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Why Share FTP Access

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Why Share FTP Access

The image below is a conversation between our support person and a client asking for help.

We often observe that many of our clients balk at being asked for either FTP access or C-Panel access. The apparent issue is security concerns.  Our clients dread that by having access, we may end up erasing vital information causing damage to the site. 

In this article, we plan to address all your concerns about why developers need FTP access to help fix your issues. 

What is FTP?

To put it simply, FTP is an acronym for File Transfer Protocol. With the help of FTP developers and users can transfer files from one end to another.  But in the case of WordPress, FTP allows us to connect directly to the files stored in your WordPress account. This way, we can edit, add, and delete information causing conflicts or add code directly, without visiting your WordPress dashboard or hosting cPanel.

 Reasons Why Companies Ask for FTP?

Now that you are aware of what FTP means, let’s try and understand why the MultiVendorX support team sometimes requires your admin details. Given below are two major reasons why – 

  • Understanding Issue or Error: Sometimes users see a white screen or error message like “Your site is experiencing some technical error”. To understand what is the exact reason behind the ‘error’, we need FTP to enable debug mode and see the error message. This helps us to fix the issue in time and help secure your website.
  • Issue Resolution: Some issues faced by a client is due to error on their site like a theme plugin conflict, glitch in server connection and so on. Issues like these have to be solved from the client’s end itself. And to help solve the issues FTP access is required. 

What Can be Accessed Through FTP?

Hopefully, the above-mentioned points are enough for you to realize why sharing FTP is important. But if you are still unconvinced here are a few things one can access using FTP

  • WordPress themes – Since many issues in your marketplace place can be caused due to theme plugin conflict we must have access to your themes.
  • WordPress plugins – Sometimes updating your plugins can lead to a plugin-plugin conflict. To resolve issues like these access to plugins is needed.
  • Debugging site – To debug your site and fix errors we must have access to your website through FTP. 

We sincerely hope that with this information you can finally rest your mind in peace when asked for FTP access. Last but not least are a few tips you can use when sharing FTP

  • Create a Staging Site – We mostly avoid making any changes to the live site. Any issue resolution on our part is always done on a staging site. This way we can avoid compromising your site safety. 
  • File Backup – There is no guarantee and takebacks if a mistake is made. To avoid losing data make sure to keep a backup of your most important files. 
  • Get to Know them – Sometimes a little talk can cause miracles. If you have any concerns or doubts about anything contact the team immediately. The team will either connect with you through mail or ask for a video showcasing your issue before helping you out. 

Hopefully, this article has helped clear some misconceptions. As a multivendor plugin, our customer’s safety will always be our primary concern. We would never jeopardize your security or make any changes that can cause lasting damage. So rest assured and trust us!

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9 factors to consider when choosing a payment gateway for WordPress

Whether shopping online or paying for a pizza, the “PAY” button has made our lives easier. However, the ‘easier’ life can be jeopardized if the payment gateway is not the correct one with the highest level of security. If you use WordPress for your e-commerce business, you are already ahead of the game. WordPress provides the flexibility to choose the desired payment gateway. However, there are a variety of options to choose from. You simply need to decide which option is right for your business. We already did the homework for you and came up with 9 factors to consider when choosing a payment gateway.  

What is Payment Gateway?

A payment gateway permits a website to securely capture and transmit payment details to a payment network in order to process eCommerce transactions. After that, the website receives transaction data and answers from the payment network. Paypal and stripe are two of the popular payment gateways.

However, one thing that can cross your mind is, why you should choose a WordPress payment gateway and not a payment processor. Well, we heard you! 

Make The First Choice 

There are 4 types of payment gateways to choose from. All these payment gateways have their own pros and cons. You just have to choose the one that suits your business the best. 

  1. Hosted Payment Gateway
  2. Self-hosted payment gateway
  3. API/Non-hosted payment gateway
  4.  Local Bank Integration

Let’s understand these 4 types of payment gateways in detail.

Hosted Payment Gateway

Hosting payment gateways redirect the customer away from your checkout page. Then the customer is redirected to the Payment Service Provider (PSP) page upon clicking the gateway link. After entering payment details, the customer is redirected back to your website to finish the payment process. One of the most widely known hosted payment gateways is PayPal. 

Pros – 

1. Simple – This type of payment gateway is simple and easy to use, and most people are also familiar with a hosted payment gateway. 

2. Secure – In hosted payment gateways, transactions are usually PCI compliant and offer fraud protection. So along with being simple and customizable, it’s also a safer option for eCommerce businesses. 

Con – 

  1. The seller cannot manage the entire user experience because the gateway is external.

Self-hosted payment gateway

Payment information is gathered from customers on the sales page using this type of gateway. The gathered data is delivered to the payment gateway‘s URL when the information is requested. Some payment gateways want payment information in a particular format, while others demand a hash key or secret key. Self-hosted payment gateways include QuickBooks, and Shopify Payments, both of which are powered by Stripe.

Pros and cons of self-hosted payment gateways–  

Pros-

  1. Customizable Flow – The sellers have control over the payment procedure.
  2. Better Customer Experience – In self-hosted payment gateways, all the transactions are completed in one place, so it is very customer-friendly. 

Con- 

  1. Usually, if your self-hosted payment gateway goes down, you don’t have a team of experts to support you. This could be a huge issue that could require a professional to resolve. 

API/Non-hosted payment gateway

In this type of gateway, payments are handled via an API (Application Programming Interface) or HTTPS inquiries. Customers submit their credit or debit card information directly on the merchant’s checkout page with API-hosted payment gateways.

Pros and cons of API/Non hosted payment gateways-

Pros –  

  1. Customizable- API-hosted payment gateways offer complete control over the customer experience. The UI of the transaction can also be customized to make it customer-friendly. 
  2. Capable of integration – This type of payment gateway can be used on any device connected to the internet. This mobile device’s friendliness makes this payment gateway a popular pick.

Con –

  1. Security – In API-hosted payment gateways, sellers have to comply with PCI DSS and purchase SSL certificates to ensure payment security. Due to the fact that sellers must do this on their own, the process can be hectic.

Local Bank Integration

Customers are sent to the payment gateway’s website (the bank’s website) through local bank integration gateways, where they submit their payment and contact information. The consumer is sent back to the seller’s website after making the payment, and payment notification data is supplied with the redirection. 

Pros and cons of Local Bank Integration-  

Pros-

  1. Fast and easy setup – If you want a simple one-time payment structure, this is the option for you. Because this is not only easy but also fast to set up.

Cons- 

  1. Offers only payment features – Sometimes returns and recurrent payments are frequently not possible, making it unsuitable for wholesalers.

Choose a payment gateway based on these 9 factors

Now let’s come to the star topic: what are the factors that you need to consider for your eCommerce business in WordPress?

 It depends on various factors. You probably know the famous term in the technical world, there are never enough features. The concept is the same for payment gateways too. Here are 9 of those features that we discussed below.  

  1. Security Assurance

Online payment fraud losses in e-commerce are estimated to reach 20 billion U.S. dollars globally in 2021. It is an increase of more than 14 percent from the previous year’s $17.5 billion. Undoubtedly, the most important aspect to keep in mind while choosing a payment gateway provider is security assurance. Verify that the gateway service provider complies with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard at level 1. (PCI DSS). PCI DSS is the industry standard for websites that accept card payments online, and the requirements require multi-layer defense, encrypted data transmission, and data protection architecture to ensure a safe transaction. Your customer’s data is safe, and his privacy is protected, thanks to recognition. Gateway providers should have tools like a fraud monitoring system, 3D security, Address Verification System (AVS), IP geolocation, and so on.

  1. Easy integration of website  

From a commercial standpoint, integrating the payment process with your own website as well as various credit cards and financial institutions is one basic necessity that payment gateways should provide. Preferably, you should choose a payment gateway provider that allows your clients to land on the payment gateway provider’s site after checking out, pay the bill, and then return to your website after the transaction is complete. You can make the integration as basic as possible.

  1. Multiple Currency Processing 

Are you thinking of spreading your eCommerce business globally? Then having multiple currency support in your payment gateway is a must. Whether they support multi-currency transactions and whether there are any regional limits. International customers contribute significantly to your company’s and brand’s success.   

  1. Recurring Billing Support 

 If you are thinking of building a subscription marketplace or eCommerce website or providing some kind of membership to your customers, then you should be ensuring that the payment gateways you’re considering accept automated payments for recurring plans. If they don’t, your clients will have to manually renew each month, which might be inconvenient.  

  1. Easy checkout on all kinds of devices 

Did you know that 79% of customers made online purchases through mobile devices this year? Imagine losing the majority of customers because your  payment gateway does not support all devices. That is you need to check if the payment gateway has a checkout process that is suited for all mobile devices.

