You’ve probably heard the phrase "one-stop shop" before, right? It’s the idea that consumers prefer to make a single "stop" for the majority of their purchases and buy what they need from one store or location.
Think about your own shopping habits for a moment. Remember the last time you had to spend a day on the weekend doing a lot of tedious little errands? Is there anything more annoying than giving up a day off to drive around making $20 returns, picking up dry cleaning, filling the gas tank, going to the hardware store for one nail, picking up the potatoes for tonight’s dinner you forgot to get earlier, and so on?
It feels inefficient and pointlessly spread out, which is why so many people love big box stores that take up four city blocks — they’re only getting in and out of their car one time to get all of these things done.
Now consider how businesses approach selling their software as a service: often only one service per company, so the customer has to type in a URL, login and password each time they want to get one thing done.
Sound familiar? It doesn’t have to be this way.
As a company providing marketing services, you know your customers love it when you can stretch their dollar so they get more for less. And with the growing popularity of ecommerce that was supercharged by the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s clear that many of your customers are looking for ecommerce solutions alongside marketing services.
So let’s look at four reasons why marketing agencies should sell ecommerce, too.
1. Customer convenience is king
As we discussed above, many shoppers often prize convenience above most other things when they’re considering making a purchase. So if it’s easier for them to go with one product over another — clearer return policy, closer to where they live, faster online support services, etc. — then they’ll likely go with that product.
The same is true for your business customers. Given the choice, most companies would prefer to have one business relationship (and one set of logins!) that covers several features or services the company needs, rather than one partnership per service. Aside from being cheaper and safer, purchasing more services out of a single provider is simply more convenient for most companies.
So why wouldn’t they want to buy ecommerce from a partner whose marketing services they know and trust?
2. New revenue for you now…
"Don’t put all your eggs in one basket!" Have you heard this expression before? It basically means that you shouldn’t put all of your hopes (and finances) into a single business idea or investment — otherwise the basket could break, your investment falls apart, and you’re left with nothing. So to protect your investment, you have to embrace many stockbrokers’ favorite word: diversify.
A great way to protect your business is to diversify your income streams. For marketing companies, an easy way to do this is to sell ecommerce in addition to (and in the case of bundling, with) your core marketing services. Adding this new service line instantly gives you another revenue stream that doesn’t have to be tied to or dependent on your other business services.
And best of all? Depending on your ecommerce partner, you could start earning revenue as soon as your customers start setting up their online stores and for as long as their stores remain active.
3. …and more revenue later, too
Building trust with your customers is no small feat. It takes time, hard work, and strong communication skills. But once you’ve earned your customers’ trust, they’ll be much more likely to be interested in any products or services you may consider offering in the future.
With the addition of ecommerce to your service portfolio, you’ll have a new offering that you can cross-sell to your current marketing services customers who already know and trust your business — and will be much more interested in purchasing your new service than a random website visitor.
And depending on the services and pricing models that you offer, you can potentially upsell lower package tier members to your higher-grade services in the future, bringing in even more revenue for your business.
4. Encourage customers to "stick" around
Remember the last time you had to change something about your mobile phone? Whether it was swapping it out for a newer model or switching your service carrier, did you find yourself putting off doing it for a little while because of how time-consuming, disorienting, and frustrating the process can be?
And that’s just your personal phone! Now imagine having to do something similar with your business — daunting, no? But that’s the prospect your customers will face if they consider switching to one of your competitors. They know what to expect from you and have liked the services you’ve delivered in the past, but maybe attractive competitor pricing has them looking elsewhere in the industry.
So imagine if your customers purchase two or three of your services instead of just one. They’d be uprooting several parts of their business and committing to a lot of time, money and efficiency lost as they learn their new business partner’s website, services, and so on. And that’s the beauty of adding new offerings to your service suite: they make your business that much stickier, or harder to leave, for your customers.
Is ecommerce right for your customers?
Now, maybe some of your customers aren’t selling physical products right now, so you aren’t sure if ecommerce is a good fit. And adding a new product line or way of doing business can seem intimidating to some merchants, too.
But that’s the beauty of ecommerce! With a little creativity, anyone can sell anything online! So check out a few ideas of how your customers can sell online to increase their (and your) revenue:
- 18 Digital Product Ideas For Almost Every Small Business
- 10 Subscription Business Ideas for 2022
- 10 Inexpensive Beginner-Friendly Business Ideas to Make Money Online
- How to Start a Profitable Dropshipping Business in 2022
Hopefully this post has been helpful for you and your business, but we love to hear from our community! Has your business ever partnered with other businesses and added new services to diversify its revenue streams? And what other services are your customers asking you to start offering?
Good luck!
The post Why You Should Be Selling Ecommerce Alongside Your Marketing Services first appeared on Ecwid | E-Commerce Shopping Cart.
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colin, Khareem Sudlow
