Gone are the days when WhatsApp was just used to communicate with family and friends from any part of the world, at any given time. WhatsApp has a massive user base and if handled efficiently can be profitable for any business. With a single platform with such a vast user base, you can imagine how convenient it is for business and small retail sellers to capture the market for selling their products.
How to Sell Online through WhatsApp
Use Your Own Contacts
When you’re just starting to sell on WhatsApp, start selling your products to contacts that are already on your list. IT would help you to pitch sales better and negotiate with buyers as well. If people who personally know you start buying your products, they can give you valuable feedback that you can take into consideration and make necessary changes before you sell to a larger market.
Join WhatsApp Seller Group
The next step that will help you to expand your business on WhatsApp is finding WhatsApp groups created by sellers to sell online. These groups are run by people who are already selling their products online too.
How can you find such groups?
Ask fellow sellers if they are aware of such groups. Another way that you can do it yourself is through Facebook groups. Retailers who are selling on Facebook will be selling their products on WhatsApp too. Apart from these options, there are some websites that help you find such WhatsApp groups. You can gradually build your contacts and be the admin of a buying and selling group yourself.
Handling payments on WhatsApp
A few ways to collect payments after receiving an order on WhatsApp are:
- WhatsApp payment
Direct Payment to your account by making use of the WhatsApp payment method. The app itself allows you to make money transactions deposited directly into your bank account.
- Online payment gates
Different mobile payment apps like Gpay, Paytm, Bhim, PhonePe, etc used to receive money.
- Net banking
Through net banking you can ask the buyer to deposit the amount directly into your bank account.
- Cash on Delivery
If COD suits your business, you can make use of third-party services where they receive COD and manage the delivery of your product. This option will benefit small sellers who can let professionals take care of his/her payment and shipments at minimal costs.
Product shipping and delivery
Once you’ve figured out your mode of payment, the next thing that you need to consider is the shipping of your products to your customers. You could partner up with local courier companies like FedEx, DTDC, etc. Another option that you could opt for is, using shipping aggregators in the market. The benefit is that you don’t have to rely on a single courier agency.
WhatsApp is a great platform to disrupt the online selling space as a small retail seller in order to get all of these e-commerce benefits. The rapidly growing user base is one of the most major factors that make WhatsApp one of the hottest platforms.