In sales, you shouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket. Relying on a single sales channel, even one as powerful as Amazon, can limit your growth and leave your business vulnerable. While the marketplace’s reach is undeniable, a lack of diversification misses out on other opportunities that can help your business expand. That’s why it’s imperative to embrace a multi-channel strategy.

In this article, we’ll guide you through how to diversify your sales channels and explain where to focus your efforts. You’ll learn how to push your brand in front of a wider audience to maximize your reach across various platforms and take your business to new heights.

The drawbacks of operating solely on Amazon

According to SEMRush, Amazon attracted over three billion visitors in September 2024 alone. That’s an incredible opportunity for lucrative returns and speaks to the reach of this colossal platform.

However, the reality is more complex. Despite the staggering traffic, relying on Amazon can limit your business due to a few shortcomings:

• Limited brand customization: Amazon has a standardized template for product listings. While it ensures a cohesive shopping experience, it also inhibits brand individuality. As a result, your products can come across as generic, making it difficult to showcase what sets you apart and highlight your unique offerings.
• Expensive Amazon fees: Depending on your setup, Amazon imposes various fees, including referral, storage, subscription, and fulfillment charges. These costs can quickly accumulate and significantly eat into your profits. So, ask yourself: Are you still turning a profit? Can you maintain competitive pricing while ensuring healthy margins? If the answer is no, it might be time to reconsider your strategy and explore other platforms.
• Lack of direct connection with customers: When you hand over your products to Amazon, you also give up access to valuable customer information. Unfortunately, Amazon doesn’t share any details about your buyers, and that can hinder your ability to connect with them. It’s also difficult to create tailored experiences that make shoppers feel special and encourage them to return for more.
• Disruptive policy changes: Since Amazon owns the platform you sell on, you’ll face various updates and adjustments that may disrupt your initiatives. This can be particularly challenging as an independent seller lacking the flexibility to pivot branding efforts when policies change. Once new rules are implemented, you’re expected to comply right away, which may leave you with no choice but to abandon strategies.
• Tough competition: Competition on the marketplace is intense; you’re up against not only big brands but also Amazon’s products. If you’re okay with sharing the spotlight, that’s fine. But it might be worth exploring other platforms to boost your brand’s visibility and attract more sales.
• Dependence on a fluctuating search algorithm: Like any other platform, Amazon has their own search algorithm that you’ll need to optimize your products for to improve their discoverability. That can be a time-consuming undertaking. But with more than 70% of Amazon users not scrolling past the first page of results, it’s crucial to work your way up to those top spots while staying flexible so you can adapt to any sudden algorithm changes.

Other marketplaces to explore

Now that you’re ready to expand, the big question is: Where to? With a wealth of options to choose from, you can easily launch your store in new, digital locales and reap the benefits of fresh markets.

Each platform has its own quirks, shortcomings, and unique features though, so you need to research your options to find the ones that best suit your business and will drive its success.

Shopify

If you want complete control over your online store, Shopify is the top choice. You can unleash your creativity and build a store that reflects your brand. It’s also the largest eCommerce software in the U.S., powering about 28% of eCommerce businesses.

Benefits:

• Enjoy full authority over your brand’s look and feel
• Integrate various payment gateways easily
• Manage your inventory and track orders with Shopify’s built-in tools for support

Challenges:

• Requires some technical skills to customize fully
• Monthly fees can be expensive, especially with premium features and apps

eBay

eBay is a solid option for sellers who offer one-of-a-kind or secondhand items. However, what makes the platform truly unique is its selling options: Sellers can list their items either at fixed prices or auction style.

Benefits:

• Provides access to a global community of sellers and support
• Offers protection against fraud and failure to pay
• Has tools and analytics to dissect customer behavior, manage inventory, and more

Challenges:

• Offers lower profit margins because of competition and the platform’s fee structure
• eBay’s policies tend to favor buyers over sellers

Walmart Marketplace

Another platform you could branch out to is Walmart Marketplace. Although it’s selective about the brands it allows, this can work to your advantage by reducing competition on the marketplace.

Benefits:

• Access Walmart’s large customer base
• Less crowded than Amazon but with a similar reach
• Walmart handles payments directly, which is a plus for sellers

Challenges:

• Walmart Marketplace is picky with its seller selection
• The platform has strict performance standards and policies

Etsy

Etsy is the go-to platform for handmade and craft items, attracting diverse segments of shoppers seeking unique products. It specifically caters to creative minds and small businesses by providing an ideal space for artisans to showcase their work and connect with buyers who appreciate one-of-a-kind offerings.