  1. Better customer support 

The heart of any eCommerce business is undoubtedly its customers, so when it comes to responding to their queries, check if the payment gateway offers live technical support and chat option rather than emails. This way customers’ problems can be solved quickly.    

  1. Transparent Fee Structure   

Before joining up for a service, be aware of the service provider’s cost structure. There are costs linked with them that will increase your earnings level in the future. A few gateways charge a fee per transaction, while others charge a monthly subscription fee for a certain amount of transactions. 

  1. Seamless site navigation 

If your payment gateway has a feature that allows businesses to create pages for customer checkouts, you can set it up so that clients aren’t diverted to another page while executing their payments. 

  1. Mass Payment Option 

This is specifically useful if you are thinking about converting your eCommerce website to an online marketplace using a featured enriched plugin like MultiVendorX. And want to know the best payment gateway for an online marketplace. Then make sure that the payment gateway offers a mass payment option. Because it will help you to pay multiple sellers at the same time.

7 best Woocommerce payment gateway in WordPress

  1. Stripe  

The Stripe Payments plugin is one of the most popular WordPress payment plugins, and it accepts. You can use this shortcode-friendly payment plugin to effectively serve your needs. The plugin has a ‘remember me’ function that allows you to use a single-click payment approach.

Key Features of Stripe

  • Stripe supports credit card payment.
  • Donations can also be accepted in stripe.
  • Banking transactions run smoothly.
  • Stripe is available in multiple countries. 
  • Direct transactions can be made from the Stripe dashboard.
  • Sandbox Mode is available in Stripe.

Stripe payment gateway price 

The monthly cost of the Stripe API is $0. But it charges a transaction fee of 2.9% and 30 cents.

2. Paypal  

PayPal is a widely used payment gateway in the world, therefore having it on your site is essential for a positive client experience. Your customers will be able to skip the steps where they must enter payment information with the help of this extension.

Key Features of Paypal 

  • Paypal supports instant payment.
  • It accepted credit cards
  • Paypal supports multi-currency and multi-language 
  • It has ACH payments and eCheck processing. 

Paypal payment gateway pricing

Paypal charges 2.9%+0.30 cents per transaction.

3. WPPayForm 

WPManageNinja’s WPPayForm is the most recent and powerful freemium payment gateway plugin for WordPress. 

Key features of WPPay 

  • WPPayForm has a user-friendly website.
  • You can create a responsive payment form.
  • They have a security system.
  • The checkout process is mobile-friendly.
  • WPPayForm supports multi-language
  • Sandbox mode is also available in WPPayForm.

WPPayForm payment gateway pricing   

WPPayForm has 3 pricing plans. These are :

  1.  Single Site License – $59.00
  2.  Agency License (Up to 20 Websites) – $99.00
  3.  Unlimited Site License – $299.00

4. WP Simple Pay

Another freemium WordPress payment gateway plugin for WordPress users is WP Simple Pay. Because this is a Stripe-based payment gateway plugin, just Stripe clients can use it on their site.

Key features of WP Simple Pay 

  • The payment collection process is simple.
  • The whole payment process is mobile-friendly.
  • WP Simple Pay supports coupons.
  • You can create unlimited payment forms.
  • It also supports multiple languages.

WP Simple Pay payment gateway pricing 

WP Simple Pay also has 3 pricing plans like WPPayForm. These are-

  • Personal – $49.00
  • Business(Up to 3 Websites) – $99.00
  • Elite – $249.00

5. Multipay 

This is a free e-commerce plugin with numerous payment channels. MultiPay accepts payments from the PayPal, Stripe, and WorldPay payment gateways.

Multipay Key features 

  • Multipay is simple to set up and easy to use.
  • It also supports multiple payment gateways.
  • Multipay is highly configurable.
  • It supports coupons, vouchers, and marketing campaigns. 

Multipay payment gateway pricing  

Multipay charges $0 per month. 

6. Mango Pay 

MANGOPAY is a payment system developed for online marketplaces, and sharing economy businesses for easy and quick mass payment.

Mango Pay key features  

  • Mango Pay supports multiple languages.
  • It has an easy transaction process. 
  • It is specially designed for developers.
  • Mangopay also has money-laundering prevention tools.

Mangopay payment gateway pricing- Mangopay charges 1.8% + 0.18€ per transaction.

7. RazorPay 

Razorpay was founded by Shashank Kumar and Harshil Mathur in 2015. Razorpay is building a new-age digital banking platform for businesses in India.  With its product suite, Razorpay is a payment system that allows companies to accept, process, and distribute payments. 

RazorPay key features 

  • RazorPay offers zero Setup Cost.
  • It supports multi-currency payment processing.
  • RazorPay offers a secured server.
  • It also supports debit card payment.

Razor Pay payment gateway pricing 

Razor Pay charges 2% per transaction. 

Final Thoughts

It’s time to buckle up and make sure that all the factors listed above make sense for your WordPress payment gateway, and that you find the perfect match for your business needs. Choosing the right payment gateway for your e-commerce business isn’t easy, but it’s worth it because it works as a strong pillar. Start eliminating your customer issues today with the best payment gateways.

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The Grammy goes to GIF…5 ways you can use GIFs in WordPress to engage your visitor”

Greetings from the postmodern era of gifs! Yes, we are, in the postmodern gif era, as the first gifs were created in 1987 and have dominated the internet since then with flag-waving, blazing flames, and glowing under renovation signs. A GIF in WordPress not only works as an ornament but also makes your content an engaging and interactive piece of work. These days, many companies are also using GIFs on their websites instead of using code-based animation. In fact, 21.4% of websites are using GIFs. 

Image source: Giphy

(minion saying what)

Yes, you heard it right. By adding GIFs you can make your website attractive without spending hundreds of dollars on coding.  

So today we’re going to cover five ways you can effectively implement GIFs on your website, 

First off, let’s understand… 

Steve Wilhite, developed Graphical Interchange Formats (GIFs) in 1987. Basically, GIFs are multi-image or soundless videos that loop continuously without requiring a player to click play. It is this repetition that makes GIFs feel familiar.

5 Benefits of Using GIFs in WordPress 

Do you know that the number of Americans using GIFs has risen to 63 percent, and one out of five people cannot get enough of them? Okay okay… so animated GIFs are cool and popular. But can they be successfully used in WordPress? Absolutely! They certainly provide a few major advantages:

  • Video animations do not always work as well as GIF animations. GIFs’ loading time is low, they use less bandwidth, and they can be looped to create immediate interest.
  • By reducing load time, and improving content engagement, GIFs improve bounce rate. So, if you use GIFs to engage site visitors, you’re more likely to convert them into subscribers.
  • Finally, many search engines, including Google, prefer websites and blogs with lots of multimedia content, such as images and videos, and GIFs.
  • The consumption of visual content is taking over the media channels because it’s easier to consume and reaches a wider audience. A visual content approach can increase the effectiveness of your content marketing efforts and help you secure backlinks you could not achieve with text-based content alone. There is no doubt that text content is extremely valuable, however, GIFs can be more effective in link building. 

Now that you know that GIFs can be a game-changer for your website, let’s look at how to develop a fantastic one and use it to its full potential.

Top 5 tips for creating an amazing GIF

Just like adding way too much ketchup to fries can ruin them, adding excessive GIFs or the wrong GIFs can hinder the user experience. This is why we recommend 5 tips to create the perfect GIFs for your WordPress website. 

  • Use fewer colors:

When creating a GIF, make sure you use relevant colors. Be sure you choose colors that are pleasing to the eye. Using fewer colors makes your GIFs more engaging and lesser in size.

  • Eliminate duplicate frames:

If you pay attention to your animations, you’ll notice that they come to a screeching halt and then repeat. When one loop session comes to a halt, you’ll notice multiple duplicate frames, which will only add to the size of your file. So take a close look at what you’ve created and remove all of the repetitive frames from your gif in a way that doesn’t deteriorate its quality.

  • Optimize Lossy on animated GIFs-

Using lossy optimization you can reduce the file size of your GIFs.Since human eyes can’t differentiate between subtle changes in color, lossy optimization uses fewer colors thereby decreasing the size. This can reduce some kilobytes without affecting your GIF’s quality.

  • Stay away from flashy animation-

 As we already stated, keep your GIF clean and interesting. People become exhausted when they do too much of anything, so don’t overdo it. Simply choose the appropriate moment and create your own thoughts with the help of some pleasant effects.

  • Use motion blur– 

 Blur gives your still image a fun effect. Consider how these still images would look if they were in motion with a blur effect. This gives your GIFs a more professional appearance and allows you to tweak things a little for matching the file size. 

