In my last column, I posed the question “are you in business to make a living, or is this just a hobby?” In response to my point about the opportunities retail stores lose by keeping limited hours, I received several comments about how difficult it is for sole proprietors to be open as often as they’d like.
While I agree that it is difficult, my next question would be: If your brick and mortar store can’t stay open extended hours, shouldn’t you have an online store that can? If you don’t, you’re missing the boat.
As a marketing professional with experience helping retailers develop full-blown online stores, I understand the expense can often outweigh the perceived benefit for small retailers. But did you know there is an affordable and easy-to-use option available to you right now? It’s called an eBay store.
Originally designed as a portal for individuals to sell and purchase miscellaneous items through online auctions, eBay has evolved into much more. Today, many retailers are setting up shop using the eBay marketing machine to reach more customers, move inventory and be available 24/7.
Recent eBay reports show store sellers see an average sales increase of 25 percent within three months of opening their online store. That’s not surprising when you consider that an eBay store exposes your business to hundreds, if not thousands, of potential new customers. And these eBay businesses can cultivate online customers into loyal buyers through excellent customer service and a designation as a “Favorite Store.”
Even if you already have a Web site, don’t discount doubling up with an eBay store. Through a unique URL, your eBay store can stand alone or serve as a secondary location that spans across the world. If search engines don’t link to your original Web site, or a potential customer types in the wrong search word, you’ve got a safety net through eBay.
An eBay store can also extend your brand through customization opportunities. You can incorporate your logo, colors, product images, etc., just like you would any Web site.
And it’s not hard to do. If you enjoy digging in and making things happen yourself, you can take advantage of online templates and eBay’s Business Resource Center. If you want to hand it off to a marketing professional to design and implement, it is still more affordable than even the simplest custom retail Web site
As a previous owner of several retail stores in the South, I believe the best feature of an eBay store is the opportunity to move inventory that has sat for too long. If you’ve been in business even a short time, you know the importance of turning inventory quickly. With an eBay store, you can create up to 20 custom categories within your store to merchandise your listings (products) effectively to potential customers. Using exclusive promotional features, like the eBay’s Cross-Promotion tool, you can control which items are cross-promoted to your buyers. With the eBay “Email Marketing Tool,” you can also build a customer list that is notified when new items are added.
Good reporting and tracking is another plus. Free monthly sales reports are available to all store sellers, and becoming a “Featured” or “Anchor” store will give you overall marketplace data to benchmark your sales against other eBay sellers. And you can export data about eBay and PayPal into your QuickBooks utilizing eBay’s Accounting Assistant.
So, yes, sometimes staying open extended hours is challenging for sole proprietors and small retailers, but think about this: eBay lets you serve customers even when closed.
Susan Burnash owns Purple Duck Marketing in Kirkland. Her company focuses on marketing, public relations and video production for businesses and nonprofits. Contact her at (425) 896-8959 or susan@purpleduckmarketing.com.
