Online Sales Platforms Compared

What are online sales platforms?

E-commerce is currently one of the mainstays of the German and international economy. In order to successfully sell goods or services online, a lot of technology, know-how, and experience is still required at different levels. Companies are often very worried that they need to massively expand their team or at least the skills of individual employees just to make the initial transition into online sales. Online sales platforms can be the solution here. They usually offer extensive support in selling the respective offers - from product hosting and payment and accounting management to website creation and affiliate marketing.

Good online sales platforms come with the following features or advantages:

• They make the process of online sales much easier and more efficient.
• Online sales platforms contribute to providing customers or potential customers with a better customer experience.
• They can be connected with other important business software, such as PIM or CRM.
• They often enable tracking and analyses, based on which successes or failures can be identified and corresponding optimizations can be initiated.
• They offer a transparent fee model, which allows for sufficient financial planning.

These are popular online sales platforms

• elopage

• Digistore24

• CopeCart

• ClickFunnels

• FunnelCockpit

How do online sales platforms work?

Online sales platforms are usually designed as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). This means that interested parties do not need to download a program or install anything to use the respective services. Normally, you first register on the provider's website. There are often different packages with different scopes of services. Some online sales platforms are free to use with basic functions, such as connecting popular payment methods to your own online shop, CRM, and affiliate program. Paid bundles then include features like automated invoice creation, individual designs, analytics and/or interfaces. All features, including those of the paid packages, can usually be tested for a certain period of time. The corresponding costs are incurred only after this. Once the account is created, the system guides the user through the setup. This often involves creating products, categorizing them, uploading product information, and possibly setting up payment methods, accounting, and other functions. The solution generally needs to be integrated into an existing software architecture, i.e connected to the shop system, the CRM, etc. There are ready-made interfaces available, or there is the possibility to create individual connections. The system is now ready for use and helps to simplify and optimize typical online sales processes, depending on the range of functions.

What are the benefits of online sales platforms?

Of course, each online sales platform is different, which means the systems always have their specific advantages – for example for selling digital goods, online tutorials, or physical things. However, they practically all have some cross-over benefits. Time and labor savings Online sales platforms are usually really helpful only when their range of functions is fully utilized. Of course, this incurs fees – and these can be substantial. However, if you compare the costs to the time that can be saved with such a system, the effort of manually implementing all the offered features, and perhaps the compensation for additional employees or external forces handling the respective processes, it quickly becomes clear that the prices are actually quite low. Especially for startups, who are still at the very beginning of their business development, there is hardly an alternative to an online sales platform in terms of efficiency.

Optimized customer experience Online sales platforms can have a very positive impact on the customer experience, among other things through increased efficiency. Companies have the opportunity to provide prospective customers and existing customers with all the information they need or want, offer their preferred payment methods, and ensure an overall particularly smooth process. This in turn can significantly contribute to customers repeatedly buying in a shop and maybe even recommending it.

Support Online sales platforms usually offer very helpful support. It should be considered that even with the most elaborate and user-friendly systems, something can always go wrong or simply questions about individual functions arise. The providers or their support staff stand ready to help in such and similar cases. In addition to direct customer contact, there are often extensive knowledge databases, tutorials, FAQs, instructions, and/or communities. Users ideally receive comprehensive technical support so that they can actually sell their products efficiently at the end. A major advantage is that there is support for online sales platforms that knows all the features and can therefore provide holistic assistance. It looks quite different with a best-of-breed solution of various individual applications.

Reach and Affiliate Marketing What e-commerce users should not underestimate is the potentially greatly increased reach that can be achieved relatively easily with online sales platforms. Corresponding software bundles often offer various marketing options whose use without the help of such a platform would be much more elaborate. Often practical affiliate programs are connected, allowing companies to enable third parties to promote their own products. This not only means a greater reach – it even creates numerous external sales agents who also cost comparatively little.

Tracking and Analytics No matter whether online marketing or online sales – the effect of corresponding efforts should always be kept in mind. Otherwise, it's more about shooting in the dark than about targeted, efficient measures. Without tracking, analysis, and evaluation, a lot of potential is lost as a rule. Worst case, massive changes in customer behavior or similar developments go unnoticed, which can then have a very negative effect on the business. Online sales platforms often offer various evaluation options. For example, you get the opportunity to find out how certain payment forms or sales funnels convert or where the cancellation rate is particularly high with affiliates and much more.

Intelligent integrations Online sales platforms often come with many prepared interfaces that save a lot of time when integrating the software into an existing architecture. Through such connection options, users can get a system that really fits their requirements perfectly. Even tools for which there is no interface can often be connected relatively easily via an individual API.

What is the difference between online sales platforms, online shops, and shop systems?

An online shop is the platform over which e-commerce users ultimately sell their products. Here, a specific template or interface is provided to customers in which goods or services are to be presented as advantageously as possible. Interested parties can ideally purchase desired items through it with just a few clicks or even mobile with just a few taps. It is practically the frontend of e-commerce. The shop system forms the basis of this shop. Depending on the software, it integrates various features to design the online shop, enter products, maintain a blog or other websites, and generally handle sales. The shop system is the backend of e-commerce. Online sales platforms, on the other hand, are services that help e-commerce users with sales processing - making it simpler and more efficient. A shop system can certainly include functions typical of online sales platforms. The relevant tasks then have to be largely handled through the shop system itself. The online sales platform, on the other hand, offers broader support. Normally, online sales platforms are connected with an online shop or a shop system and, depending on the need, other tools and perform - partly automated - various important business tasks.

What should I look for when choosing an online sales platform?

First and foremost, the online sales platform should be chosen based on what and to what extent is to be sold. Taking a look at the different alternatives is always worthwhile. There are indeed numerous solutions for individual markets, which in turn offer different ranges of functions at different costs and price models. E-commerce users should pay particular attention to the following points if they are interested in an online sales platform.

• Commission: Online sales platforms are services that provide e-commerce users with different features and services, with the help of which they can make online sales processes considerably more efficient. For this, they understandably want to be paid. This usually happens either at a fixed price or through commissions. In the commission model, the online sales platforms levy a percentage fee depending on the turnover achieved in e-commerce with successful business. When choosing a platform, interested parties should check whether the costs are appropriate for their business.
• Reach: The various online sales platforms focus on different target groups and have different reaches. While it is always good to strive for the largest reach, it should be within your own target group. With online sales platforms with a specified offer, scattering losses can be effectively avoided.
• Orientation: Some online sales platforms focus on a very specific target group of e-commerce users or specific product ranges. There are solutions that primarily target the distribution of online courses and others that are optimal for selling physical goods. Of course, a solution that fits exactly should be chosen here.
• Usability: It is also crucial for e-commerce users how easy the online sales platform is to use. The organization of products and the complete purchase transaction should not only be technically efficient, but also suitable for personal know-how. For example, tech companies may have very different competence requirements than retailers who want to go online with their sales. Most online sales platforms take into account the knowledge and preferences of their target groups very precisely. And ideally, there is a quickly helping, friendly support if necessary.
• Legal and data security: Legal security is particularly important for internationally oriented online sales platforms that are hosted outside the European Union. Most of these systems do take into account the European regulations – if only because they could hardly offer their services in the EU otherwise. Nevertheless, a closer look should always be taken when it comes to legal issues.
• Interfaces: Especially when an online sales platform has to be integrated into an existing software architecture – and this is usually the case – care should be taken that all necessary connections are possible. Ideally, there should be corresponding ready-made interfaces that can be used without programming skills.