5 Tips to make the most of GIFs for WordPress

  • Use GIFs to Include CTAs – 

(A call to action for a class on Building Business)

You can now add a Call-To-Action to your GIFs to make them more interesting. The user’s attention is easily drawn to a WordPress GIF. So when it is paired with a CTA, it is more likely to receive clicks than without it. The GIF should be visually engaging, but not too complicated that viewers don’t see the CTA. To have a pleasant user experience, you should also make sure it is appropriate to the CTA’s purpose!

  • Use Tutorials to Demonstrate Complicated Instructions-

(Demonstrating a step-by-step process)

Visual aids are quite important in this procedure. Tutorials without any audiovisual components can be difficult to follow. On the other hand, including multiple screenshots for the most basic instructions can decrease the quality of your content.

Thanks to GIFs, you don’t have to create lengthy tutorial videos anymore. GIFs are great for displaying instructions that would be hard to comprehend through text alone. While a screenshot may cause some confusion, a GIF shows you the exact tutorial. So while demonstrating instructions, you can use GIFs instead of screenshots. 

  • Show Animated Data using GIFs- 

(Graph depicting the data between 2019 and 2022)

Instead of using endless rows of data, or using charts, you can take your content to the next level by displaying your data through GIFs.Animate Your Data- Discovering ways to make data interact is one of the most difficult aspects. Graphs go a long way toward assisting viewers in sorting through statistics. This not only improves your content but also makes a great impression about your site among the visitors. As an effect, it can convert your site visitors to subscribers. 

  • To make a point, use GIFs-

(people protesting for their rights) 

The most natural approach to using GIFs is to make a point. You’re probably used to using GIFs in this approach in your daily life. When narrating a good joke or making a social media statement, the proper GIF may make the execution that much better. 

For example, 

If you’ve been on social media for a while, you’re probably already familiar with how to use GIFs to enhance your message. Writing for an audience, on the other hand, is not the same as conversing with your friends.

Both forms of writing, in theory, should be highly engaging. When writing for a website, though, you run the risk of overusing GIFs significantly. You have greater freedom to use animations in a chat with friends, however, in a more professional context, your audience is more likely to want to read your thoughts.

You should make sure that any GIFs you include are brief. Using an edited version may be a better option depending on how intricate what you want to present is.

  • Use GIF to show expressions- 

“XYZ Company is giving 30% Discount”.

Or, 

(people dancing on getting 30% discount)

See how it immediately became more interesting. Sometimes words may not express the proper emotions. But that doesn’t mean you leave it halfway without expressing your thoughts properly. This is why you can use GIFs to express emotions in your content. 

  •  Demonstrate the finished product action-

(A brand new mobile phone)

The quality of screenshots often demonstrates the completed designs well enough. Depending on what you’re working on, you can take as many or as few as you need, and they can provide readers with a decent idea of what the final result will look like. 

It is not suitable for every application, and especially not for dynamic online projects. The way people feel about websites or apps is also heavily influenced by usability. It’s often difficult to communicate how natural their designs are through still photographs.

GIFs, on the other hand, allow you to communicate short bursts of activity. You can demonstrate how certain elements function, and how testers engage with them.

 You can pinpoint usability issues with this degree of information. You can also use it to display the finished result in motion if you’re working on a tutorial.

Bonus Tip: 

Ever since WordPress allowed using GIFs everyone is rooting for it. But many people are facing a common problem: “After uploading GIFs they appear as a static image on the website”.

 We don’t want you to face the same problem, so here is a tip for you. After uploading the GIF, in the “file size” always select “full size”. This way your GIF will be posted as a GIF and not as a static image. 

(Pointing to the “full-size” option in the WordPress images settings)

Winding Up, 

Due to their simplicity, near-universal compatibility, and flexibility to be utilized as animation, GIFs are the oldest file format still widely used today. Despite these advantages, GIFs are huge files that cause page bloat, which can negatively impact the performance of your website and contribute to poor user experiences. As a result, you should think about optimizing static GIFs, moving away from animated GIFs, and adopting more current techniques like HTML5/MP4 movies to implement video snippets. 

Your website will come alive with GIFs! It will capture and hold the audience’s attention till they reach the point of conversion.

This does not imply that you should overdo it. Keep the GIFs simple but aesthetically appealing, as always. And your WordPress website is ready to make things more entertaining for itself and its viewers with these tips!

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BRANDING 101 – 5 ELEMENTS TO GET YOUR STARTUP BRANDING FOUNDATIONS RIGHT

“Your brand is what people say about you when you are not in the room” –

                                                                   JEFF BEZOS

That’s right. As Jeff Bezos points out, branding is incredibly important when you’re trying to take your business to the next level and make a name for yourself. Branding not only helps you create a strong image of your business but also improves traction. So when you are starting a new business, investing a good amount of time and resources in branding will surely pay off for your future. So in this article, we will show you how you can do branding the right way.

What is branding?

As a marketing strategy, branding aims to make people identify and choose the product or service of a company over its competition.

May it be the “Women make the first move” concept like Bumble or the swipe right feature of Tinder; anything can become your business’s statement and uplift your brand.

We understand that as an entrepreneur creating brand awareness might be overwhelming for you. This is why in this article we listed why branding is important for start-ups and the top 5 elements to get your start-up branding foundation right.

So without wasting any time, let’s start by knowing-

Why branding is important for startups?

• Stand out in the Competition:  

Start-up branding helps a start-up distinguish itself from its competitors. To create a brand identity, you must conduct a market study in order to understand your customers and connect with them. Through this process, companies can articulate what makes them stand out as well as what particular gaps they can fill in their respective markets.

• A Longevity Promise:

Customers can also be assured that a company will be in business for a long time by building a brand and a clearly established identity. Branding is more than a logo or a tagline; it’s how you choose to communicate with your intended audience on a regular basis. Therefore, establishing your company as a brand will also establish customer longevity.

• Customer Loyalty and Relationships:

Did you know that over 79% of millennials claim to be loyal to their favorite brand? Brands are intended to encourage customer loyalty by their very definition. Thousands of different corporate names, brands, and advertising flood customers every day. A start-up must challenge itself to develop a distinctive promotional campaign in order to capture the attention of the typical consumer because a business cannot operate without consumers. As a result, it’s essential for start-ups to pay attention to branding and marketing procedures.

5 ELEMENTS TO GET YOUR STARTUP BRANDING FOUNDATIONS RIGHT 

1. A memorable logo design- 

Your company logo is likely to be one of the first impressions people have of your company. People establish opinions about your logo in less than 0.05 seconds, therefore it’s necessary to create an effective design before you begin branding. For your business to be successful, you need a logo that conveys credibility, brand value, and quality. Use this opportunity to create the best impression. Make your logo distinctive and memorable so that people will remember you for years to come. 

2. A value-driven brand voice-

When it comes to branding, people often focus on the visual aspects of a brand, such as fonts, design, and styles. However, the voice of the brand is often overlooked. 

Brand voice is the distinctive personality that the brand adopts in its communication. Nike is a well-known example of this. While Nike’s products are impressive, a value-driven brand voice has also contributed to its success. Nike’s purpose is to inspire its consumers through a brand voice that represents positivity, inspiration, and strong messages. Nike motivates and encourages all consumers to “Just Do It.” 

Just like this, if you can express how your brand can add value to people’s lives, then you are already halfway there of creating a long-term brand image.

3. A unique mood board-

In mood boards, images are grouped in a certain order to express a particular theme. This way, you have a clear overview of your business by putting all your photos or visuals in one place. You can use a mood board to explore and describe your business’s brand identity. This will not only help you with branding but also make you unique from your competition. 

4. A set of favorite fonts-

This goes hand in hand with the tone of the business. Think about what your brand is about? And how you want to express your brand to your company. As an example, if you are using an informal voice to express your brand’s content, then you can use round fonts. But this shouldn’t be limited to only one font. You can use bold fonts to express powerful statements, all caps, important notices, etc. See what goes with your vision and use them.

5. A nice brand environment- 

It is imperative that your brand has a strong direction because it dictates the design for multiple assets. A nice workplace design can make employees up to 33% happier at work. So your brand’s purpose should extend into your office space. Regardless of the type of space you use, your clients, customers, and employees should see and experience your brand through well-designed interiors. Additionally, creating a brand for your space increases your chances of connecting with your audience.

Over To You, 

So, there you go! Now you know how you can do branding for your startup. Remember that it is much easier to convince an audience early on than it is to change an already negative image of you. So take the time to develop a branding strategy right from the start. And in the future, we guarantee you’ll thank the past for having a good branding strategy. 

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5 ways to boost Customer Retention Rate

During last year’s sale, you gained more customers. And thanks to that, a group of new customers subscribed to your services. It has been your team’s goal to provide the best products since the beginning. And now, after one year at the time of renewal, only a few of those customers have renewed their subscription.

Wait. What?

