Amita Barpanda, of Sankha, a one-stop shop for exquisite Odisha handlooms talks to us about her journey and what it was like to first start-off her business out of home and then turn it into a thriving online store.
When did you start Sankha, what inspired you?
I started Sankha on Women’s day in 2013. I come from Sambalpur and I wanted to promote handwoven Sambalpuri fabrics. I also wanted to ensure that the weavers got the best value for their products. So I decided to buy directly from the weavers so that I could give them a fair price. I started it as a home-based business and participated in many exhibitions to promote my brand. It was a slow start, I had to create awareness about the value of handmade products. Sales picked up when buyers recognized the quality of the fabric and the demand for the products grew.
When did Sankha move online?
My transition to an online store began when I set-up a Facebook page for Sankha. I used the advertising feature of Facebook to reach out to more customers. Buyers would see pictures of products they wanted to buy and then the details for the transaction would happen over private messages. But the process was time-consuming and cumbersome, so I decided to move to an eBay store.
How was your experience having an eBay store?
The eBay store was great initially as it allowed us to sell to online buyers and it provided a payment gateway. However, the site charged a monthly rental to maintain the store as well as commission charges for every sale. Additionally, inserting a new product also attracted a charge. So we decided to move to our own website.
What was the first step towards getting your own website?
For setting up the website, the first step was to register a domain name. I bought mine from Go Daddy. I then looked for vendors to help me design and set up the site as well as host it. I had seen few websites created by KartRocket and found the sites to be user-friendly and easy to browse through. I had a discussion with their sales team who took me through their various packages. Once I decided on an option, they helped in setting up the website.
Why did you choose that particular vendor?
I went with this vendor as they offered shipping support. They also provided parcel pickup and Cash-on-Delivery options. This was helpful for my home-based business.
How did you go about setting up the website?
The vendor assigned a personal account manager who helped me with the initial processes. Setting up of the site was easy and it was something that I could do on my own and didn’t require much technical knowledge. I selected a theme, shared my logo, and uploaded pictures of the products. I then added product descriptions and prices and my site was up.
How long did it take you to set-up the site and how much did it cost?
It took me around a month to setup the website and for getting payment gateway integration. The cost of setting up the website was around Rs. 8000.
How did you ensure secure payments?
To ensure secure payments, I chose payumoney as it had SSL encryption. This option also had a buyer protection shield. Buyer protection ensured that the money is paid to us only when the buyer is satisfied with the goods received. I felt that this was a good way to gain a buyer’s trust.
The online payment feature on the website was also useful as it did away with the need to have a credit card machine at home. If a customer wanted to pay by card, they could just log in to the website to do an online transaction to make the payment.
How did you manage customer interactions or complaints?
The website was set-up and designed in a way that it was easy for a customer to interact. Useful features like adding a product to a wish list or comparison between two products were included for the customer’s convenience. We also added the option of buying a gift certificate from our site. For customer management, I give the customers my contact details and I personally help track issues such as delayed parcels or exchange requests.
How has the response been since you launched your own website?
Moving my home-based business to an online one has been a natural transition. Of course, sales have increased through the website but the challenge of educating the customer about the value of handwoven products still persists.