Walmart Marketplace has thousands of sellers today. This means you have a lot of competitors with the same goals and customer base.
You can expect even more rigorous competition as the company began allowing non-U.S. registered businesses to sell.
If you want to stand out, you have to create a winning Walmart marketing strategy. However, where do you start? Keep on reading to learn some marketing strategies for selling on the marketplace.
There are five main factors you need to pay attention to when creating a listing:
Marketing on Walmart starts with product listings. This is where you convince your customers to buy from you. As such, all areas should be clear and answers the customer’s questions.
The product name, for example, should be clear yet descriptive. Put several images as much as possible. Show different angles and even size charts and references.
You also have to take into account the search engine algorithm. Use the right keywords to make it easier for the search engine and your customers to find you.
As an online seller, reputation is everything as it’s harder to win someone's trust online. This is even more true in Walmart because it’s already an established name.
Walmart stresses the importance of credibility when choosing sellers. It’s their platform, so it has to ensure that the sellers can fulfill its customer’s demands.
If you have already built your reputation outside Walmart, you’ll have an easier time getting in. A successful store you’ve built on Amazon, for example, can serve as a good reference.
Once you’re in, you have to start anew. As a newcomer, you don’t have customers yet. It will take time to build your reputation, but you can do it with great products and customer service.
Remember that you also have to maintain your reputation to adhere to Walmart’s strict standards. It requires each seller to keep a customer rating of at least 4.5 stars. It would be best if you also had a feedback rating of 99%.
Walmart has other seller performance standards you need to be aware of. As such, you should keep track of your metrics to measure your performance.
Walmart itself is somewhat lacking in the customer service department. Yet, you have to maintain strict compliance with its high standards. This ensures that you get to keep your store in the Walmart marketplace, and it also helps you get higher sales.
Try to focus on getting reviews as not all customers leave feedback on the product. The more reviews you have, the better your chances of getting another customer.
Having a lot of positive feedback might also get the listing to rank higher on searches. Good reviews and ratings can boost your visibility on the Marketplace.
Customers don’t often scroll through all pages to compare all products. For this reason, your listing must be on the first pages to get better chances of getting a sale.
Above all, make sure to maintain professionalism when dealing with customers. You or your manager must have the proper training in customer service.
Answer the customers on time, be fair in resolving issues, and inspect your products before shipping. We can’t be sure yet how product reviews factor into Walmart’s ranking algorithm. However, we’re sure customers consider these factors when buying.
Like in Amazon, Walmart has the Buy Box, as well. It’s different in some ways, though, particularly in the pricing factor.
Your pricing is an important factor in Amazon’s Buy Box, but it’s not the most important one. At Walmart, however, having the lowest price gives you a better position in winning it.
Wait, what is a Buy Box? Winning the Buy Box means your product gets added to the customer’s cart when they click “Add to Cart.”
Multiple sellers sell the same products, so they’ll share the same listing. In one listing, there’s only one Add to Cart option. When the customers click that button, they’ll be buying the product from the seller who won the Buy Box.
Customers always choose the easiest option, so they’ll always go with the default choice. That means those who didn’t win the Buy Box lose out on the sale most of the time.
However, you also need to consider your overall profit margin when setting the price. Take into account the product price and shipping costs. When you go after the lowest price without regard to these factors, you’ll be losing money even when you win the Buy Box.
As we said above, you have a lot of competition with Walmart. You have to be creative to stand out, but another way you can do this is to offer something new.
It can be hard to find a product that’s not on the platform yet. Such products may also not suit your business. If you manage to find the sweet spot, however, you can use this opportunity to cash in.
You may also check which products are popular but are often sold out. You may find a good opportunity to cash in, provided you keep a good inventory of this product.
Either way, having something that customers can’t find elsewhere is a good chance to stand out. After all, it will automatically send your listing to the top of the search results.
What’s left to do is formulate marketing strategies to let your customers know you have this item. Get the word out through social media or by running a promotion.
A winning Walmart marketing strategy isn’t one-size-fits-all. It must cater to your goals, products, and unique situation.
As such, you should also follow marketing tips for selling on Walmart with caution. For a winning marketing strategy, contact our team at Bluetuskr, an e-commerce marketing agency.