So, you’re a small business. You have a great product and happy customers, and you’re eager to scale.
There are plenty of sales channels out there to help you grow. When you’re evaluating a new sales channel, ask yourself a few questions to determine if it’s the right fit for your business:
- Are you able to reach your target customer?
- Who is responsible for payment processing? What happens if a customer defaults?
- Does the time and cost of managing the channel make sense for your team?
- How challenging is order fulfilment and shipping?
- Does the channel fit the needs of your existing business?
Online marketplaces are a great way to reach new customers – and many marketplaces offer tools to help you simplify your business. Here are a few things you can accomplish with the right marketplace.
Reach as many independent buyers as possible in one place
When your business model relies on connecting with buyers, it’s essential to find the easiest ways to forge those connections. Independent retailers can be difficult to reach, but collectively make up one of the largest B2B sales channels available. That’s why joining a marketplace can be so valuable – it gives you access to a network of buyers so you can expand your customer base.
On Faire, for instance, there are over 500,000 potential buyers in markets across the world. There’s vast potential to reach new buyers and make your mark internationally.
Guarantee payment and reduce risk
Getting paid on time is essential to keeping your business running, and a marketplace that manages payment collection can help. This means you don’t have to manually process each individual payment. Your payments are guaranteed – even if a customer defaults – your cash flow is always predictable.
At Faire, we handle all credit card and payment processing, so you get paid on time, every time. Plus, Faire doesn’t have an upfront fee or contract, which means there’s no risk to test the channel.
Save time and, in turn, money
The right marketplace should also help you reduce overhead costs and time. The best platforms offer features that simplify everyday tasks, leading to lower staffing or software costs. For example, when a marketplace takes care of payment processing, it saves you time chasing down invoices from buyers.
Built-in marketing and customer communication tools offer additional ways to save time. The best marketplaces make it easy to communicate with potential and existing customers through email marketing, automated restock reminders and order notifications.
At Faire, we make it easy to engage with buyers through our suite of marketing tools. Plus, serving your existing customers is seamless – we don’t even charge commission on orders from your existing customers.
Simplify international shipping
Shipping internationally can be complicated, particularly for UK-based brands since Brexit. The right platform should help you with the heavy lifting when it comes to international shipping – meaning you don’t need to spend your time filling out forms, sorting out duties or worrying about shipping logistics (and can instead focus on growing your business, developing new products and finding new customers).
At Faire, we make it easy for sellers to ensure their products make it through customs by providing accurate shipping labels and commercial invoice paperwork. Further, brands like you are never required to pay for shipping and import fees.
Control when, where and how you sell
As a small business owner, business growth is a consistent challenge. Succeeding requires the flexibility to sell in a way that fits the needs of your business. That flexibility could include integrating other sales channels, easily updating your catalogue, choosing the regions where you sell, pausing your shop or selecting what types of retailers can buy your products. At Faire, we’re happy to offer all of these choices to our brands.
Plus, since Faire doesn’t require a contract, we won’t require exclusivity from you, either.
Unlock business growth with the right platform
At Faire, we want the best for independent businesses. That’s why we make it as easy as possible for you to do business with retailers around the world. Learn all about selling on Faire here.