This sounds terrifying, doesn’t it? Even after putting in the best effort, many businesses still fail to lower the churn rate of existing customers. However, that doesn’t mean subscription businesses are failing completely. I mean, take a look at the 74% customer retention rate of Netflix in 2020. And how Disney Plus took the crown with 78 percent of the company’s bundle subscribers retention, and 74 percent of monthly subscribers retention

As a small business owner, you can still master the retention game just like Netflix or Disney. How? Well, 

Start by knowing,

What is a subscription renewal?

Subscription renewals are payments made on a regular basis by customers to keep access to a company’s products or services.

The types of subscription renewal- 

There are 2 types of subscription renewal-

 1. Automatic Subscription Renewal – Automatic Subscription Renewal is an automated service that allows your product subscription to renew before it expires.

  2. Manual Subscription Renewal – For manual subscription renewal, the company won’t automatically renew the subscription until the customer manually renews it. In this case, if the customer fails to renew within time, her/his access to the service will be stopped.

But before we jump on the solution, let’s find out what’s the problem, and see-

5 reasons why customers fail to renew subscription 

You may think I did everything from marketing to interacting with customers, and still, they left us. Is it 100% true? Or is there any other factor involved in the high churn rate? To lower the churn rate, first, you have to know which factors lead to higher churn rates, then you can cater to them appropriately. Let’s see 5 possible reasons that customers may have faced and didn’t renew their subscriptions.

  1. Lower usage of product or service:

This is probably the main reason customers don’t renew their subscriptions. Customers who aren’t getting the results they want from your product are more inclined to not renew the subscription. Or maybe they just stopped using the product or service completely. 

  1. Credit card security issue:

Credit Card security issues are continuing to rise. Some customers may have faced these kinds of problems in the past. Even if it’s not from your business, an unpleasant experience always leaves a significant mark on future decisions, too.

  1. Expired credit card information:

Credit cards have a time period of 3-5 years (no of years depending on the country). After which, the credit card expires. And many customers may forget to re-enter their payment information. This leads to a higher churn rate.

  1. Forgetting subscription ending date:

Some customers choose to renew their subscriptions manually. And many of them forget when their subscriptions expire. That’s why they forget to renew their subscription as well.

  1. Subscribing to better products/services:

If your company fails to deliver quality products or you are just offering the same features year after year, customers are more likely to unsubscribe your products and subscribe to products/services that have more features and are less expensive.

Why is retaining customers important?

Did you know that gaining new customers is 5-25% more expensive than keeping your existing customers? By increasing customer retention rates by 5%, companies can increase profits by 25% to 95%. The thing is, even though these numbers are substantial, business owners have an old idea: “Why should I serve my old customers when I can attract new ones?” Is it even important?” Stats are saying a big YES. Here’s why- 

  1. Repeat profit –  Due to reciprocal trust with your brand, old customers are 50% more willing to test new items than new customers. Also, they are more likely to believe that your products are superior to others. Old customers also believe that your company aligns perfectly with their choice and preference. This is how old customers help to repeat profit for your company.
  1. Word of mouth assurance -These loyal customers are also expected to promote your company by telling people how good your service or product is. Guess the cost of this promotion? 0$. Yes, you heard it right. 92% of people have great trust in their family or friends’ recommendations. So this is an immense advantage that you can acquire for free.

3.   Lower marketing costs – This goes hand in hand with the previous point. You have to spend 4 times more on marketing to attract new customers. Do you know what the BCG reports say? Marketing  to an existing customer costs about $7, whereas it costs around $34 for a new client. All these statistics indicate that old customers already believe in your product and trust your services. While you have to first build trust with the new customers. That’s not only time-consuming but also expensive.

4.  Valuable Feedback –  When old customers build trust with your company, they are more likely to give constructive feedback to enhance your product or services.  We at MultiVendor X have experienced this first hand. Many of our product enhancements happened because of the feedback of our loyal customers.

5 ways to increase customer retention rate

Customer loyalty requires a great deal of work. So the last thing you want is to lose a customer you have enticed into your ecosystem. If your business prioritizes customer retention as a key performance indicator (KPI), you can make sure your priorities are the right ones. Here we came up with the top 5 simple tips you can use to increase your customer retention rate. 

  1. Notify customers before renewal time:

You need to notify the customers 3-7 days before their subscription ending date. Along with the reminder, you can also attach the subscription renewal link. And if the customer has enabled automatic renewal, always notify the customer before processing the payment. Remember, you don’t need to send thousands of emails. 2 is more than enough. Or else customers will be irritated. 

  1. Offer grace periods:

As humans, we tend to forget things from time to time. The same goes for your customers. Don’t cut off their access immediately after the subscription ends. Give them a grace period of 2-3 days. This not only builds a friendly relationship with the customers but also gives them time to update their payment information.

  1. Optimize the renewal process:

The renewal process can be a headache sometimes. Because some renewal processes are lengthy and complicated. Customers may not renew their subscription if the process is time-consuming and complicated. Make sure to have a simpler template and easy renewal process to lower the churn rate and increase customer retention.

  1. Offer multiple ways to renew:

To maintain your consumers, you should provide them with the option of renewing their subscriptions in the manner of their choice. They may renew automatically, or manually. You only need to make all of the choices transparent and assist clients in selecting the much more appropriate renewal option for them.

  1.  Keep upgrading your products and services:

Always remember no matter how convenient your renewal process is or how many times you notify them to renew their subscription, if your products and services are not up to the mark, no one will renew their subscription. Customers always prefer up-to-date, feature-enriched products. So keep upgrading your product’s quality from time to time to increas customer retention rate.

Now, as we promised earlier, it’s time for an extra tip-

We just talk about customer retention KPIs being an important one. But how will you calculate that. Here is one way:

(Lost Customers ÷ Total Customers at the Start of Time Period) x 100. 

For example, if your business had 500 customers at the beginning of the month and lost 20 customers by the end, you would divide 20 by 500. The answer is 0.04. So your churn rate is 0.04. 

But don’t be obsessed with it. You don’t need to count the churn rate every day. Monthly or quarterly measurement is good enough. 

Accept churn, but learn from it: 

You have to also understand that no matter what you do, some customers will always leave. But you can learn from it. 

How? 

Well, you can add a section asking “Let us know what’s wrong?”, “How can we improve our product?” in the session expired mail. This way, even when you are losing a customer, you are gaining valuable feedback. 

So there you go. Knowing the reasons why customers do not renew their subscriptions lets you take action to combat them. By following these 5 different customer retention techniques, you will be able to bounce back your customers easily. 

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Blogs

10 Best WooCommerce Themes in 2024

WooCommerce has achieved such popularity that you wouldn’t be overstating if you said it is one of the best platforms to create an online marketplace. Besides all the benefits, one of the best aspects of WooCommerce is its vast selection of themes . A user-friendly and attractive theme will give a greater chance of attracting and retaining  your customers. However, picking the perfect theme may prove to be challenging most times. Therefore, you should take great care when choosing one. 

And if you are also looking for a perfect theme for your eCommerce store, then, we have a treat for you! 

We have compiled a list of the best WooCommerce themes for 2022. Whatever your online selling needs are, we are sure to have what you’re looking for!

  1. Handy Shop 

 Handy Shop is a fully customizable eCommerce theme that offers 40+ side grid post, dynamic sidebar, and much more. This theme is SEO optimized and compatible with multiple plugins. Its multiple product page variations and 1-6 column grid makes handy shop worth a look. If modern and clean design is your thing then this may be the right option for you.

  1. iuSTore

If you want to create fashion-related marketplace, then iuSTORE is designed to meet your demands. It’s a customizable WooCommerce WordPress theme created for an online fashion and accessory store. The theme has a plethora of pre-designed pages for displaying your primary services, your store’s inventory, your gallery, and much more.

  1. Angro

Angro is a complete B2B & B2C solution for marketplaces that includes wholesale, B2B, B2B & B2C, as well as exclusive shopping sections within the WooCommerce store. Features of Angro include a grid view, list view, MT Mega Menu, custom 404 page template, and 600+ google fonts.

  1. Fluence

Fluence is a responsive WordPress theme created specifically for bookshops.  It comes with a set of strong extensions that are available for free, as well as the best features. It comes with a collection of strong extensions that are available for free. Additionally this WooCommerce theme is geared for speed and SEO.

  1. XStore

XStore comes with a number of pages, tools, and choices that will assist you in creating an attractive and reliable online marketplace. Along with that XStore comes with a number of widgets that can help you enhance the way your customers see your marketplace. This theme also includes a number of widgets that will assist you in improving the acceptance and usage of your store. The Theme Options are simple to use and don’t demand any prior expertise, giving value to a stunning fully responsive WooCommerce theme.

