West Coast Fulfillment Warehouse Archives - Page 9 of 9

April 1, 2020April 1, 2020

Beyond Amazon, the Power of E-commerce Marketplace Diversification

Plenty of businesses use Amazon as their primary online marketplace. But many observe the old adage and don’t put all of their eggs in one basket. Diversification is a successful e-commerce strategy that allows your business to reach more customers in more places.

Our clients use a variety of marketplaces to expand their businesses. These are some of our favorites. Medallion and Sprocket Express integrate with all of these markets quickly and efficiently so that you can ship all of your orders using one easy fulfillment interface.

eBay

This year marks eBay’s 25th anniversary as an online marketplace. It was one of the first and continues to function as a major selling platform. Although Amazon has risen to number one with roughly three times the annual gross merchandise volume (GMV), eBay is still the second leading marketplace in the U.S.

Similar to Amazon, an e-commerce eBay “shop” allows retailers a single branded storefront for all of their listings. Whether used in conjunction with a brand website or as the primary online presence, the eBay shop is a powerful selling tool.

Medallion and Sprocket are fluent in multiple e-commerce marketplaces and already integrates with eBay for a seamless experience, allowing multi-channel merchants to focus on their products and leave the marketplace protocols to us.

Walmart.com

Walmart is the third largest e-commerce marketplace in the United States and represents serious competition to Amazon. Approximately 95% of Americans have shopped at Walmart or Walmart.com in the past year, so this is a massive audience and it continues to grow.

It is easy to start selling on Walmart with these seven steps. Marketplace items appear in search results on Walmart.com alongside other items.

Shopify

Shopify is an e-commerce platform designed to allow clients to easily build a website with a shopping cart solution. As one of the most popular e-commerce cart packages, this software option is a powerful online selling tool.

For businesses that prefer to sell mainly on their own websites, Shopify is an ideal choice. You can also use the platform to build your own marketplace for your brand. Look for a fulfillment service like Medallion Fulfillment & Logistics and Sprocket Express, which is already integrated and ready to connect to your site in fifteen minutes.

Rakuten.com Shopping or Buy.com

Buy.com (recently renamed Rakuten.com Shopping) is one of the largest online retail marketplaces with over 20 million customers in the U.S. On this platform, e-commerce sellers can create their own fully branded “storefront” to maintain cohesive brand identity.

As an added bonus, Rakuten clients have access to an e-commerce consultant to advise sellers on ways to expand exposure and increase sales. Customers of the marketplace also earn cash back, which promotes loyalty to the platform and encourages repeat business.

Retail EDI

Companies that sell to wholesale customers to supply their retail stores often use Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) to transmit orders. This is the most efficient way to resupply because the system does all of the work behind the scenes and all the store has to do is enter the quantity of an item to trigger the order.

EDI is a powerful strategy for B2B sellers and can trim time and staff expenses, contributing to a healthier bottom-line and less error in the supply chain. Medallion and Sprocket Express are equipped with full EDI capabilities to allow our wholesale clients to focus on expanding their businesses without devoting valuable time to processing large orders.

East and West Coast Warehouses to Speed Delivery to Customers

Medallion and Sprocket Express are expressly designed to serve multichannel marketers and omnichannel sellers. With built-in integrations for numerous marketplaces, we are prepared to serve your business wherever and however you choose to sell.

We currently support multi-channel platforms for over 25% of our clients, so we can also coach on carrier selection, shipping method strategies and more, based on your unique business needs.

When you are ready to ramp up your business, Medallion with East and West Coast warehouse operations is ready to help you with shopping cart integrations that maximize your efficiency.

April 1, 2020March 30, 2020

Be Careful How What You Say About Your Product Features and Benefits — Don’t Get Caught by the Feds

Several years ago, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) revised its guides governing endorsements and testimonials for marketers. The timing of the revision is noteworthy — the previous guidelines dated back to 1980, before anyone heard of the Internet, much less Facebook. Your online marketing could have the best intentions, but any over-selling efforts could get flagged by the Feds.

Why the Update and Change by the FTC?

