Today, almost any business can launch a digital marketplace with readily available tools. However, launching an e-commerce marketplace isn’t as straightforward as it sounds. A lot of marketers are currently struggling to build and grow their e-commerce marketplaces.
In fact, most of them fail to achieve the desired results after spending months building those marketplaces.
The reason for this is that marketers are failing to recognize what type of marketplaces they should build to drive measurable value in a sustainable way. If you’re currently in the process of building your e-commerce marketplace or want to get started on one soon, here are 10 reasons why you should consider building a Marketplace Strategy:
1. Consumers are more reluctant to shop from marketplaces.
According to a survey conducted by Alibaba and Intel, only 10% of online shoppers are willing to shop from marketplaces in the future. This is because consumers prefer to shop from stores with which they have an existing relationship.
In fact, only 30% of online shoppers are willing to shop from new stores. As a result, building a marketplace isn’t a good decision for growing your e-commerce sales.
However, building and managing an e-commerce marketplace is a good strategy for growing and engaging your audience. Therefore, if you want to increase your e-commerce sales, you need to build a marketplace that appeals to existing customers and attracts new ones.
You can do this by delivering value through your marketplace, providing a seamless shopping experience, and generating trust among your consumers.
2. You can learn more about your brand’s audience.
One of the first things that you’ll do when you start building your marketplace is collecting data on who your customers are.
After all, you need to know who your customers are to build a marketplace that caters to their needs. You can use the data that you collect to better understand your audience. This way, you can learn more about the preferences of your customers.
You can also use those insights to create a more compelling marketing strategy. After all, you need to understand your audience’s needs and expectations in order to create an engaging marketing strategy. This way, you can create a more personalized marketing strategy that resonates with your audience.
3. You have access to product data and analytics.
Building an e-commerce marketplace gives you access to data and analytics that are crucial for growing a sustainable business.
This data will enable you to make more informed decisions and strategic changes that will help your business grow. For example, you can use your product data to inform your marketing strategy.
You can also use that data to inform your inventory strategy. You can make sure that you’re always stocked with the right amount of products. You can also use that data to drive more sales. You can use the data to inform your product recommendations or up-sell or cross-sell options.
4. You can build trust with your consumers.
Another reason why you should consider building a marketplace is that you can build trust with your customers. This is especially important if you’re in a highly competitive niche or industry. After all, you need to build trust among your customers if you want to become the preferred provider.
You can build trust by delivering value to your customers. For example, you can create a hassle-free shopping experience for your customers. You can also include features that will make the shopping experience more convenient for your customers. You can also provide a money-back guarantee to build trust among your customers.
After all, these are just a few ways that you can deliver more value to your customers. Once you’ve built trust among your customers, it will be a lot easier for you to increase your e-commerce sales.
5. A marketplace is a good way to scale your business.
Another reason why you should consider building a marketplace is that it’s a good way to scale your business. This is especially important if you’re a growing brand that’s looking to expand its operation.
After all, expanding your business operations can be challenging. This is especially true if you’re a growing brand that’s still new on the market.
Therefore, you might feel like you’re struggling to grow your business and scale it at the same time. Fortunately, building a marketplace is a good way to scale your business. This way, you can partner with other brands to expand your business without the pressure of selecting the right partners or investing in inventory.
6. What does a successful e-commerce marketplace strategy look like?
A successful e-commerce marketplace strategy is one that is profitable, sustainable, and scalable. In other words, you need to make sure that your marketplace is profitable. You also need to make sure that it’s sustainable. This way, you’ll be able to grow your business without worrying about its future.
Finally, your marketplace needs to be scalable. This way, you’ll be able to expand your business operations without any problems. To make sure that your marketplace strategy is successful, you need to start by selecting the right e-commerce business model.
You also need to make sure that your marketplace strategy aligns with your company’s overall goals and objectives.
7. Think of your e-commerce marketplace as a product
Building a successful e-commerce marketplace isn’t an easy task. In fact, some marketers struggle to build a sustainable marketplace. This is because they don’t treat their marketplace as a product. Therefore, they don’t prioritize the right things while they’re building their marketplace.
As a result, they don’t deliver the best experience to their customers. This is why you need to think of your marketplace as a product. This way, you’ll be able to prioritize the right things and deliver a great experience to your customers.
8. Define a clear objective for building your marketplace
Another reason why marketers should consider building a marketplace is that they need to define a clear objective for building their marketplace. This is especially important if you want to create a sustainable marketplace. You need to make sure that your marketplace is profitable.
This way, you’ll be able to grow your business without worrying about its future. To make sure that your marketplace is profitable, you need to select the right business model. You also need to make sure that you’re investing your time, effort, and resources in the right things.
After all, building a marketplace is a challenging task. However, if you have a clear objective for building your marketplace, it will be much easier for you to achieve your goals.
9. Select the right marketplace business model
Another reason why marketers should consider building a marketplace is that they need to determine which marketplace business model works best for their industry. There are several e-commerce marketplaces business models to choose from. These include:
- Commission-based marketplaces
- Commission-based marketplaces are ideal for marketplaces where the products are commoditized. Commoditized products are products that are similar in quality, brand, and feature.
- Hybrid marketplaces
- Hybrid marketplaces, like Shopify’s app store, are a combination of commission-based and revenue share models.
- Revenue share marketplaces
- Revenue share marketplaces, like Airbnb, are popular marketplaces that feature a one-to-many relationship between the seller and the marketplace.
10. Making a marketplace sustainable
Finally, there are a few things that you can do to make sure that your marketplace is sustainable. For example, you can make sure that you’re providing value to your customers.
You can also make sure that you’re keeping your costs low. In addition, you can make sure that you’re investing in your marketplace. These are just a few things that you can do to make sure that your marketplace is sustainable.