I’ve been wanting to write a blog post with a title How to sell online stress free for quite some time now, but every time I looked at a new platform or system, I realized that there were way too many technical things involved for the average creator or crafter to use to sell their products online.
This is going to be a marketing post yes, but believe me if I tell you that I am showing you the Beetroute Online Mall with a happy heart. Afterall, I had some input on what small business owners want to have in their online store.
Key features I want to see in an Online Store platform
- I want to join an actively growing Online Mall or ecommerce platform where there are regular updates and new features added. An Online Mall should grow with the needs of store owners.
- I do not necessarily want to have a registered domain of my own, but if I already have one I might want to incorporate or link it with my new online ecommerce space.
- I do not want to be confronted with a whole lot of technical things to do or know basic html to set up my store.
- I want a high level of support, either talking to a person or a well structured Frequently Asked Questions page. FAQ’s or A tour of the system that can be referred to if needed is always a good addition.
- It has to be affordable, especially for startup online businesses. My cost must be in relation to my sales and growth.
- A free trial period should be available where you can try before you buy.
- I want to have a public profile for my store, where I can tell my customers more about my business and what we stand for. Perhaps showing off some of my featured products, perhaps our physical address, contact details and sharing options to allow our visitors to tell their friends about our business. Of course this should link directly to our Online store.
- Setting up Categories and tags or keywords should be a breeze and loads of suggestions are always welcome.
- Adding products need to be simple and straight forward, but should have all the features needed to successfully display and sell my products.
- I might not have a payment processor of my own yet and therefore I would like to be able to choose to use the platform’s payment processor.
- Checkout, Orders, Invoicing and Stock management are key requirements to a successful business and should be automated in my Online store.
Let’s see how Beetroute holds up to my expectations for a good Online Store
Beetroute is a new and growing E-commerce platform where you can rent
your online store space and start selling instantly. New features are added as the needs of the customers
and store owners grow and evolve.
You do not need to have a registered domain name, but if you already
have a domain name you can display it on your Business Directory listing.No coding knowledge required
to set up your Beetroute Online Store. They even have a short explanation for what every
field of entry is for.Support
response is fast and hands on. Send a message and help is on its way. Personal contact via Email, Whatsapp,
Skype are the popular platforms used. Youtube videos and a FAQ are in the creation pipeline.It is extremely affordable to
rent your online store space on Beetroute. They have two options:
TRADE for products and
services that are displayed online and purchased offline, like Art, Vehicles, Property etc.
MERCHANT for a full online shop with cart and checkout.A 14 day Free Trial period is
available where you can try before you buy and see all the features already available in the Beetroute
platform.On Beetroute you have a Public
Profile page that is also your beautiful Free Business Directory listing with all your contact information,
webpage link, social media page links and map etc. Check out other
listings here.It is
really easy to setup your Categories and create your store structure to suit your type of business with a
pre-built list with every possible option available.Adding products is as simple
as filling a form with the needed information, adding images and save your product to your store.You have a choice of using EFT
or Beetroute’s Payfast payment option or both. There is a market related commission fee applicable per
transaction processed by Payfast.Checkout,
Orders, Invoicing and Stock management are part and parcel of your ecommerce store on Beetroute.
Current and Extra features coming to Beetroute
You can also make use of their affiliate marketing plan whereby you can invite friends and other business owners to sign up and pay less for your monthly subscription. Beetroute e-commerce already have more features than your average run of the mill online store. Another great feature is that you can add contact lists in your admin area and add contact details of your customers and group them to your liking. Tracking to the Beetroute site is in place and you will be able to see all the views your page or store received. All the necessary and extra Search Engine Optimisation is in place for the Beetroute stores to be found on Google and other search engines. Beetroute is not only an online store, but also features a free Business Directory where you can add your Business details and build a beautiful landing place. Customers can find your listing when they are searching for local or national services or products via their extensive search function. |
You can look forward to more systems and more marketing options that will allow you to do everything from one platform. Save time, Save money, Be bold, Grow big! …AND …AND Wait, there is more to come and new features and functionalities are added almost on a daily basis. What to expect from the Beetroute Mall in the near future |
