Introduction
With the improvement of China's industrial chain, and the emergence of surplus, through cross-border e-commerce to go out “ Upsurge ” Has become one of the most important trends, but in fact, since joining the World Trade Organization, the pace of Chinese enterprises to go out has not stopped, and after 2008, cross-border e-commerce has gradually matured from the birth, and now, it is more intense, already is not the blue ocean, but the Red Sea market. So, can cross-border e-commerce still be done? Compared with the more intense competition of domestic e-commerce, cross-border e-commerce can naturally be done and there are more opportunities because the global world is larger and different, but how to decide whether to open a shop on the cross-border e-commerce platform or establish their own independent station among the many choices of cross-border e-commerce going to sea today? It has become a new problem, so, we novices, especially in such a highly competitive industry as clothing, how to choose? This article will delve into the differences, strengths and weaknesses, and provide practical advice to help you make the best decision.
E-commerce platform vs independent station: Explore the differences
First, let's look at the problem from a fundamental perspective. Cross-border e-commerce platforms and independent sites represent different business models. The former relies on the existing large online market, while the latter is a completely self-built brand website. This essentially different determines that they have significant differences in many aspects such as operation mode, cost input and brand building.
Cross-border e-commerce to do an independent station or in the cross-border e-commerce platform shop good?
1. Cost considerations
- Platform store opening: usually need to pay a certain entry fee and sales commission.
- Independent stations: Stations are more expensive to build initially, but may be more economical in the long run.
The cost of independent site construction can be divided into two categories, one is pure self-construction site, this is either you will build the website yourself, and maintain, or outsourced to others to do, at the same time, there will be a variety of maintenance outsourcing work, the cost is naturally higher, and if you choose to build the website tools, such as Shopify, Wordpress and other websites, As long as the theme + plug-in, you can build an e-commerce website, the cost is lower than the former, but the cost of follow-up maintenance is still needed, but it will be less, at the same time, the use of the theme or plug-in, a large part of the need to pay, but compared with the self-construction of the station, essentially is very cheap, than in the cross-border e-commerce platform store, in fact, not too high.
2. Traffic acquisition
- Platform store: Using the huge traffic pool of the platform, it is easier to attract customers.
- Independent station: needs to promote itself to increase the number of visits, which requires POD clothing sellers to have strong marketing capabilities.
Cross-border e-commerce platforms want to get traffic, but also need to pay costs, and, in the case of increasingly high traffic fees, the cost of obtaining target customers may not be lower than the independent station, but we have to understand that the cross-border e-commerce platform and independent station to obtain traffic is essentially different, the former often has a stronger purchase demand, while the latter is not necessarily. She may not want to buy something, so the conversion rate is bound to be much lower, and if the cost of clicks is consistent between the two, the cost of closing an order is obviously different, often independent stations will pay more, but if you have strong enough marketing capabilities, will tell a good story, and a variety of content and activities to attract target customers, Keep this transaction customer and provide her with an experience that she can't get elsewhere, then you may gain a loyal brand fan, and her re-purchase + spontaneous promotion will far exceed your customer cost, far more loyal than the customers on the e-commerce platform.
3. Brand image building
- Platform store: Limited by platform rules, it is difficult to fully show the personalized brand image.
- Independent site: has the freedom to design the page style to better convey the brand story.
When talking about traffic, it has already been said that independent stations are more suitable for brand and marketing because they are completely controlled by themselves. Many actions that are illegal for e-commerce platforms are reasonable for independent stations. In this case, as long as there are enough operation and marketing means and skills to convert customers into loyal fans. And the probability of multiple re-purchases or even spontaneous promotion of your website will be much higher than that of users of cross-border e-commerce platforms. Just imagine, when she buys a satisfied dress and is recognized by her peers, they ask her where she bought this dress? I also want to see something similar, and then the other party said: in XX website, or in Amazon to buy, you can search XX keywords to see, the effect is naturally different.
4. Customer Data management
- Platform store: Customer information is held by the platform, and sellers have limited contact.
- Independent station: can directly collect and analyze user behavior data to optimize the service experience.
Many times, cross-border e-commerce platforms and our POD clothing sellers are not consistent, for example, in terms of users, cross-border e-commerce platforms also want to maintain their users, let them get what they want, just like search engines, all traffic entry, show your products or pages, the purpose is to better maintain their users, Make them always use their own platform, continue to have trust in themselves, so that our interests and positions are naturally different, so the e-commerce platform does not allow us to contact too much user data, do not want us to use “ False ” Unreal comments to mislead other users, users have a sense of distrust of the e-commerce platform, for the e-commerce platform, the user is the core lifeline, we naturally can not get more, want to do a “ Cash back on good reviews ” Will be tied up, or even punished, but independent stations are different, all kinds of activities, whether it is to make profits or improve user stickiness, can be carried out arbitrarily, to help you better accumulate the base of customers, so as to obtain greater sales and sales amount.
5. Competitive environment
- Platform store opening: Facing greater competitive pressure of similar products.
- Independent stations: reduces direct competition through differentiated positioning, but also requires more effort to attract target groups.
