This SMART 100 profile and the information it contains is a duplication of content submitted by the applicant during the entry process. As a function of entry, applicants were required to declare that all details are factually correct, do not infringe on another’s intellectual property and are not unlawful, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, obscene, or otherwise objectionable. Some profiles have been edited for reasons of space and clarity.
1. THE BEGINNING
This innovation came to life when…
Selz found that small businesses wanting ecommerce beyond using PayPal had a number of challenges. The technology wasn’t easy to use for non technical owners. The costs of using a developer or web company to help build an online store were prohibitive. Plus highly monthly software and transaction costs.
On top of this, entrepreneurs and new small businesses had problems with obtaining merchant account and payment processor. The process could take weeks, a mountain of paperwork, and submitting a business plan before being approved. What non technical business owners and entrepreneurs wanted was a simple, instant way to sell online.
2. WHAT & HOW
The purpose of this innovation is to…
Be the simplest way to sell direct from a website or via social networks. To make accepting credit cards or PayPal payments for services, physical or digital items unbelievably easy. No coding, no contracts, no payment processor needed.
It does this by…
Removing the technical and payment processing hassles. It requires no coding and no external payment processor. Selling digital or physical products is as simple as uploading a photo, adding a description, a price, and then copying and pasting a snippet of code.
The simplicity of Selz means anyone can now sell their work or products online.
3. PURPOSE & BENEFITS
This innovation improves on what came before because…
Selz has simplified the whole process. It now requires zero technical skills or investment. Further innovation means selling via Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter is built in.
Additional functionality is available from a choice of apps that integrate with other tools like Mailchimp. Plus customers are offered a clean, simple checkout process without the need to ever leave the original website.
Its various benefits to the customer/end-user include…
Selz simplifies everything needed to manage orders, process payments, and build customer relationships in one place. Selz offers a professional storefront and buying experience on your blog, website, social networks– all with a single click, no coding and no integration.
4. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
In the past, this problem was solved by…
Traditionally website owners who wanted to sell online meant using a developer to do the integration of the online shop or shopping cart solution. It would involve using PayPal or needing to pay for a merchant account and payment processor to handle the credit card transactions. This whole process took a significant amount of money, time and effort.
Its predecessors/competitors include…
eway, Authorize.net, Shopify, BigCommerce, TicTail, Gumroad, PayStand, e-Junkie.
5. TARGET MARKET
It is made for…
We appeal to two groups. First is the 50 per cent of SMEs that don’t yet have an online sales channel and who want one but are held back by the technical and cost barriers.
The second group is full or part time online entrepreneurs and creative individuals who want to sell their work directly to their audience; a market currently dominated by PayPal.
It is available for sellers internationally from over 190 countries with versions in English and French. Selz has already attracted over 22,000 registered sellers from the US, Europe and Australia since launching last year.
It is available for sale through…
Our website www.selz.com
Our marketing strategy is to…
Rely a lot on digital marketing, word of mouth, and inbound marketing focused around our blog where we provide relevant and helpful content to our seller community.
Your Turn — VOTE!
The Readers’ Choice Index was created to provide an opportunity for Anthill readers to vote on SMART 100 applications, in one of three ways:
- Tweet it: Top left of each page (3 points)
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- Leave a Comment: Anonymous comments excluded (1 points)
We’ll use your vote to create the 2014 SMART 100 Readers’ Choice Index.
FINE PRINT
This SMART 100 profile and the information it contains is a duplication of content submitted by the applicant during the entry process. As a function of entry, applicants were required to declare that all details are factually correct, do not infringe on another’s intellectual property and are not unlawful, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, obscene, or otherwise objectionable. Some profiles have been edited for reasons of space and clarity.