Benefits:

• Easy shop setup and management
• Strong community of buyers on the hunt for unique items

Challenges:

• Limited to specific product categories
• Fees can add up, especially for smaller sellers

Target Plus

Similar to Walmart, Target Plus boasts an established customer base, so you can tap into a ready-made audience.

Benefits:

• Access to Target’s large, reliable following
• Trusted retail brand with a focus on high-quality products
• Less crowded, allowing you to broaden your visibility compared to other platforms

Challenges:

• Highly selective about who can sell on the marketplace
• Strict guidelines for sellers and inventory management

WooCommerce

Like Shopify, WooCommerce cedes full control of your online store. The platform is completely customizable, so you can tailor your site to reflect your brand. It also supports various payment gateways and provides everything you need to create a seamless shopping experience for your customers.

Benefits:

• Fully customizable with seemingly endless design and functionality options
• Easy integration with WordPress sites
• Support for various payment gateways

Challenges:

• Requires technical skills to set up and maintain
• You’ll need to manage hosting, security, and other technical aspects

Social media platforms

With the rapid evolution of technology, social media has become an essential tool for businesses to connect with their audiences. Below are some of the most popular platforms ripe with selling potential.

Facebook

Benefits:

• Access to millions of users, which significantly expands your potential reach
• Built-in advertising features that allow for precise targeting of specific audiences
• Easy setup and integration with inventory management tools

Challenges:

• Heavily reliant on Facebook’s algorithm, which can affect your visibility
• Variability in consumer trust and buyer behavior across the platform

Instagram

Benefits:

• Great for visually showcasing your products
• Direct integration with Instagram posts and stories
• Access to Instagram’s highly engaged user base

Challenges:

• Like Facebook, it relies heavily on its algorithm for reach
• Requires consistent, high-quality content to stand out

TikTok

Benefits:

• Access to TikTok’s massive, engaged audience that heavily consumes creative, short-form video content
• Strong potential for viral reach

Challenges:

• Requires a consistent stream of engaging video content
• TikTok’s trends change quickly, so staying relevant can be difficult

6 Steps to unify your brand across channels

Once you’ve decided to venture off of Amazon and have narrowed down a list of sales channels to explore, you face a new, pressing challenge: keeping your brand unified.

It’s a bad look if your messaging is inconsistent across different channels. Not only does it affect how people perceive your brand but it can also hurt your buyer retention. To avoid this blunder, here are some steps you can take to maintain brand consistency everywhere.

Step 1: Maintain a uniform visual identity

Your visuals are the first thing potential and current customers notice about your brand. It’s what they immediately associate with your name, so maintaining a uniform visual identity is critical.

From your logo and fonts to the images you use, consistency helps people recognize your brand no matter where they encounter it. In that regard, craft a brand guideline that covers everything from the colors to use to other creative elements. This will ensure your visual identity is the same across all platforms.

Step 2: Establish a brand voice

Just as important as visual identity is brand voice. Think of it as the personality that supports your visuals. It should complement what your customers see and reinforce your brand’s image. So, if your brand is fun, your voice should be too! That cohesion helps shape how shoppers perceive your brand as well as strengthens your overall identity.

Step 3: Align all product details

Your product details and information must match on every channel where you have a presence. This uniformity helps build credibility with consumers and ensures a satisfying shopping experience wherever they buy.

Step 4: Sync all sales, discounts, and promotions

It’s a hassle when different store branches run their own promotions. That’s why synced initiatives are effective at encouraging customers to shop with you, as they’re guaranteed a great deal no matter where they are or which platform they use.

Step 5: Standardize packaging

Packaging is a potent marketing tool, so make sure it’s high quality and uniform, just like your other brand elements. Remember to apply packaging rules to all channels so you leave a lasting impression that keeps you top of mind.

Step 6: Provide a cohesive customer experience

Customer service is a crucial part of the brand experience. No matter how amazing your product is, if you fail to offer the same level of care and attention to your buyers, you’ll still fall short. A cohesive customer experience builds trust with your consumers, which can then extend to their friends and family (after all, word of mouth still reigns supreme).

Wrapping up — Build an effective multi-channel strategy to maximize your profits

Amazon is an incredible platform teeming with opportunities for sellers to turn a healthy profit. However, it’s equally beneficial to explore other platforms and extend your reach. With today’s technology, managing multiple channels has never been easier. All it takes is a commitment to understanding these platforms and maintaining a unified brand presence.

However, if you feel you need more expertise to implement your multi-channel strategy, we’re here to help. At MyFBAPrep, our team of eCommerce experts can enhance your initiatives and supercharge your efforts. We’re dedicated to helping you refine your strategies and discover what works best for your business.

Ready to take the next step? Reach out to our team today for a discovery call.