The only really important aspect of your on-eBay branding and marketing is consistency. You don’t have the full gamut of options on the site that most businesses have so making sure that you extract the most from the ones you do have is vital. Everything you do on the site is an opportunity to tell people who you are and what you do. You have your listings, and that includes your User ID, photos and descriptions. You also have your Shop, if you have one and don’t forget your About Me page and all the various My World functions.
What should you be considering?
Colour Scheme and Logo: Having a recognisable and consistent colour scheme is the most obvious branding option you have. Think of big brands like Harrods, Tesco or Boots the Chemist. You know exactly what their colours are and you can replicate a bit of that immediate recognition by adopting colour schemes that are reflective of what you sell and permeate all of your eBay activities. A striking logo is also a must. Make sure it projects the kind of business you are and tells your customers something about you and what you sell. An ultra modern logo for a business selling purely antique goods doesn’t send the right message. It’s not necessarily pricey to get a designer to knock something up that you’ll like and it does look good.
Tone of Voice: The way in which you speak to your customers influences them. Compare, for instance, adverts for Cilit Bang and Marks and Sparks. The words and the way they are spoken is a million miles apart but both do the job of getting their messages across and helps us understand the products for sale. Most of your communications will be written but tone is still vital. Examine what you’re saying and whether you’re happy with it.
The Message: Do you have key messages that you want customers to absorb? Are you the cheapest, the fastest, the nicest, the most reliable? You might want everyone to know that you’re a long-established family business off-eBay. Or that you source fairtrade goods and greener packaging. Whatever the message, make sure you are getting it out forcefully and consistently. Consistency? That feels like where I came in…
5 Responses
If anyone is after a logo https://www.aaa-logo.com/ comes recommended as a cost effective program to generate one. Alternatively search for logo design on eBay (where else would you look? 😛 )
I love AAA Logo. 😀
Sorry rapidly losing interest. its all text book stuff,
PRICE PRICE PRICE AND PRICE AGAIN
is the thing that dictates success on ebay, and most other markets
I disagree North. eBay is about much more than price. For one example, I had a reverse price war with one of my competitors: on average I could charge 350% more than her for the same items from the same supplier. The only difference was that I had close-up, focussed photographs and she didn’t. I could give you a dozen more examples, but I’m not posting them in public 😆
And with my buyer’s hat on, I recently spent £20 on a book I could have got for a fiver from a seller who wasn’t responsible for items lost in the post and had the feedback to prove it.
I have to disagree with you about price, North.
I’ve sold a machine on eBay today for over £400. There are three more on eBay with start price of £1.
What’s the betting they don’t bring anywhere near £400, and why did the buyer buy mine instead of waiting a bit longer?
It couldn’t be my branding by any chance could it?