  1. Rigid

Rigid is a retina ready fully responsive theme. You can adjust the menu even on a per-page basis. Rigid offers more than 100 pre-made pages, more than 600 theme and page choices, unlimited colours and backgrounds, and unlimited header styles and much more. Rigid will provide you with the tools you need to improve, speed up, and sell more on your website.

  1. Milano

Milano is a clean and modern Fashion WooCommerce WordPress theme that you can choose for your online store. Having an e-commerce theme like Milano will give your eCommerce site a professional look and feel. This theme is ideal for fashion retailers.Milano offers a variety of attractive homepages that are ready to use following a simple one-click installation. So get started on creating an engaging online store with a trendy UI and a current design style.

  1. Zorka

12 different homepages. Yup, you heard that right. With Zorka, you are sure to find what you’re looking for. However, it doesn’t stop there. Feature types supported by Zokra include different fonts, headers, wish lists, and much more. Additionally, it offers a child theme. Now what makes child themes so great? By altering the code of the child theme, you can change the appearance and feel of the theme without making any modifications to the original theme. It’s a great way of experimenting with theme.

  1. ShopMe

ShopMe has a beautiful, easy-to-use design on the front end and a powerful, flexible back end on the back end. Because of its adaptability, it can be used for any type of online store. The theme comes with all of the necessary ecommerce elements to help you create a great online store. Among other features, this website has a responsive layout, retina-ready design, cross-browser compatibility, and 600+ Google web fonts. 

  1. EmallShop

Using EmallShop will bring your marketplace up-to-date and make its products stand out more. It helps visitors see your online store in a more impressive and attractive way with the Emallshop WooCommerce theme. This theme will make your online shop appear more astonishing and appealing to viewers with its modern style.  Additionally, it will assist  in achieving a high engagement rate with your consumers.

Over to you, 

So there you have it, the 10 best WooCommerce WordPress themes. These themes are selected according to various factors including performance, SEO, features, customizability, and eMarketplace compatibility. What’s even more exciting is that all of these themes are compatible with the MultiVendorX. Choosing any of these options will make your online marketplace visually appealing. It would however be easier to find the right theme if you figure out your needs first.

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Blogs

A Complete Guide On How to Start Your Own Amazon, Ebay or Airbnb

We have focused like a laser on customer experience, and that really does matter.

                                 – Jeff Bezos 

Ever wondered how an online bookstore went on to be the largest online marketplace today? You guessed right; we are talking about Amazon, a company that started with $250,000 on 5th July 1994, generated total net sales of approximately 110.81 billion U.S. dollars in 2021. 

Not just Amazon, online marketplaces have evolved from a “choice to have – to a have to have” option in recent years. And needless to say, after the pandemic, there is a sharp rise in the demand for creating a marketplace. So why not capitalize on this opportunity and get started now! We promise with proper planning, knowledge and strategies, your bumpy ride of creating an online marketplace is about to become smooth. So gear up as we are about to spill the beans on how you can kick-start your own online marketplace. 

Before you invest…

As you have already landed here, it seems you are interested in creating an online marketplace. Yet, before you invest your time or energy into something, you should always assess its potential. Here are some stats to help you understand why creating an online marketplace will be profitable in the long run.

  1. By 2024, B2C marketplaces are expected to generate $3.5 trillion in sales. (Forbes)
  1. Online marketplace platforms accounted for 47 percent of all digital purchases worldwide. (Statista)
  1.  One-third of all business in the United States “flows through e-commerce.” Marketplaces account for 63% of all transactions. (Forrester)
  1. For a first-time purchase, 14% would prefer to shop at an online marketplace. (Statista)

Now for the step-by-step guide on how to get started.

3 Steps to Creating a Marketplace 

Step1 – Choose the Right Platform

Let’s get started with choosing the right platform. With numerous software options flooding the eCommerce industry, making the right choice can be extremely overwhelming. Choosing an Open Source Software like WordPress is not only pocket-friendly but also ensures that users have the most control over the website. Apart from that, you can also utilize the benefits of other software. 

Step 2 – Turn WordPress in an eCommerce Site

The next step is to convert your WordPress website into an eCommerce website. WordPress’s WooCommerce plugin is perfect for this. WooCommerce is a free plugin that includes a plethora of useful features, such as order tracking, consumer engagement, delivery status updates, inventory management, and much more. 

Step 3 – Select the Right Marketplace Plugin to Get Started

The third step is to transform your eCommerce store into a multi-vendor marketplace. For that, you can use a marketplace plugin like MultiVendorX. MultiVendorX is a free WordPress plugin that comes with several features that make it easy to develop any marketplace you want. 

But, no matter which marketplace you want to create here are –

7 features you will need in an Online Marketplace:

If you wish to create a successful marketplace, you must satisfy the needs of both sellers and buyers at the same time. So, while selecting features, make sure you can easily manage the marketplace while providing the best possible experience for your sellers and buyers. Here we have enlisted 7 must-have features in an online marketplace.

Inventory Management – Suppose a vendor has 1000+ products. Then keeping track of them is surely a good idea. But how will the vendor keep track? With his old diary. Doesn’t sound that convenient right? This is why inventory management in the marketplace is important for vendors. With an inventory management system vendors will be able to know the stocks available in real-time. This way they can restock products before they sell out completely!! 😊😊😊

Business Analytics Tool – You can manage and review all available data of your site, like top-selling products, sales, profit, and so on. You can also analyze the growth of your marketplace and make important business decisions. Having analytical tools like BI Tool can be a real game-changer. 

Detailed Sales Report – Having a detailed sales report of your marketplace can be a great idea because admins can determine vendors who are performing better than others. By analyzing the total sales report, he or she can ascertain products that sell better and products that need help. Along with this, you can also reduce the unpopular fields and increase the market’s success.

Flexible and Secure Payment – Suppose you have only PayPal in the marketplace. Can it serve all the customers? No right. You also added Stripe to it. Will it now do the job? What about people who still have trust issues with online payments? This is why you need to offer multiple payment options to your customers and vendors. In addition, the payment systems should have explicit security procedures because they deal with personal details and information.

Easy Vendor Registration and Onboarding Process – As the owner of the marketplace, you need to understand that many vendors may not know all the complex procedures of registration. And what if a vendor wants to connect with your marketplace and gets anxious because of the lengthy onboarding process and leaves halfway? I mean you can add the necessary ID checks, location, etc but there is no need to go extra and add 20 fields to the registration form.

Separate Dashboard for Vendors – Vendors should have the capability of managing their stores from the frontend. How? You can provide a separate vendor dashboard to add more convenience to the vendor’s management process. From the vendor, dashboard vendors will be able to add, edit, publish products and analyze total sales, profit, loss, etc. 

Ratings and Reviews – Ratings and reviews help customers to know which products are actually better and worth purchasing. With this feature, consumers can make more informed purchase selections based on user reviews. And the positive reviews will create a better impression about your marketplace. This will eventually grow your marketplace.

Cost and Time required to Create a Marketplace

Here, we estimated the cost and time of creating an online marketplace like Amazon. 

The cost of building an online marketplace like Amazon-

A core capability of Amazon is to serve as a multi-vendor online marketplace and its pricing will vary depending on the features offered. Nevertheless, it wasn’t built overnight. In the beginning you can build a minimum viable product, then add advanced features gradually. Still, a replica of Amazon might cost between $40,000 and $90,000.

Time required to create an online marketplace like Amazon?

We may sound like a broken record here, but the time you will require also depends on the size of your marketplace. I mean Amazon has thousands of vendors and millions of products to manage. Building something like Amazon in one go will certainly take more time. But even if you’re just starting out, you’ll still need to devote a significant amount of time to establish an online store with your desired features and interface. 

Feeling squeezed by the total cost and time required to do everything? 

Then leave them. Not the desire for creating a marketplace, but all the hassle of setting one up. How?

Create your online marketplace with MultiVendorX. This WordPress-WooCommerce plugin will help you in creating your dream online marketplace in no time. Also, you can set up and manage the marketplace without breaking the bank. Now as we are at the end of the blog. It’s time to give you a surprise. What if we tell you could experience the whole thing for free before investing your hard earned money? Do you think we’re crazy? Not at all buckle up and give it a shot by yourself.

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Blogs

The Ultimate Rental Marketplace Guide

Most self-made entrepreneurs start small, but whether or not you choose to grow is a different matter altogether. Even the smallest of ideas can impact the world in unforeseeable ways. For instance, did you know that a $2,000 wedding dress gave birth to Rent the Runway, a famous clothing rental store in New York City? Jennifer Hyman came up with the glorious idea of renting her sister’s wedding dress because it was sending her into a credit card debt. Fast forward 12 years where she is now the CEO of one of the most successful clothing rental marketplaces in the US.

So how did that happen?

