Selling your products using massive retail online platforms like Amazon is convenient. Internal marketing becomes less important because your projects are exposed to the world through the platform. However, these benefits come at a cost, particularly when using them as your sole online merchandising strategy. There is an additional risk of your merchandise becoming lost amongst the millions and millions of products available through mega-platforms.

Here are seven benefits of undertaking online merchandising individually:

Exclusivity

If you intend to create custom merchandise, how you sell it says much about you and your brand. While there is nothing wrong with loading your merch on a sales platform, creating an exclusive online store could get you many more sales. You have much more control over how the merchandise is presented and described in your store’s listing. You just need to hire a good service like SPOD, Printify, Apliiq Dropship, Teelaunch, CustomCat, etc to place your order and keep focusing on giving the best to your customers.

Generating merch sales is about giving customers a chance to be part of a brand. Doing so in an exclusive store that corresponds with your brand’s aesthetic will make them sit up and take notice. You can also add new products to your merch range without too much fuss, responding to changing trends.

 

Customer Relations

When thinking about customer relations, the first thought that crosses your mind is probably complaints and queries. While this may be a large part of client service, it is not the only thing it involves. Creating direct contact with clients through an online merch shop makes them feel valued, which will lead to repeat sales.

Besides, if your merch lives up to what you promise and shipping and fulfillment take place as scheduled, you should not deal with too many complaints. Instead, you can follow up with clients and get valuable feedback to improve your merch.

Before you set up your eCommerce business, learn more about order fulfillment and how it contributes to your bottom line.

Profitability

Selling goods on other platforms has its price, which is forking over a percentage of each sale to them. Cutting this middleman out of the equation makes sense as all proceeds of each sale go to you.

Undoubtedly, there are additional costs involved in running a custom merch store, such as maintaining the website’s functionality. However, online merchandising can yield greater profits than relying on sales platforms.

Intellectual Property

If you are worried about copycat companies and products, having a separate online store could allay such fears. Many sellers steal ideas from what they see online and could soon be offering merch in your name that is not yours. If the quality is poor, it could ruin a brand’s reputation.

Having an online merch store under your brand’s umbrella prevents the risk of such incidents. They can be time-consuming and challenging to resolve, and steering clear of large platforms could ensure it never happens. However, it’s still important to protect your brand and its intellectual property, and seeking the help of an intellectual property attorney can be a valuable investment for any merchandising store owner

Customer Loyalty

To create brand sustainability, you need to build quality relationships with clients and gain their loyalty. This means that they will choose your goods over another company. Creating client loyalty requires staying true to the brand and its principles and creating a connection with clients.

It takes a lot of effort, but you will reap the rewards in the long term. Cordial relations and effective dispute resolution are vital for building a loyal customer base who keep buying your merch while you focus on finding new clients.

Control

Surrendering any aspect of your merch sales to a third party means handing some control of it over to someone else. Despite their best intentions, third parties can do reputational damage you might find impossible to rehabilitate.

When you run the show, you have complete autonomy over every decision, such as marketing, promotions, and shipping and fulfillment strategies. This ensures that these functions are performed as you want them to be. While this approach might require additional effort on your part, it is worth the work. If necessary, you can hire employees, train them on how you want your store run and let them pick up the slack, and keep your operations going.

Marketing

You choose how to market your merchandise when you run a store separate from online retail platforms. This means devising promotions and campaigns to generate additional sales and create new revenue streams.

Use your social media presence and website to market your merch and encourage customers to buy products from the site. Always ensure that buying is as simple as possible, with only a few clicks from purchase to payment.

SHARE THIS POST