Deciding where to sell online Te whakatau i te wāhi ipurangi hei wāhi hoko

Where you sell your product or service can influence who finds it and buys it. Customers need to discover your product or service before they can buy it. 

Promote your business where your ideal customers can find it – for example online directories, Google Maps or social media.

When selling online, you still need to tailor your products and services to where most of your customers are. See where your competitors are, and build up your local profile and reputation in the region you want to focus on.

Also, consider where to locate the rest of your operations.

You might:

• need access to a fast courier to deliver far and wide
• want to manufacture locally to fit a “buy local” trend or to keep an eye on your processes and quality.

When you’re ready to sell your products and services online, decide if you want to do this:

• in an existing marketplace
• on your own website
• both.

Selling both on your website and in an existing marketplace can help maximise your brand visibility and help you reach more customers.

Omnichannel retail simplified - Shopify

Selling on your own website gives you total control over your business and brand, and it's never been easier – with many do-it-yourself platforms and tools available. But it does take time and patience to set up, so you may need help from an agency or freelancer. 

Building your own website gives you the option to:

• personalise your online presence
• contact customers directly
• analyse customers’ behaviour to inform your approach
• create discounts and sales whenever you want
• tailor how data is stored and protected.

If you choose to sell on your own website, you’ll need to plan for the extra time and costs involved.

For example:

• setting up and maintaining your website
• extra start-up costs for a web agency or freelancer
• promoting your website – you'll need good marketing to raise awareness with your customers.

Building your website or online store

It’s possible to make money by offering a select range of other people’s products. You don’t store, handle, or deliver the products, but you focus on marketing and customer service instead. This is called dropshipping.

When a customer buys from your online store, the order forwards to your dropshipping supplier. They then package and deliver the product.

You make money by charging customers more for the product than your supplier charges you.

Pros	Cons
low-cost, quick and easy to get started. useful addition to an existing business. minimal investment needed, with low ongoing costs. easily test out products and see what's popular. choose from and offer a wide selection of products. grow your business easily once up and running. work from anywhere.	little control over disruptions to freight, supplier errors or inventory issues. lots of competition. you make only a small amount of money on each thing you sell. when things go wrong, you need to fix them.

Dropshipping is simple in principle but do your research before you start. You need to make good decisions, such as what to sell and which suppliers to partner with. Read Shopify’s guide to get a good overview.

The ultimate guide to dropshipping - Shopify