Like every great mind she had an idea. Jennifer recognized a problem where people were unable to use all the expensive clothing they owned. That wedding dress or tuxedo is just gonna sit in your closet collecting dust. Why not put it to good use?

She wondered, wouldn’t it be smarter if people could lend these designer items? Not only would they be helping others by providing expensive stuff at a cheaper rate. But they would also be generating passive income, and who doesn’t like some extra cash? And dedicated renters could always turn this into a full time business.

Jennifer saw the opportunity, and being the early bird, took the plunge. Now we are not saying you start clothing rentals right away. Although there is potential for future growth since, the online clothing rental market valuation is around US$ 1,861 million in 2021. However, there are plenty of boats at the dock. Let’s take a look and discuss which one you should choose for your great voyage!

Types of Rental Marketplaces

Some of the more distinct and profitable rental industries in the world are as follows:

  • Medical Equipment- Needless to say, the outbreak of Covid-19 peaked medical equipment sales. The medical devices market is even predicted to reach 603.5 billion by 2023. People are storming online marketplaces for healthcare, and you can be the one delivering it to them. Items such as ramps, cold therapy units, knee walkers, wheelchairs, hospital beds are some of the examples.

Example: Kwipped

  • Dress Rental- Dress rental was an already booming industry before the outbreak. Although it suffered a minor setback, the marketplaces are making a rapid comeback in 2021. It is expected to reach around US$ 2,143.8 million by the end of 2027.

Example: Rent the Runway, Stitch Fix

  • Gym Equipment Rental- Although gyms around the globe were starting opening their doors once again, the recent wave of the disease has once again put them in jeopardy. Therefore it wasn’t a surprise when gym owners started to rent their equipment to clients stuck at home. Thus, opening up a whole new industry that is still going strong to this day.

Example: FitDel, A.E.S Fitness

  • Vehicle Rentals– Vehicle rentals include e-bikes or cars, which is yet another highly famous and profitable rental industry. The world famous car rental company, Turo earned 153 million in revenues during the second half of 2020 and plans to comeback in 2021, promising a revenue gain of $92 million.

Example: Touro, EagleRider

Now that you’ve chosen your niche, it’s time to expand upon it by thinking like a marketplace owner. So for instance, if you were the owner of a typical rental marketplace, what features would you require, what items could you sell in that genre, and how to get started?

Target Audience

The rental marketplace is high on the list of potential vendors, especially with the recent wave of Covid-19 cases worldwide. Online rentals are becoming the new normal and in this section you’ll learn the type of people who are looking for such a marketplace.

  • Health Equipment Suppliers- People have become more health conscious than ever over the past year. Home gyms are the new hype. Though it can be expensive to buy a bunch of gym equipment for a short period, it’s not the case if they are renting those items. It’s convenient as the rentees don’t have to bother with recurring gym memberships/registration fees. So if you’re looking to open a rental marketplace, targeting fitness equipment owners is a viable option.
  • Clothing Rentals- Clothing businesses was and still is one of the most profitable rental marketplaces worldwide. The whole concept of Rent the Runway was built on people renting out expensive clothes.

Your Rental Toolkit

“Manners maketh the man”– Gallahad, Kingsman The Secret Service.

Similarly, features maketh the marketplace. You can only create the perfect online rental marketplace when you have the features to support it. And, in this section we are going to discuss a few of them.

Rental Specific Tools

Now that we’ve discussed some generic features, let’s talk about features specific to a rental marketplace. This is important because rentals don’t work like normal products. 

In the case of a normal marketplace, sellers add a product and refill them once they are finished. However, in the case of rental marketplaces you need to track your items to prevent consumers from booking things that are currently out-of-stock. Some rental-specific features include:

  • Rental Product Manager– The rental product manager allows you to create rental products, attach inventories, manage availabilities, and more.

This is an example of what a rental product builder looks like. You can add dates, offer discounts, create labels, and various other additional services. The perfect way to start your rental marketplace is finally here.

  • Quotation –
  • Rental Calendar
  • Shipping– Many marketplaces entrust shipping services to their sellers, while others like Amazon take care of the entire shipping process. In case your vendors are asking to ship products by themselves, you can allow them to do so with this feature. Here is an example,
  • Invoice– Every marketplace needs an invoicing tool. The more variables in the invoice, such as discount, subtotal, shipping cost, and payment method, the better. You should also be able to allow vendors to save up to 2-3 templates to help them quickly switch between them based on their customers. Here is an example of an invoicing tool.
  • Coupons– Over 90% of consumers have used coupons in some way or another. Coupons play an important role in attracting customers, enabling you to cross-sell and promote products more effectively than ever.
  • Live Chat– With customer attention span shrinking by the day, they need quick answers, now more than ever. They have numerous sellers pining for their attention and the ones that usually address their questions first gets the vote of confidence. Get your vote of confidence today with our chat feature.
  • Location– Many rental marketplaces offer pickup and drop off in certain key regions. It helps ease shipping costs without applying any real burden on the customer. They usually have some pickup details and a drop off location on the store page, something which you can easily provide with WC Marketplace.

Generic Tools

  • Vendor Dashboard– A vendor dashboard is like a headquarter, where your sellers get an eagle eye’s view of whatever is going on in their stores.

Such as store reports for the past 7 days.

Or a visitor’s map to better focus on their target audience. 

The dashboard provides valuable information, allowing vendors to manage the entirety of their marketplace, and is thereby an invaluable tool when it comes to rental marketplaces.

  • Storefront- Now this is a big one. Although customers mostly search by product names rather than individual stores, having a well organized storefront does have its benefits. For instance, look at the top brands. In spite of having a website and making a name for themselves, Xiaoami maintains a clean and crisp storefront on Amazon. They have product descriptions,  followed by recommendation and finally social media buttons.

You too can provide a similar experience to you seller’s where they can:

Share important contact information.

Do SEO, provide stock information and track page performance via Google Analytics.

  • Policy section- Policies include shipping, return and support policies. They are important as they protect you and your vendors from unjustified and/or outrageous customer claims.

For instance, let’s assume a return policy of 10 days after which, no returns will be accepted. If this policy is not mentioned, customers can easily ask for returns anytime after the purchase date, be it a month, a year or a decade.

We have discussed the importance of policies in a later section, but, for now, here is how your sellers can simply add policies to their online stores.

  • Vendor Payment – As the marketplace owner you’ll be one receiving the payment from customers. Once you’ve deducted your cut, you’ll be handing out the remaining amount to the vendors.

MultiVendorX offers the following options when it comes to commission disbursement. PayPal, Mangopay, Stripe, direct bank transfer, we’ve got it all covered. Simply choose an option from the following list to make it default for that particular vendor.

Offer your sellers the flexibility to receive payments on their own turf and gain their confidence in the long run.

How to get started on a marketplace?

Now let’s say that you’re enamoured by the concept of a rental marketplace and plan to build one. How would you go about achieving that goal? What should be your topmost priorities and where should you invest the majority of your resources?

Step 1- Pick your Niche

Firstly, you need an idea, a niche so to speak. It has to be something trendy and must be in demand. The best way to test out your ideas is by creating an MVP (minimum viable platform). Get your product out in the market and implement in-demand features as soon as possible.

  • Clarify your goals and objectives.
  • Write down your business plan.
  • Study your target audience and the competition around them. 
  • Envision how your business will evolve in the future.
  • Highlight your real competitive advantage.
  • Get the proper license.
  • Apply for funding.

Step 2- Learn to create your marketplace

While choosing the web development solution, you can either create your own marketplace website from scratch, or you can opt for readymade solutions that do everything for you. These platforms are fully customizable and come with basic features, with the optional perfect to get you started on your rental marketplace journey. You can always have more features once you’ve secured your footing within the industry.

Note that the cost of developing your own marketplace can cost around $30,000 +in 2021.Source

As you can see from above, creating your marketplace from the ground up isn’t cheap. Also it consumes one of your scarce resource i.e. Time.  There are better options available in case you’re not prepared to invest that kind money, more on that later.

Step 3- Choose how to charge your sellers

Now it’s time to consider the pricing model. Look at Uber for instance. They implement something known as surge pricing or dynamic pricing, which increases the price of the ride during increased demands.

Source

Uber raises rates to increase more cars on the road. You can try something similar. For instance, you can raise the cost of tuxedos during the wedding season so that more renters are willing to list the item.

Step 4- Provide the perfect vendor onboarding experience

Onboarding can be a messy and lengthy process based on the complexity of your marketplace. It is inefficient to address each and every struggling employee who is trying to list on your marketplace. 

It is better to consult your sales team and arrange for demo videos that clearly explain the onboarding process, along with a dedicated F.A.Q. section which addresses most common problems.

Step 5- Ensure Product Safety with Insurance

Product safety is crucial for online rental marketplaces. What happens when a dress is damaged or some camping gear goes missing? How should you go about charging the rentee?

