How to Develop and Grow
an Online Marketplace
Advanced B2B & B2C strategies to boost your online business.
Online marketplaces are trending and attracting more and more buyers & sellers. Take a closer look at platforms like Airbnb & Etsy. They are proof that marketplace models are very scalable, and diversification into any area of business is attainable.
Quite recently we’ve witnessed a tremendous push of new technologies in the sphere of creating and running marketplaces. Setting up a marketplaces based on the success and experience of other profitable eCommerce business is easier than before. Simple start of your digital business can be achieved through a vast number of affordable online solutions and technologies. Although time is right, making a successful marketplace is by no means an easy task. There are no shortcuts to becoming a market leader.
OrbitLift provides companies with advanced business strategies and support. We are well aware of the best practices, nevertheless growing marketplace userbase of buyers & sellers and streamlining all process takes time and effort.
Basically, a marketplace is an eCommerce platform where information on products or services is provided by third party seller, whereas transactions are processed by the marketplace itself.
It makes possible for individuals or businesses to sell items via a marketplace platform and employ the platform’s services such as product search, detailed product information, purchasing and payment options, etc.
Average B2C & B2B eCommerce sites can offer only a small part of what a full-fledged marketplace can offer buyers. It is a collection of sellers and the items they sell on a much larger scale. This attracts more buyers as it lets them select the best options available.
Creating a marketplace from scratch takes time and effort. From the start, you have to come up with the right idea for the right market. Then the process of launching website starts. Marketplaces usually don’t have their own inventory. So there is a need to come up with solutions as to how you are planning to make people and businesses bring their inventory and post it on your marketplace. This is quite a tough task as your website is brand new and there are no buyers to attract the sellers. This is true vice versa, as to attract buyers without an inventory is virtually impossible.
1. First of all, make sure you’re going to solve a real problem
2. Find a market that has enough size and volume to operate on
3. Narrow focus and choose your niche
4. See what others are already doing (don’t reinvent the wheel)
5. Formulate your idea and check if its already present on the market
6. Choose your marketplace business model
7. Validate your marketplace idea before building the platform
8. Build a Minimum Viable Platform
9. Launch to public and get first transactions
10. Scale past initial stage and keep growing
Our team has extensive experience in starting and growing eCommerce businesses. We can help you optimize your website to attract both sellers and buyers. And we surely understand the challenges ahead and how to build on them to create a profitable business.
We take a close look at your business idea from the very beginning and completely dive into the process as each project requires specialized attention to every detail. It’s important to remember that different strategic approaches should be implemented depending on the type of seller/buyers you want to attract. Moreover, we have a clear strategic differentiation of focused at B2B and the end customer audience.
Your B2C marketplace has to be on the same high level of content and design as Airbnb, for example, where there is an easily manageable list of leaseholders offering their apartments for rent.
Companies working in the B2C environment have been using e-commerce platforms for a while and have already realized benefits of this sales channel. Nowadays most of companies selling to consumers have online shops to reach more customers and increase the quality of service. But the B2B e-commerce companies, due to the complexity of the processes, are just starting. Opening an online marketplace for your B2B company is worth your while to get a head start before it is too late.
The approach to building a B2B marketplace differs greatly depending on what is the focus of the business owner. Below you can find some of our general considerations that may differ depending on the type of your business. Nevertheless, the key issues remain the same and require your utmost attention to creating a perfect B2B marketplace
The primary focus is on back end – such systems oftentimes require special features and operate a large number of items
Correct CRM integration – clear-cut and up-to-the-point operation with contacts and leads from the customers’ point of view
Ease of use and proper navigation of manager’s cabinet that works through the orders is of prime essence
It is also a good practice to allow businesses to showcase their items as they see it fit so that they can build a personalized approach as well as meaningful and mutually profitable relations with buyers. Remember that you should build your marketplace in a way that is appealing and lucrative for sellers and buyers so that you can reap the profits from the start. That’s why we put extra efforts into development processes to ensure the platform is both appealing and easy to use for all type of users.
We have extensive experience and and the right team to help you develop successful marketplace. Contact us now to roll out the state-of-the-art services and get going on the road to success