Social commerce has revolutionized the business world and helped level the playing field, especially for small business owners. With online marketplaces, anyone can create their own business and offer it to the market with minimal capital involved. Just think about all the breakout stars of the pandemic small business boom. However, it isn’t always rainbows and butterflies for small business owners on these platforms. If marketplace apps have been eating away your profit or if you’re just not making the impact you expected, here are a few reasons to try something different and start selling directly to your customers already on Super Apps like Facebook, Instagram, Viber, and GCash:

No commission fees

First off, let’s start out with charges and hidden fees. Exorbitant commissions, large hidden fees, and late payments have made marketplaces a hot topic recently. Payment disbursements can also be delayed. With ChatGenie, you will no longer have to worry about these things. Sales made on the Mini App don’t have commission fees - ever! You can also count on getting your sales as soon as possible. We have a standard weekly disbursement schedule that lets you get your money sooner than most marketplaces. The only charge you can expect is a flat P10 convenience fee applied to every order, no matter the amount. Even using different payment partners won’t give you a shock, every small fee is upfront and stated right on the payment page when your customers check out.

‍

Own your customers

Another thing you may be missing out on big marketplace apps is brand recognition. Your business can get lost in the mix when selling exclusively on marketplaces. The wide range of competitors on these apps epitomizes the challenge of selling online. In today’s age of hyper-convenience, consumers are spoilt for choice and your brand may not even get on their radar when they’re bombarded with a multitude of brands. Even if they did order from your store and like your products, they may not even remember your brand. A great way to get over this obstacle is by creating a name for yourself on your own and, eventually, own your customers. Learning more about your customers and engaging with them is a breeze when you have access to first-party data and instant Customer Segment broadcasting via ChatGenie.

Invest in brand loyalty

Even if you’re not a household name yet, you can get the word out about your brand and encourage your customers to order directly from your chatstore. Invest any amount in boosted posts or sponsored content. Make sure to highlight your brand name to encourage name recall and always include a trackable link to your chatstore to increase conversion rates. That simple inclusion will make your ad well worth your investment and give your customers an easy way to order the moment they see your ad or post. Your loyal customers have an even easier shopping experience since the Mini App lets users store their order details and display cart history.

Create relationships

It’s called conversational commerce for a reason. Apart from the seamlessness of selling on these online stores, using ChatGenie also encourages sellers to nurture their relationships with their customers as opposed to the transactional nature of only selling on marketplace apps. Creating a more personal storefront helps prevent any one-time customers. With the chatstore, you can easily interact with your customers, answer inquiries, and communicate with flexibility - all while giving them a frictionless platform to browse, add to cart, checkout, and get their orders delivered once they’re ready to place an order.

High commission fees, delayed disbursements, hidden charges, and the lack of customer interaction are a few hurdles that can affect small businesses disproportionately. While these marketplaces have surely given a great platform for everyone, the recent rise of issues has made it necessary to look for an alternative to selling on marketplaces alone or additional sales channels to add to your revenue stream. It’s time to create your own online store independent of these marketplaces - no website necessary. All you need is a Facebook page and you can start selling inside the world’s biggest apps in an instant.

Sign up for free to sell on Messenger or try out our Starter Plan to sell on Messenger, Instagram, Viber, and GCash for only P1,000 monthly! Learn more about it here:

ChatGenie | Sell Inside The World's Biggest Apps

‍