When deciding where to sell products online, many merchants choose between selling on a marketplace and creating their own website. While each option has its own set of pros and cons – and there is no one-size-fits-all solution that works perfectly for everyone – we believe businesses that are truly serious about e-commerce should have their own website.If you want to be around for a long time, you will need loyal customers and having your personalised website is your best option.

1. Build a customer email list and market directly to them

One of the most important aspects of having your own website is that you can market directly to website visitors and customers. Unlike marketplaces, where people who buy your product are the customers of the marketplace, selling directly to consumers on your website means you get to collect their contact information. When you have your customers’ email addresses, you can send them email marketing promotions, offer discounts, and announce new products. Getting repeat buyers is much more difficult on a marketplace, because you don’t have direct access to your customers. This gives you fewer opportunities to provide good customer service and promote your other products. Since it’s easier and cheaper to retain a customer than it is to get a new one, communicating with existing customers is a necessary part of generating revenue for your business.Not only do you know who has bought from you in the past, but you also know what they bought, how much they spent, and what they are interested in. You can use this information to influence and suggest future purchases.

2. Establish and strengthen your brand

When you sell your products on a marketplace, they are listed in a generic way. From character limits or word count restrictions to logo usage, there is little to no room for customization or branding. In fact, it is the marketplace’s brand that is in the forefront – not yours. This makes it nearly impossible to build brand awareness and recognition.Most of the time, visitors and customers assume your product belongs to the marketplace without realizing you even exist. In other words, those who purchase your product will remember the marketplace instead of you.Your goal should be for consumers to associate your product with your brand and think of your brand when they think of that category. When you run your own website, you get to maintain full control, including the way it looks, what it says, and how it works.

3. Learn more about your audience

Having your own ecommerce website helps you better understand your customers. This includes demographics such as their location, as well as how they found your website and heard about you. You can analyze their behavior on your website, like what they looked at and the path they took to buy from you.

4. It’s never been easier with plug-and-play ecommerce platforms

With the rise of out-of-the-box ecommerce platforms like FinRik Shop, Shopify, Magento, Squarespace, and WooCommerce, creating a website can be a pretty straightforward and fast process. with store builder plugins that make running your small business easier than ever before. You can enter your details, choose from free or cheap templates, and create the shopping experience you want for your customers in real-time with site builders that allow you to drag-and-drop ecommerce store features to your preference.

5. Run creative marketing campaigns

Just because you have your own website doesn’t mean customers will automatically come flocking to you. Once you have a store, you will have to work to get shoppers there. The first step to acquiring customers is to drive traffic to your site through a mix of SEO strategies and a strong online presence on social media. It’s not always easy to set up the right campaigns; however, you have a lot more flexibility with the ways you can get people to find and buy from you.