Software)

• Clear images

Mobile / Responsive Design• Test your website on

a mobile device(s)• Make sure everything

works (especially checkout)

• Try the search

Checkout• Do I really have to fill all this out – help!!

Checkout • Simple Checkout• Only ask for the absolute minimum info• PayPal Express Checkout is a good option• No required registration before ordering• Postcode lookup• Visible simple delivery cost (presented early)• Customer phone number for your courier

Search Facility• Do not underestimate the importance of a

good search facility on your website• Try it yourself on your site• Most ecommerce platforms allow for upgrade

Understanding Costs & Calculating Profit

Understand Cost and Profitability

• Important costs:– Cost of your products– Marketing/Sales costs– Fulfilment costs– Packaging– Labour costs– Return costs– Courier damage costs

Understanding Costs• £35 for 36 rolls of Packing Tape

(including free delivery)• eBay– Cost of Acquisition 10% = £3.50– PayPal fee 3% = £1.05– Packing Box = £0.50– Courier Cost = £6.05– Cost of Stock = £17.50– Gross Profit = £6.40 (18% of Sale Price)

Understanding Costs• £36.99 for 6 Rolls of Pallet Wrap

Free Delivery • Sold Through Own Website– Cost of Acquisition 8% = £3.00

(10 Clicks of Google Shopping @ £0.30 each)– PayPal fee 3% = £1.11– Packing Box = £0.50– Courier Cost = £6.05– Cost of Stock = £15– Gross Profit = £11.33 (30% of Sale Price)

Understanding Costs• Start a Product Costing Spreadsheet• Concentrate on the most profitable products• No point in selling products that don’t make

profit

The Fundamentals:

Packing, Couriers, Payments & Customer Service

Packaging• Packaging is a cost to factor into each sale• When starting out it’s possible to buy small

amounts of packing online e.g. Cardboard boxes, packing tape

• Good packaging can save you money – reducing courier damage/resends.

Packaging• Try to predict what you will sell (Size, shape,

weight etc)• Understand what packaging you may need• May be able to get used packaging from other

businesses• Understand the packing requirements of your

courier.

Choosing a Courier• Prepaid/ Pay as You Go Courier Services:

– Sometimes it good to start out using prepaid type couriers e.g. PayPal offers discounted Parcelforce/Royal Mail

• Most courier will want ‘guaranteed’ volumes e.g. 50 parcels per week

• Most will want packages boxed in cardboard• Some will only take certain lengths or volumetric size• They will want to know the typical size & where you

will be sending to (location & home/business) and what you are shipping.

Choosing Courier• Couriers– It’s good to have multiple courier options

(remember City Link)– There are significant variations in price for sending

to certain areas e.g. Channel Islands, Highlands– The best way to judge a courier is by the number

of issues you have e.g. Packages not arriving etc– Larger items can be palletised

Shipping• Shipping can be complex• Make it easy for the customer• Build in shipping to selling price if possible• Average price charged for shipping is £3.99• Price areas such as Highlands, Islands, ROI

Courier Integration• Printing Shipping Labels is a big daily task• Rekeying info takes time• Relatively easy to integrate with couriers• Ask this question to couriers• Partial integration via CSV or full integration

via API • Label printers are a good option, but not

required.

Payments• PayPal is good when starting out • Amazon use their own payment processor• Hundreds of other options available• Understand Payment costs, apply for any

discounts e.g. PayPal

Payments

Example Sage Pay Fees

Example PayPal Fees

Customer Service• High expectation from online customers• Typically looking for under 4 hour response• Amazon expect within 24 hours (including

weekends)• Staff need to be competent with authority to

negotiate prices/bulk discounts

Returns• Returns is a cost of doing business• You need to have a returns policy• 14 Days Cooling Off• Doesn’t apply to all products (e.g. customised)• Who pays for returns? (eBay / Amazon)

• The Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 (combined the law on distance and doorstep selling)

• Consumer Rights Act 2015 (Come into force Oct 2015)

RETURNS

Customer Disputes• Sometimes things go wrong• eBay / Amazon / PayPal Disputes• Remain calm and objective• Most of the time it’s not worth arguing• Think of the bigger picture• Protect your feedback• Resolve issues quickly before the escalate

Hidden Costs• Some Costs to Monitor:– Fraudulent Claims– Couriers loosing/damaging– Currency fluctuations– Consumables – Utility Costs– Labour

Multi Channel

Multi-Channel• What is multi-channel?• Plan for multi-channel from the outset

Multi Channel Software

Orders / Listings/ Shipping / Inventory / Customers

Multi Channel Features• Synchronisation:– Inventory– Order– Product data – Customer details– Integration with accounts– Courier integration

Multi Channel Costs• Multi-Channel software is a requirement for

selling online in volume.• Setup can be quite complex• Costs vary significantly from free (M2E Pro) to

several hundred per month. The average cost is around £60/month for a small company.

Marketing & Measuring

Marketing for eCommerce• Many different ways to market:– Marketplaces – product optimisation– Google product feed (paid search)– Other PPC e.g. Adwords– SEO / Social– Email marketing

Paid Online Search

Measuring eCommerce• Key Metrics for Online Selling – Try to drive up average order value– Look at how to improve conversion rates– Control CPA – cost per acquisition– Monitor fees and charges– Best measure of success = profit

Increase Order Value

Improve Conversion Control Costs

Turnover – Costs = PROFIT

Measuring eCommerce• Main ways to measure:– Google Analytics (Don’t forget to link Adwords)– Marketplace Sales Reports– Shopping Cart Sales Reports– Payment processor reports (e.g. PayPal, Amazon)– Data from your accounts package e.g. Sage

Measuring eCommerce

Measuring eCommerce - Email

Measuring eCommerce• eBay / Amazon provide data on product views,

watchers of products (eBay) and sales.• Check competitors and amend products

regularly – always looking for the ‘perfect product’

• Google Analytics for website products, email campaigns etc

Summary• Sell the products your customers want• Sell first through marketplaces• Learn the fundamentals (there’s a lot to learn)• Work from a solid technology platform• Don’t spend overspend building your website• Spend time on your products• Measure, adjust and re-measure - continuously• Understand the financials• Always look for other opportunities• Enjoy the challenge!

Questions