1) Not Everything Online is Yours to Use

Celebrity images or endorsements. Think a photo of Beyonce or Tim Tebow will grab attention and boost your brand image? Or perhaps you want to use a classic rock song as background for your YouTube video? You could be asking for a cease and desist letter at best, and a copyright infringement suit at worst. As for endorsements, it goes without saying that using someone’s image on your marketing implies endorsement that may not exist. If you do spring for a real endorsement, the FTC’s detailed guidelines cover honesty of opinion, reliability of the claim and disclosure of the celebrity being a paid spokesperson.

Social media misdeeds. For a glimpse of how social media has changed the face of marketing, you need only to see what the FTC is eyeing these days. According to Mashable, some questionable practices catching the agency’s eye include “flogging,” which consists of blogs that exist only to promote a product or service; and “astroturfing,” in which phony customers post misleading or biased reviews on sites like Yelp.

2) Claims Need Substantiation

Marketing claims. “Natura”… “organic”… “green.” Words like that may bring images of environmentally sound, sustainable and chemical-free products. But sprinkling in claims without substantiation can get you into trouble, as Neutrogena recently discovered. The cosmetics company was hit with a $1.8 million class action fine for describing some of its skin-care products as “natural” when they contained what the suit called “chemically derived, synthetic fragrances.”

As for “green” marketing claims, the FTC wants you to provide “competent and reliable evidence” of your claim, in the form of reliable scientific evidence, defined as tests, analyses, research, studies or other evidence when you claim your product is “green..”

Good, better and best. The subtle wording of parity claims constitutes an established form of marketing. Take Brand X’s claim that “no battery lasts longer.” Does that mean Brand X battery lasts longer than Brand Y? No; batteries are generally identical regardless of brand. As a parity claim, “no battery lasts longer” simply means that Brand Y (and every other brand) is likely to last the as long as Brand X — but not longer.

Parity claims abound in marketing: “No pain reliever works faster.” “Get the best chocolate taste.” The FTC does not generally care about “best” parity claims. But superiority claims to be “better” than a competitor must be backed up with accurate and non-biased proof.

Some companies push the good/better/best envelope too far. When Ford once claimed its car was “700% quieter,” the FTC asked for a clarification. Ford had to admit that they meant the inside of the Ford was 700% quieter than the outside — not a highly compelling claim!

Carefully Craft Your Content

The vast majority of marketers are never cited by the authorities, so running a clean campaign is not so hard to accomplish. When you describe your features and benefits with care — giving an accurate description without over-selling or using unethical tactics — you’ll boost your company’s credibility while encouraging new business.

March 27, 2020

How to Reach Customers Now During the COVID-19 Crisis

How to Reach Out to Customers in the COVID-19 Crisis

With shut downs, shipping delays, and customers sitting at home, there’s never been a better time to keep you name in front of anxious buyers using an e-newsletter.

The COVID-19 epidemic is of unprecedented proportion. Many people have never experienced a work stoppage or for that matter a quarantine. While customers wait for orders that may be delayed due to shipping issues or supply chain problems, email is the best way to soothe worries and keep customers loyal to your business.

Here are some tips to take to heart with how to communicate with customers during these unusual times.

1. Be honest of what is going on with your business. If there are delays due to supply chain issues – share the challenges in a positive manner.

2. Accept and acknowledge the uncertainty of the situation. Be real, people truly want to connect with you during this crisis.

3. Express gratitude and appreciation for orders and for those that will wait to receive their goods due to unforeseen delays.

4. Keep a regular connection with your client-base. Specifically, contact during this uncertain period should be several times a week or once or twice a month.

If you need help setting up an e-newsletter we have expert providers that are ready to set up an account at iContact for you, load your list, and even customize our own mobile-friendly reusable HTML e-newsletter template. Just let us know and we will put you in contact with one of our experts or get you started fast.

For Medallion Fulfillment & Logistics clients, our provider has created a special mobile-friendly template for newsletters that can be updated with your logo and content. Ask us for more information about this concierge-level e-newsletter program including setup, implementation, content creation, and scheduling. Pricing is customized based on your need.

http://medallionenterprises.com/newsletters/medallion-sample-template.html

For do-it-yourselfers, an iContact account provides access to easy to use templates. You can enter in your own e-newsletter information and set up your own e-newsletter issues to send on your own schedule.

Our team or our experts can work with you directly to assist with your needs. Just give us a call and let us know that you would like to reach out to your clients by email – fast!