There comes a time in every Amazon store owner’s journey, where they may consider taking their eCommerce venture to the next level with their own eCommerce website. There are many reasons for taking your Amazon store from being dependant on Amazon alone, to owning and running your own eCommerce site and system.
In this blog, we are going to explore the difference advantages to taking this next step in your business. From why you might want to consider it, to exactly how to make the transition, and which is the best eCommerce platform is the best to use to do so.
Quick Links
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- Why should you move from Amazon to an eCommerce Website?
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- How do I make the switch from Amazon to my own eCommerce website?
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- What Platform should you use when creating an eCommerce Website?
Why should you move from Amazon to an eCommerce Website?
1. Own your customer
The first, and perhaps one of the most important reasons you may want to consider making this change, is the ability to own your customer. When selling through Amazon you never have full access to your customer data, Amazon does. This means you cannot contact the customer with further offers or send them any marketing directly from your brand. Amazon may send the customer recommendations based on their purchases, but there’s no guarantee they will be sharing links to your listings. And, if your orders are Fulfilled by Amazon, you have no control over the communications that are sent out to your customers with each order.
When customers purchase from your website, you have access to valuable customer data. This includes their contact information, purchase history, and browsing behaviour. This data can be used to personalize marketing efforts, build customer loyalty, remarket, and refine your product offerings.
2. Business Control
When selling solely through a third-party site such as Amazon, you have limited control of your business because you are completely reliant on that platform and its processes. This includes any changes they may make to how the platform runs. This is a particularly volatile place to be. Especially regarding things such as the site’s ranking system (how it ranks some products against others), the amount of competition allowed on the site, and the cost of commissions paid towards the web giant. Amazon also owns the right to remove your account at any time for breaking their guidelines, putting you at risk of losing everything you have built on your account if you can’t manage to get it back.
3. Brand Control
When you sell on your own website, you have complete control over your brand’s identity and presentation. You can customize your website’s design, content, and user experience to reflect your brand’s unique personality. On Amazon, your products are listed alongside other sellers, making it harder to differentiate your brand.
4. Increased marketing efforts
When selling purely through Amazon, your marketing efforts are limited. You may opt to invest in on-platform ads to get your products seen before other competitors however this is both quite pricey, and at the end of the day, a numbers game. When you pay for advertisements, you’re still competing with other competitors. If they’re paying more than you, their products will be seen above yours.
When you own your own site – your options for targeted marketing become drastically more affordable. Through email marketing you can talk to your audience directly on a regular basis, offering them products and deals that work for them, for a fraction of a price. Email is also a far more direct and higher converting way to target your audience too – email marketing revenue is estimated to reach almost $11bn by the end of 2023. We’ve seen excellent results running email marketing campaigns for our customers this year. You can also retarget website visitors and customers via social media advertising, showing them relevant product listings that encourage them to re-visit your website and make a purchase.
5. More Profit
When you start up your own eCommerce website, you may endure some upfront costs – and yes, there will still be some monthly outgoings. However, the profit you can realistically make on your product sales can increase wildly. Why? Because the ever-increasing cost of Amazon commissions will be diminished. Allowing space for more money to flow your way.
6. Long Term Investment
Building your own website is an investment in your business’s long-term future. It can be an asset that grows in value over time, while selling exclusively on Amazon means you’re primarily building Amazon’s value.
7.Customisation and Features
When you own your own eCommerce website, you have the ability to customise your site with specific features such as subscription models, product configurators, and loyalty programs. All these features, which may not be available on Amazon – can help to bring your customers closer to your brand, increasing customer lifetime value and loyalty.
How do I make the switch from Amazon to my own eCommerce website?
Now down to the meat and bones. You’ve learnt about taking your Amazon store to the next level with eCommerce, and you’ve weighed out the pros and cons. Now you want to know, what exactly are the next steps you need to take when it comes to making the switch to building your own eCommerce website.
If you haven’t already, one of the first steps you should take on this journey is to secure a relevant domain name. If your ideal website domain is already taken (i.e. [brandname].com) – then maybe think about choosing a URL with a different domain extension (i.e., .co.uk, .org or .net instead of .com) – or slightly adapting the main domain name (i.e. [brandname]store.com, [brandname]official.com [brandname]uk.com).
Once you’ve secured your preferred domain name, you’ll need to decide which eCommerce platform would be best for you to run your site on. Choosing the right eCommerce CMS can be overwhelming, and difficult to decide. An eCommerce expert or Agency can help to give you impartial professional advice. Deciding on the right eCommerce platform isn’t just about aesthetics and functionality; it’s also about ensuring a smooth migration process. This not only includes the technicalities of shifting products but also strategic moves to maintain a good standing with Amazon’s policies. After all, the last thing any seller wants, even when investing in their own website, is to be barred from such a massive marketplace.
Another essential step is choosing the right product catalogue for your new store. It might be tempting to migrate your entire product over, but this might not be the most strategic move. Consider segmenting your products. Perhaps some have mass market appeal on Amazon, while others, such as more premium or niche items which might be better suited for a standalone site. If your product catalogue is extensive, you may even benefit from creating multiple brands with different offerings that you run from the same Magento multistore platform – if you’d like more information on this, ask our team today.
What Platform should you use when creating an eCommerce Website?
Choosing the right platform to run your eCommerce website on can be confusing. We’ve tried and tested three of the top eCommerce platforms; WooCommerce, Shopify, and Magento. And it’s safe to say that there’s no one overarching ‘best’ eCommerce platform out there. It all really depends on your business’s unique needs.
We wrote an entire blog comparing all three and their features. If you want to read more about the differences between these three platforms, check out our complete blog on it here.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are many different advantages that come with making the move from Amazon to your own site. If you want to gain the competitive edge over other Amazon sellers in your sector, then you may want to think about doing it sooner rather than later. We’re here to answer any questions you have and help you make that leap into running a successful eCommerce store of your own. Get in touch with us today to get started.