There are three possible ways you can resolve the issue.

  • Security Deposit– You can charge a small security deposit that pays for damaged or stolen products. However, it only applies to cheap items. You cannot make enough security deposits for expensive items as it defeats the purpose of renting items.
  • Terms and conditions– You can list it in your terms and conditions that customers will be proportionately charged for repairing or replacing any major damage done to the rented item.
  • Insurance- Insurance is more suited to expensive items. You can partner with an insurance company to pay for any major damages on your items. In return, you can charge your customers a small fee as insurance premiums.

Step 6- Devise a fast and reliable shipping plan

Most cases it’s not possible to offer shipping services as it tends to significantly lower the profit margins. As a solution you can,

  • You can ask vendors to take care of shipping themselves.
  • Can offer paid shipping services(not possible over longer distances due to high shipping cost).
  • Offer customers to collect the item themselves.
  • Allow the vendor and customer to discuss a suitable shipping option.
  • Provide shipping services yourself.

Source

Step 7- Create marketing campaigns to promote your marketplace

It’s not what you sell that matters as much as how you sell it!” — Brian Halligan, CEO & Co-Founder, HubSpot.

Marketing is key to success. You must have a definite approach and successful social media strategy to succeed in this day and age. Industry giants spend millions on marketing campaigns. Although it’s not feasible for you to do the same, you can take small steps to ensure your presence on the internet. More on this later.

Step 8- Allow customers to effortlessly navigate you marketplace

The navigation bar must contain links to important categories as shown in the image. These categories may vary across genres, but the ultimate goal remains the same. Provide the customers a way to instantly browse whatever they desire.

  • Subscription- Subscription is the highlight of Rent the Runway as it is the website’s apex revenue generation strategy. You can try offering something similar on your marketplace. 
  • Discover- Discover new items from latest arrivals and most popular community picks. 
  • Clothing- Choose from a wide range of dresses. Should contain a detailed set of filters to help the customers find exactly what they are looking for in your marketplace.
  • Accessories- Look for accessories that go with your dress.
  • Designer- Search dresses based on designer choices.
  • Sale- Items that are on sale.
  • Occasion- Occasional wear for parties, weddings outings, etc.

Allowing customers to freely roam your collection greatly improves engagement and enhances the overall user experience.

We have discussed everything on how to get started on your rental marketplace journey. Now it’s time to finally delve a bit deeper and discuss other marketplace requirements such as plan your business objective and expectations, analyzing the competition, defining user pain points and effectively addressing them.

Case Studies- Learn from Successful Models

Let’s compare two of the most popular clothing rentals in the market. In this section we will discuss what makes them unique, how they address customers needs and what makes success at the end of the day.

DifferencesRent the RunwayStitch Fix
1. The Business ModelRent the Runway serves trendy ladies who wish to borrow expensive designer goods at an affordable price. They offer one time rentals as well as subscriptions.Stitch Fix serves as a personal stylist, curating high-end products for customers. They gather preferences and deliver clothes hand-picked by their designers. They also use data science to tailor each user’s shopping experience while considering trending style preferences.
2. Annual Revenue$100- $500M$1.8B
4. Target AudienceIndividuals seeking to rent high value branded items at a cheap price.Individuals looking for personal stylists who pick wardrobes on their behalf based on personal and preferences.
5. Workflow Explaineda. The customer visits the website.b. They can either opt for subscriptions or one time rental.c. Customers can pick a dress and rent it for four to eight days.d. The dress arrives at the customer’s doorstep by 8am.e. At the end of the rental period the dress has to be dropped at a specified carrier by the customer.f. Subscription plans offer more flexibility. Members get free shipping and returns, no return dates, pick four styles at a time, and gain access to better quality items.a. Customers visit Stitch fix.b. They have to go through a quiz.c. The quiz records a variety of variables relating to style preferences.d. The customer is then asked to pay a $20 stylist fee for that order or FIX.e. Customers can opt for automatic deliveries every two-three weeks, every month, every two months or every three months. Each time the customer will be charged a $20 stylist, which is non-refundable.f. The customer has a three day period to try out the dress.g. They can buy what they like and return the rest.
6. Crucial DifferenceRelies on subscriptions(offering multiple rentals without additional cost) as a main source of revenue.Relies on surprise clothings based on personal preferences and tailored garments.

Both renting marketplaces are successful in their own way. While one relies on customers picking their garments the other chooses data science and trend prediction to deliver a tailored experience to their target audience.

Marketing Tips

Marketing is the key to success for any business in existence. It has two primary goals:

  • To build relations with your target audience.
  • To plaster your brand’s image in the minds of your customers.

Before the dawn of social media, marketing was limited to pamphlets, commercials, billboards and the back of cereal boxes. However, in the 21st century, marketing has been redefined with the rise of social media. 

Although you can spend a fortune plastering your commercial on every live screen. Provided it’s a good commercial that connects well with your target audience, you could see a massive upsurge in sales.

But what happens when you cannot afford that kind of budget? That’s where social media comes into the picture. Now, posting ads on the internet is also an expensive proportion, but you can get away with spending little, sometimes nothing at all. Let’s discuss some generic marketing tips, followed by specialized tips pertaining to the clothing industry.

Generic Marketing tips

  • Videos- Hire a professional to create a video about your USP. your target audience may not have the time to consume written content. 68% of marketers say that video has better return investment than Google. Given the short attention span of people these days, a video is more likely to grab your target audience’s attention.
  • Target audience- Set your sight on a fixed demographic. Are you targeting teenagers, working professionals, middle aged people? Each group perceives the world from a different lens. They even use different social media apps and consume online content differently than others so plan accordingly.
  • Get active on social media- Every leading business has a social media profile where they post periodically. Not not all businesses benefit from doing regular posts. Some prefer once per day while others get optimal results from posting 1-5 times per month. So, what is best suited for your online rental business?

Source

According to Hubspot, organizations on Facebook with less than 10,000 followers received fewer clicks by posting 31-60 posts per month. However, companies with 10,000+ followers received increased clicks by posting 60 times per month. Work smart, not hard.

  • Encourage customers to provide feedback- Instead of just relying on word of mouth advertising you can actively take part in promotions. Follow up customer with emails asking for their reviews. Offer them gift cards or other promotional items in exchange for referrals. You can even host events and contests on social media, asking consumers to comment on your latest collections.  

Return, Shipping and Support Policy

Return Policy

 A.E.S Fitness – One of the known fitness rental marketplaces in the US.

It is not mandatory to have a return policy on your rental marketplace. But you expose yourself to a world of pain if you don’t have one. How? 

Retailers without a Return and Refund policy in New York will have to accept returns and issue refunds for all merchandise returned within 30 days of purchase. Moreover customers prefer shopping/renting on marketplaces with clear rental policies. Over 60% customers review Return & Refund Policy before making a purchasing decision. Here are some best practices for return policies:

  • Make it easier to find.
  • Mention exact dates and times. Avoid words like “by the end of the day”. Instead use “Return within 3 days”.
  • Mention what happens if a customer wants to return on a Sunday(since postal services don’t work on weekends).
  • Be flexible by offering both drop-off locations and delivery services FedEx.
  • Show them how to return.
  • Clearly explain the terms and conditions in case they fail to return on time.

Shipping Policy

Stitch Fix- Famous clothing rental marketplace know for renting high quality designer clothes at a cheap affordable rate.

Shipping policies are as equally as important as returns. Whether you’re charging them a fee or providing free shipping plays a major in online rentals. Did you know that 72% of consumers prefer online shopping simple because of free shipping? Customers are more likely to rent from your marketplace if you’re willing to provide free shipping.

Take a look at these best practices when it comes to shipping policies:

  • Break down shipping details in a clear and concise chart. This includes shipping details, order processing and delivery time, domestic and international shipping options, shipping costs, pickup stores(if any) and, finally cancellation policy.
  • You can also ask potential customers for their zip code when they first visit your marketplace, so that you can show them shipping charges right away.
  • Offer free shipping in conjunction with additional discounts and benefits. For instance, ask customers to buy two or more products, or offer free shipping for a limited time.
  • You can also offer free shipping coupons during special events.

Support Policy

Example: FitDel– Yet another marketplace within the fitness industry with a clear cut contact and support page for speedy solutions.

I once bought a software which ended up underperforming on my computer. As usual I filed for a return via mail and the support team got back to me within half an hour. I stated my problem, and they replied they understood my struggle. The person on the other end shared some tutorials that could speed up my computer. They also donated some credits(currency which could be used to buy additional services within the software) to my account as a compensation. Lastly, they added that I can send another mail if I was still willing to part with the software. Now what did I do? Keep reading to find out.

