The online marketplace is seen as a great place to promote your business on the internet and increase your customer base. But one thing that most people are not aware of is that online marketplaces affect your business negatively in the long run. It slowly takes away your brand’s individuality and doesn’t let it grow to the heights you want.
The popularity of Online Marketplaces
A lot of popular brands we know today started their businesses by selling their products on popular marketplaces. Online marketplaces like Amazon and eBay are globally known names and provide an excellent customer base to all these brands by introducing them to many potential customers. They help these brands understand the world of e-commerce. And this is not uncommon for the brands to become successful by selling their products on these online marketplaces only.
But when we look at the overall scenario, online marketplaces are not ideal for every brand. Instead, it hurts the brand name. But since the online marketplace benefits are so evident, people tend to look over the trap that this place is. Many causes for a business should leave an online marketplace and create its online store to build its brand.
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Make an identity for your brand
Undoubtedly online marketplaces have a considerable consumer base. So, you will build yourself a niche when you join an online marketplace and start making profits pretty soon. Since these marketplaces are known brands, people trust their name and trust any product displayed in these marketplaces. So, your brand will catch people’s attention, and you will attract some traffic when you market your products on these platforms. So, for business owners, it is common to assume that these marketplaces have the potential to earn them profits that their online store could have ever earned.
But with all these benefits, the question you need to ask yourself is, even if you are making profits, are you making your brand known among your customers? When people shop from online marketplaces, they generally do not bother remembering the brand they shopped from. They recognize they placed an order on, say Amazon, and received a product they loved. So in simple words, your product is not earning you any goodwill among your customers. It is doing so for the online marketplace instead.
So having your online store relieves you from this restriction. You will have the freedom to make your content and set yourself apart from your competitors. When you have your online store, every sale you make earns you financial profits and helps you build your brand name. It helps establish a bond of trust between your brand and the customer, and this way, your brand grows instead of making an already well-established online marketplace more successful.
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Make your own decisions
When you are selling your products on an online marketplace, many of your decisions are controlled or at least greatly influenced by such a platform. Every online marketplace has its own set of policies and rules, and to continue selling your products there, you will have to abide by them. One such approach is that all online marketplaces charge a subscription fee from all the business owners who market their products on their platform. This fee can also be in the form of a commission set at a certain percentage of the total sale they make on their platform. The higher this fee, the better will be the benefits you receive from the online marketplace.
Although availing of these benefits is optional, you will soon find yourself where your competitor’s products receive better listings than your product simply because they pay a higher fee. This shows the true nature of these online marketplaces. In a situation like this, it is evident that while your brand will struggle to find its place on such a platform, it will be the online marketplace that is earning all the profits from every such struggling brand.
Thus, in such a situation, you are better off investing an equal amount of money, if not less, to developing your marketplace rather than getting lost in this rat race of getting your brand known to an online market. This way, you will earn better returns by investing less.
Earn the rewards you deserve
It is now evident that the online marketplace is a profit-sucking mechanism. They create an illusion of earning profits and a reputation for your brand while it is they who are earning all the actual financial gains and goodwill. All these online marketplaces continually advertise various offers and discounts to increase your sale, but never really mention your brand’s name in any of these promotions. This is because their only concern is increasing their sales. They are not concerned about which brand earns them those sales. As long as more and more products are being sold from their website, they do not consider your brand’s condition.
This is another reason why your brand should have its online store. This way, all the sales you make are centered on building your brand only. In another way, you can earn rewards for your hard work yourself without directing it to some other online marketplace, which is not even bothered about your brand’s growth.
Conclusion
The online marketplace can be ample space to kick-start your business by providing it with the customer base it needs initially. But staying in this marketplace affects your brand negatively rather than earning you profits. So, to help your business grow in the long run and make the name it deserves, you should consider investing your resources in an online store rather than an online marketplace.
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