The marketplaces or e-commerce sites have completely changed consumers' habits about how they shop. Almost everything, including products and services, is now sold and purchased through e-commerce sites and online marketplaces.
You have a project of creation of a marketplace? You need to have a good idea, set up a good business plan, choose the persona, define a budget, etc. We will detail these different steps from the design to the launch of your marketplace platform.
Marketplace is an English expression that means marketplace. It is an e-commerce platform that aims to connect sellers and buyers. On these sites, you can find products and services in return for commissions or payments according to the system.
It is important to differentiate a marketplace from an online store. In an e-commerce platform or an online store, there are generally products or services from a merchant that cyber buyers can buy directly.
On the other hand, in a marketplace, there are several sellers. Concretely, e-commerce sites are”monosellers” while marketplaces are”multi-vendor”.
It exists different types of marketplaces according to the classification by market and by sale.
In this category, we find:
In this class, we find:
If you are wondering why launch a project to create a marketplace, here are the various causes.
The first reason for creating a marketplace is satisfaction of a need of the market. This may be because of the difficulty in finding credible sellers or buyers. The reason may also be the need to return the simpler business transactions and more fluid. Thus, a marketplace is the solution when a seller has trouble finding customers. It is also possible that it is the other way around, buyers have difficulty finding a particular product.
With the advance of e-commerce and the creation of new consumer habits, marketplaces have been very successful. Customers appreciate buying online, especially when they don't have the time or the ability to travel. For their part, sellers are doing everything they can to offer consumers reasons to continue shopping on these online sales platforms.
Of course, create a marketplace for profit. This makes it possible to earn income through commissions on the various transactions of sellers and buyers. It is an economic model that allows the marketplace to ensure its financing. Thus, the platform can continue to offer its services. It should be noted that the amount of these benefits depends on various points. There is the sector of activity, the size of the transactions carried out and the strategy of the marketplace.
A marketplace, in addition to connect retailers and customers, is also used to develop a brand. To do this, it must offer relevant content and organize events that strengthen the link between its many users. In this sense, the platform must create a sense of belonging in order to retain its subscribers.
To create a marketplace, you have to go through a few steps. To allow you to clearly understand what to do, here are the different phases to follow to create a marketplace.
The first step in designing your marketplace is looking for a good idea. Therefore, it is very important to take a moment to find a concept that can lead you to success. To do this, think about the needs that the current market does not yet meet.
When you have found some, you need Define goals very distinct for your marketplace solution. For example, did you know that Amazon's goal was to become the biggest bookstore in the world. He couldn't find the books they were looking for, so the current giant decided to provide solutions. Today, we all know the rest of its history.
There are also platforms that aim to highlight sustainable fashion. They combine passion and the circular economy. In other words, setting a specific goal leads more easily to success.
For develop a marketplace, it is necessary to draw up a business plan. This document should contain all the details concerning your project in order to facilitate its completion. To develop it, you must have done a market study, put in place a good marketing strategy and a good sales technique. You should also include the details of the financial plan and business model in the market analysis.
It is appropriate to focus on The economic model of the marketplace. Of course, we talked about commissions, but there are other sources of added value for this type of platform. So, remember to make the right choice and even test before choosing a business model.
It is the most common business model for marketplaces. So, the platform survives thanks to commissions received through the sales made. This varies by product. If this model is very popular, it is thanks to its ease of implementation.
For this system, there are two varieties:
With this model, sellers pay not only to sell, but more importantly to guarantee the promotion of their products. This model is mainly found on major market places in the field of generalists.
To earn money with the marketplace, you can also offer sellers personalized offers. For example, you offer them the publication of their products, the monitoring of performance and the optimization and management of their stocks.
With this business model, you can charge management fees for the publication of new references. Often, negotiations between professionals take place off the platform and payment is not made directly online. So this business model is perfect.
Another important step in creating a marketplace, Definition of persona or Of the target. So, the aim is to know all the details regarding the target, whether for sellers or buyers.
It should be noted that the persona study must be done before creating and after creating the marketplace. Indeed, offers and requests are constantly changing.
To create a marketplace, you need a certain amount of money. In order to determine this budget, you must know all the needs from the creation of the marketplace tool; from design to maintenance. Various elements need to be taken into account.
Before creating the platform, you should think of all the necessary functionalities. The marketplace may need an online payment system, search filters, a messaging system and more depending on your needs. You also have to think about design, maintenance and support.
For develop your marketplace, you have various solutions available. The choice will therefore depend on a few points. These include the technical skills of your internal employees, the functionalities of your platform and the size of your company.
With this solution, you can take advantage of a ready-to-use platform. Saas has many benefits:
However, the Software as a Service marketplace also has some disadvantages:
Unlike a SaaS platform that is on the cloud, The On-premise is installed on your servers, i.e. on site.
In fact, there is no Open source CMS for marketplaces. However, there are multi-vendor plugins for e-commerce CMSs. Examples include WordPress and Prestashop.
You are looking for a personalized platform in order to meet specific needs? The no code represents an excellent alternative for creating a tailor-made marketplace. To do this, you need to:
For this task, you can use the services of a agency specialized in no code like Scalapp.
The creation of a marketplace requires the Choosing a payment method or more precisely from a payment service provider or PSP. Since there are so many solutions available, it is important to make the right choice. A few criteria should be considered.
As a payment service provider, you have Options like Stripe, Paysurf, Mangopay, etc.
Finding the right sellers is also an important step in creating a marketplace. If your platform is of the general type, then you can welcome all sellers, regardless of their products or services.
If you have chosen a specific field, then you need to make a selection. For example, if you have created a marketplace for construction, then, you will only receive traders and companies in the field of building and public works.
When recruiting, regardless of the industry, be sure to only recruit salespeople who offer quality products. With good sellers and good products, buyers will come more easily.
Once the creation of the marketplace is complete, it is essential to Work on your visibility. This part is also of paramount importance if you want your marketplace to attract traffic and therefore sellers and buyers.
To do this, be sure to include in your budget the recruitment of a team specialized in digital marketing if necessary. It will undoubtedly be necessary to create a blog, white papers or others to ensure the launch and visibility of the platform. To promote your marketplace, you will need to do online advertising campaigns, collaborate with influencers, create events, etc.
Visibility necessarily involves the establishment of a social media strategy. So, remember to choose the channel where your persona is located in order to ensure effective communication. This can be Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, Linkedin, Pinterest, etc. Otherwise, you can also reinforce the promotion of your marketplace with Google Adwords and Facebook Ads.
Creating a marketplace is not an easy task with the many competitors and especially with the giants of the market. For this reason, it is very important to build a good reputation for the market place.
This can be done through social media strategy, but also by creating a community aimed at create relationships and build loyalty all users of the platform.
Give a place where sellers and buyers can give feedback on the platform. If you have thought carefully about all the details and functionalities of the platform, you are not likely to get negative feedback.
The creation of a marketplace goes through various essential steps. None of these phases should be overlooked if you want your platform to be efficient in the face of the competition.
Before making a choice concerning the marketplace solution, take the time to inform yourself. Before setting a budget, make sure you know all the details about your marketplace needs.
When you have succeeded in set up the marketplace that you had in mind, don't forget to work on its visibility. Work on web marketing, content strategy, SEO optimization and social media strategy.
Hire good salespeople and improve the quality of your marketplace, payment security and data protection. You can be supported by an expert from the design to the launch and maintenance of the marketplace. This will allow you to be assured of the best results.