In the Philippines, online marketplaces like Shopee, Lazada, and Facebook Marketplace have become massively popular platforms for both established businesses and new entrepreneurs. The appeal of these marketplaces is simple. All one has to do to sell a product to potentially millions of users is to fill out some online forms, upload a few photos, and wait for the platform’s system to approve the listing.
Given how simple using online marketplaces can be, many new online sellers are now running their businesses exclusively from these platforms—sometimes with respectable success. However, selling exclusively on online marketplaces can impose serious limitations on businesses that keep them from their full potential.
Indeed, the benefits of online marketplaces are undeniable but having your own website as a sales channel offers many serious long-term advantages for your business. Here are several reasons why you should be maintaining your own e-commerce site, even as you explore the potential of third-party marketplaces:
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Brand Control
As a practical matter, your brand’s strengths get significantly diluted when it appears alongside its competitors on online marketplaces. Though there is some room to customize your online store and product photos, it’s the marketplace’s brand that goes to the front of a customer’s mind.
On the other hand, you have full control over your brand’s presentation when you have your own e-commerce site. You can customize the look and feel of your website to reflect your brand’s identity, and even offer a localized payment gateway Philippines-based buyers trust to deliver a superior experience that keeps your customers loyal.
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Enhanced SEO and Online Visibility
Google and other traditional search engines are still highly valued as a way for potential customers to learn about products they are interested in. With your own e-commerce site, you can better leverage search engine optimization (SEO) to drive organic traffic to your site using an SEO crawler tool, building a stronger level of product awareness and brand loyalty than would be impossible—or at the very least difficult to achieve—on a typical online marketplace.
The great thing about an SEO strategy is that it tends to effectively synergize with other marketing campaigns, including those focused on third-party marketplaces. Having an e-commerce website specific to your business can make it easier for customers to trust your brand when they see it on other platforms, removing doubt and encouraging repeat sales.
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Better Profit Margins
Selling on online marketplaces typically involves paying listing, transaction, and referral fees, among other charges. Though individually small, these costs can add up to significantly reduce your profit margins. Selling on your own e-commerce site lets you keep a larger share of your revenue, giving you potentially higher profits and more funds to further develop your business.
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Flexible Pricing and Promotions
Some of the more popular online marketplaces may compel you to offer promotions and price cuts, often at arbitrary times. Moreover, these platforms are often motivated to draw customers in through low prices, which may not always fit with your long-term business goals. With your own e-commerce site, you have the flexibility to set whatever promotions or pricing you want whenever you see fit.
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Greater Control Over Inventory and Shipping
Managing inventory and shipping processes directly through your e-commerce site provides potentially greater control and cost-efficiency than third-party marketplaces. You can implement your own inventory management systems, choose preferred shipping carriers, and even offer much-appreciated delivery options such as cashless-on-delivery.
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Fewer Risks from Marketplace Policy Changes
Online marketplaces frequently update their policies and guidelines, usually prioritizing the needs of their platforms over those of their merchants. At times, these changes may impact your business operations in the form of increasing fees or restricting strategies that you may have relied on to draw sales. Owning your e-commerce site means that you are not completely subject to these external policy changes, giving you more control over your business’s direction.
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Customer Data Ownership
Owning an e-commerce site enables direct access to customer data that you can use to develop better products and more targeted marketing campaigns. In comparison, most online marketplaces severely limit the data that’s available to you. This makes it much more difficult to run data-driven campaigns to effectively engage with your core customers.
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Scalability and Growth Potential
Customers cannot be as loyal to your brand if they can only interact with it through another party. An e-commerce site provides your business with the direct customer contact it needs to fully maximize its growth potential.
What’s more, through your own site, you can expand your product range, enter new markets, and integrate with various third-party tools without any issues. This level of scalability is often intentionally limited on online marketplaces through platform rules and competition.
The Power of In-Housing E-Commerce Platform
Though online marketplaces provide a convenient entry point for new e-commerce entrepreneurs, maintaining your own e-commerce site offers numerous benefits that will secure consistent profitability and growth. Investing in your own platform lets you create a tailored, branded experience for your customers that builds more fruitful relationships outside of the price-oriented “walled garden” offered by online marketplaces. Even if you do rely on online marketplaces for most of your sales today, your full potential can only be achieved if you have the finer control available through your own e-commerce site.