The homogenization competition of the e-commerce platform is very fierce, and the independent station is not easy, just compared, not so fierce, in addition, the e-commerce platform can easily be because of the price competition, by similar products robbed of traffic and sales, but the independent station, it is not the same, mainly depends on whether your marketing is in line with the positioning of the product, compared with In a less intense environment, there are more factors affecting the transaction, which will increase the difficulty of marketing, but the same, will also make you more away from low-price competition, so if your products are homogeneous, and the price is quite high, then the establishment of independent stations may be better, but the premise is that you have completed the initial accumulation. And master the high-level marketing tools and content creation skills.
In the clothing category, how to choose?
For merchants who want to enter the apparel market, considering the current fierce competition in this field on cross-border e-commerce platforms, choosing the right channel is particularly critical. Independent stations in this situation may present some unique advantages, such as more flexibility to adjust their product lines in response to rapidly changing fashion trends; It can also increase brand loyalty through customized content marketing strategies. However, it also means that more resources need to be devoted to SEO and social media campaigns.
When is it appropriate to choose which pattern?
- When you have a limited budget and want to start your business quickly, you can choose to join a mature cross-border e-commerce platform.
- If you are looking for long-term growth and are willing to invest in brand building, you are better suited to create an independent site.
- For brands that already have some visibility, a combination of the two methods often achieves better results.
Conclusion
For our POD clothing sellers, whether it is to choose a cross-border e-commerce platform or set up an independent station, the most important thing is to make reasonable planning according to their own situation. Moreover, each model has its own application scenario, the correct evaluation can give full play to the maximum value, but for ambitious enterprises, independent station is actually a more worthwhile place to play, do some details, the official website and e-commerce independent station are actually need to be created separately, the former to promote the brand, the latter is to transform sales, and, in terms of traffic entry, The former can attract search traffic with content, and the latter will need to import more interest traffic from social media, thereby increasing the conversion rate, but no matter which way you choose, as long as you are willing to work hard, it will inevitably usher in the dawn. Finally, I hope this article has been helpful to you.
FAQ (FAQs)
1.Q: At what stage is it more appropriate to open an independent station?
A: When your brand has a certain accumulation, and hope to attract more loyal fans through personalized display, you can consider opening an independent station, of course, if you have a sufficient budget, you can start an independent station and major cross-border e-commerce platforms parallel, but it should be noted that your brand concept, story, must be carefully polished, Only the good “ Story ” And “ Concept ” Combined with the corresponding product positioning and strategy, you can let your brand be remembered and complete the initial precipitation of the brand.
2.Q: What are the hidden costs of cross-border e-commerce platforms?
A: Including but not limited to transaction fees, advertising fees and other additional expenses, in addition, the clothing category is most concerned about returns and inventory costs, if the refund rate is too high, then high profits may also be eaten, and the refund rate is too high, e-commerce platforms will reduce your weight, so that you get traffic costs more and more high, and inventory, Because of the four seasons of clothing, if many products are unsalable, they tend to overstock the inventory, which is itself a loss, its storage costs are a loss, and other invisible costs such as tax and compliance, which are actually very complicated.
3.Q: How to improve the search ranking of independent sites?
A: Through the continuous release of high-quality content, optimize keyword layout and other ways to improve SEO performance, in general, the difference between independent stations and e-commerce platforms is that the acquisition of natural traffic, that is, the improvement of search ranking, the most important factor is not how many pieces of your product sold, brought how much turnover, but your website page, Whether it is valuable to the search user, whether she will stay on your website and meet her own needs, this demand is not only shopping needs, but also may be knowledge, entertainment or other needs, and the performance of the data is the click rate and retention rate, as well as follow-up visits and other user experience related factors, you do these well, Relevant keyword rankings will naturally rise, and want to do well, you have to analyze user needs, give them what they want, at the same time, but also guide them to trade, can get enough profits, otherwise, ranking improvement, natural traffic more, but no good transformation, the same is invalid traffic, unless you transform to do content station, Therefore, we must choose the content with strong correlation and the possibility of guiding the transaction.
4.Q: Which option is friendlier for novice sellers?
A: In general, the support and services provided by the cross-border e-commerce platform make it an ideal choice for entry-level sellers, although the current independent station construction is very simple, almost as simple as the cross-border e-commerce platform store, but the promotion, it is not simple, the access to natural traffic is also obviously different, the need to control more skills, But if you know something about this area from the beginning, or have a clear goal that you want to build a brand, then opening an independent station is not a bad thing, but pay attention to the budget, whether it is money or time, you need to be prepared to invest for a long time.
5.Q: Are clothing products particularly suitable for independent stations?
A: Yes, because this kind of product is very suitable for visual marketing to enhance the attractiveness, and can deepen the customer impression through storytelling, as a display product, clothing category is not only suitable for independent stations, but also suitable for opening social media accounts, do new media accounts, in fact, if you intend to do brand, Major social media brand account operation is an unavoidable topic, so for a novice, his time and energy is limited, how can he take into account so much? But for the prepared, planned “ Half ” Novice is not the same, as long as sufficient preparation, the upper limit of independent station development and stability, is bound to be higher and better.
