Building your Brand on eBay

11/10/2016

Building your Brand on eBay

In the world of e-commerce and online sales, branding plays a vital role. Consumers increasingly are looking to buy more than just a product. They want to know about a company, buy from people who see the world in a similar way to them, and a lot of this can be communicated through branding online.

Online branding is much more than just a company name and logo. It is about creating a business identity – your story, your ethics, how your product is made, your professionalism, and it is important that you exude these traits in everything that you do.

It is important to show consistency across your company name, logo, website and other online platforms that you use to maintain a sense of professionalism, as well as offline in things such as packaging.

eBay
For those who don`t know, eBay is an online marketplace and an excellent option for businesses to sell their products. One potential obstacle with online marketplaces, however is how to show your brand presence on eBay.

As a business you can advertise your products, and then consumers can buy them through the channel of eBay, with you then sending the product to the buyer.

So good branding is essential, and fortunately, branding on eBay can be a lot easier than you might think.

Building a Brand on eBay
The first and most important thing that you should do when trying to build your business on eBay, is to create a shop window. This works in exactly the same way as an offline shop window, giving you the chance to show off your products and your business identity.

By having an eBay shop, you will get your own unique URL, custom categories, discounted fees and a number of options to be able to build your brand on eBay.

Normally when you sell a product on eBay you cannot send a direct message to your customers because of privacy laws. However, when you work with an eBay shop, you are able to send customised emails which can boost your brand awareness. You can set up automated emails when someone buys something or a delivery is dispatched, highlighting your branding, telling them news about new product lines or offering subscriptions to eBay newsletters, for example.

Another benefit of having an eBay shop is that you have the option to customise how your products are organised and listed, giving you the flexibility to display your items in the best way for your brand and your customers.

You can also use the RSS feed to advise online shopping sites or search engines when you have new products.

Your Identity on eBay
It is important to create the right brand identity when you are interacting with people and customers, and this is done through your eBay branding and behaviour. You should use only your own product images, and try to make everything that appears there to be of the highest quality possible.

When you are communicating with customers of potential customers try to stay loyal to your branding. Respond to messages quickly and professionally, in line with your business`s market place branding, and try to use these exchanges to put across your brand identity.

EBay`s Top Rated Seller scheme rewards sellers who consistently provide a good customer service. Some of the benefits include the discounts that are needed to offer a 30 day returns policy, increased visibility and different delivery options.

Reviews
There is no better way to win the business of someone than through a recommendation. Customers trust a lot more, recommendations from friends, family, or even someone they don`t know, than a business sales pitch. And this is why, in terms of eBay marketing, reviews are so important.

With the rise in social media, word of mouth and reviews are becoming increasingly powerful in securing sales, so you need to be able to both encourage reviews and maximise their effect.

To be able to get your reviews linked to your products you need to add `product identifiers`.

Sending your Product
The whole process doesn`t just stop at when you are sending out the product which has been bought. Make sure that your packaging is of the right quality to match your branding, and you can also use this delivery to further push your brand.

It is widely accepted that across most industries, it is much easier, cheaper and more desirable – to get customers repeatedly coming back to you than to keep having to find new ones. So make sure that you treat them well and push your brand until the very end – and beyond!

Getting People to your Shop
In addition to the normal channels of getting traffic to your shop, you can also add links from your website, social media or through search engines. Another good way of getting people into your shop is through the writing of guides on eBay. You should make sure that it is informative, accurate and interesting and relevant to the products which you are selling on eBay. These guides also give you an opportunity to boost your branding through images, language used and the actual content.

EBay, just as your specific website and social media is another opportunity for businesses to show who they are as a brand. By setting up your shop properly you can ensure that your customers and potential customers are aware of who you are, what you stand for, and ultimately feel that they trust you and your business enough to want to buy from you.

By emitting a strong brand identity, using eBay shop, you can leave people without a doubt that they will want to become one of your treasured customers.

If you have any questions about how to use eBay for your business, branding on eBay and integrating it within your other online activities or need help with your business`s web design and digital marketing, get in touch with Studioworx either via email ([email protected]), telephone +44 (0)1603 274285 or the website (https://www.studioworx.co.uk).