Takeaway:

  • Provide quick support.
  • Try to understand your customers’ pain points.
  • Provide credits or coupons to maintain a positive relationship with your customers.

Support Policies is yet another major aspect of any rental marketplace. Display them in easily noticeable places. Be precise regarding the kind of support you’re willing to provide and the consequences should the customer breach any aforementioned policies.

96% of consumers state that customer service is important in their choice of loyalty to a brand. Therefore, make it as seamless as possible. Best practices include:

  • Creating a F.A.Q section to address common queries.
  • Creating a social media group to address newer millennials and Gen Z, who are the most active in these spheres.
  • If your business is large enough, hiring a dedicated team to offer support services.

And, yes, I ended up keeping the software.

Why MultiVendorX?

Do you want to create a fully-featured rental marketplace, without spending a single penny? Are you looking for a great support team with impressive turnaround time? If so, then look no further.

We know that developing a rental marketplace requires significant work. Our goal is to give you the tools that help you test out ideas without spending a fortune on them. Want to start a clothing rental business? Go ahead. We’ve added a few examples up top. Interested in renting out fitness items? Create an MVP to see how things go before investing in your startup.

We have the tools capable of bringing your visions to life. It’s true that we offer paid features, but they are NOT required to create a fully-functional marketplace. You can easily get by with our free services and pay for additional features once your business expands. Till then you’re free to use WC Marketplace as much as you want.

So what are you waiting for? Get MultiVendorX and start building towards a prosperous feature!

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MultiVendorX v3.7: Everything you need to beat the Competition

“2021 will be a year of transition… society can start to look forward to shaping their future rather than just grinding through the present.”- McKinsey & Company

Companies both old and new are adapting to the new world order, embracing changes and striding forward with ambitious ideas. France witnessed 84,000 new business formations in October 2020. The UK also witnessed a 30% increase in business registrations in the third quarter of 2020. 

With the world finally breaking through the shackles of Covid-19, there has never been a better time to start your own online marketplace, and we at MultiVendorX can help you jumpstart your entry into the marketplace industry. 

We’ve heard your feedback over the past year and worked tirelessly to turn your expectations into a reality. So that moving forward, you have the best WordPress service marketplace plugin at your fingertips. So what’s new in the new in MultiVendorX 2021 update? Let’s find out!

MultiVendorX Update – What’s new?

Were you waiting for a specific feature? Or are you simply curious as to how you can benefit from the latest additions? New tools, faster setups, easier access, MultiVendorX now has it all. Read on to find out how you can improve your online marketplace.

  • Multi-language support– Give more power to your vendor by allowing them to add products in multiple languages and connect with customers across the globe.
  • Elementor Builder–  Custom design your shop with Elementor’s drag & drop features. Add product descriptions, image galleries, video sections with ease.
  • Follow the seller– Allow customers to follow their favorite sellers for updates on the latest stock, coupons, or special promos, and save tons in advertisement costs.
  • Seamless Migration– Auto detection and seamless data transfer from previous marketplaces to help you avoid the tedious process of copy-pasting your database when you switch to MultiVendorX.

WPML Support

Feature Highlights

  • Vendors can input various linguistic versions of product data
  • Customers can view products in their own language

Did you know that 30% of the Canadian population speaks French and its fourth most spoken language in the U.S.A? Also, reports state that Italians ranked the worst in speaking English.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could address the native French/Italian speaking population in their own language?

Why?

Because 55% of consumers prefer online shopping in their mother language, especially the French.

WPML is a multilingual plugin that allows you to run the WooCommerce store in several languages. It lets you:

  • Translate product title & descriptions
  • Translate texts during checkouts
  • Do SEO in different languages

Communication is crucial when it comes to establishing a long-lasting relationship with your target audience. With our latest WooCommerce plugin update you can now provide multilingual support for your vendors. Simply,

  • Choose the pages where you want to offer the said language options.
  • Pre-write the titles and product descriptions in the specified language.

Now when a customer visits your online marketplace, they get to choose between different languages such as English, Spanish, French etc.

Elementor Site Builder

Feature Highlights 

  • You can now create shop pages by simply dragging and dropping as is possible with Elementor. 
  • Custom design your marketplace templates like Amazon and Flipkart with only a few clicks.
  • Experiment with new design elements or save them as templates for later use.

Elementor is one of the best page builders for both new and existing WordPress users. It enables you to easily customize your shopping page. You can add product descriptions, images, and even a video section by simply dragging and dropping the boxes on the page.

It’s easy, intuitive, and saves you the cost of hiring professionals. Gain creative freedom over your multi-vendor marketplace with the Elementor site builder. Experiment with new designs, industry-tested page layouts, the test which performs best, and start selling right away.

MultiVendorX Migration

Feature Highlights 

  • Seamlessly transfer all your vendors with all their existing products and orders without loss.
  • Intuitively detects your previously used plugin along with product details and other information.
  • All over better migration experience for both you and your vendors.

Unsatisfied with your current multivendor platform? Do you want to try a new multivendor solution but fear data loss during migration? Looking for seamless data and vendor transfer?

Switching your current multivendor provider can be challenging, but if it’s holding back your business, you should do it anyway. We are just here to help you make the transition as effortless as possible.

MultiVendorX ’s new feature lets you import all of your vendor’s relevant information in only a few clicks. We will take care of all your vendors and their products. All you have to do is simply download MultiVendorX and follow these instructions.

  1. Download MultiVendorX
  2. Go to ‘Setup Wizard’ 
  3. Follow the instructions until you reach ‘Migration’
  4. Choose your current multivendor provider
  5. Click ‘Import’

The new MultiVendorX update offers faster and more reliable store setup than ever before. There is no margin for error since the whole process is automated. 

Here at MultiVendorX we value your time. If you like to try us, we make sure you can do so, both reliably and quickly. We handle the tedious bits so that you can focus on your online marketplace business.

Save yourself the trouble of repeatedly transferring information between your previous marketplace and MultiVendorX. Simply migrate the entire database and set up shop within a day or two.

Miscellaneous MultiVendorX Updates

Aside from the major MultiVendorX 2021 updates we’ve also introduced other changes to your favorite online marketplace software.  

Keep customers informed with the new ‘Follow’ feature

Feature Highlights:

  • Provide better communication between sellers and buyers with automatic notifications
  • Save money on marketing by automatically informing followers whenever a new product is added to a store

In addition to Vendor tabs appearing in a more organized, descriptive, and visually appealing manner, we’ve also included a new ‘Vendor follow’ feature. As the marketplace owner, you can toggle this feature on or off for selected sellers. What are the benefits of this new feature?

One of the greatest advantages of the ‘follow feature’ are automatic notifications. By following a specific seller, customers receive notifications whenever that seller uploads a new product or restock older items.

So imagine one of your vendors added a new item to their store. Instead of spending money marketing the product, they can take advantage of this feature, which automatically notifies all of the following customers. It’s free marketing at no extra cost and it allows sellers to maintain a constant communication with their target customers.

Easier Access to Membership Pages

Feature Highlights:

  • Easily access and create memberships services for sellers without hassle.

So you want to earn more from your sellers but don’t intend to overburden them with expenses? Subscription is possibly one of the best ways you can charge sellers for some extra facilities. Don’t believe us? Just ask Amazon. They have had great success with the FBA program which was still going strong back in 2020, showing no signs of slowing down.

Now as for the setup, creating membership used to be a nightmare. Older users are well-accustomed to the perils of searching for this particular feature. So we’ve taken the initiative to streamline the whole process for marketplace owners, both old and new, so that you can easily create subscription/membership pages.

We’ve replaced lengthy page creation processes with something more intuitive. Simply go to products, add a new page, scroll down, choose the product data and you’re done.

Simpler Recurring Payment Setups with Stripe

Feature Highlights:

  • Reliable and consistent revenue without the fear of late payments

Now setting up memberships is easy enough, but how do you follow up on payments? Running an online marketplace is a lot of work. The last thing you want to do is to follow-up on invoices, seekling for subscription payments from your sellers.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could automate the whole process? Well now you can get recurring payment services via Stripe. The new Webhook setting does a much better job at setting up recurring payments.

You don’t have to download Stripe and connect it to WooCommerce anymore. Simply provide the webhook and you’re good to go. It’s easier, faster and is more reliable than ever.

Feel free to read the MultiVendorX release notes for a complete breakdown of all the major changes and minor tweaks we’ve made to help you effortlessly run your online business. We are prepping MultiVendorX for the future of eCommerce. Optimized features, easier navigation, unnecessary code cleanups and much more. Gauge the potential of the online marketplace industry with our newly updated WooCommerce plugin for free. Creating the perfect online marketplace because god forgives but not customers.

P.S: If you are still thinking about why you will choose MultiVendorX – check out our market-leading marketplace feature