Online commerce platforms like Shopify and Wix are big businesses nowadays. They will only become more profitable as people continue shifting their buying experience online. There is still room in the market and some particular niches that would welcome the presence of a good platform. But the competition is very fierce. If you want to set up your market platform, you need to attract both buyers and sellers to it. Here are some tips that will ensure you get a good market share.
Focus On A Particular Niche
One of the examples to follow when you’re planning to create a market platform is Etsy. The platform focuses on vintage and hand-crafted goods. This has made it the ideal destination for buyers and sellers who emphasize that they are not offering mass-market creations. It has allowed the company to beat the big online marketplaces like Amazon because of its narrow focus.
If you want to emulate Etsy’s success, you should decide what niche market you should be servicing. There is still a lot of potential customers out there. For example, you might decide to narrow down your offerings to pets, both services and products that will help and take care of them. Pet care is a billion-dollar industry, and snagging a few million should be profitable.
Make Transactions Easy
People like convenience, and that is one aspect that you should focus on. A very important factor to consider is how easily you make the flow of money. Whether it is easy marketplace payments or simple merchant withdrawals, the important thing is to allow buyers and sellers to have no headaches when it comes to money. Work with experienced payment providers and processors so that you can give your clients an easy time with their operations.
Do Some Smart Marketing
Buyers and sellers won’t come to your platform if they aren’t aware of you. This is where good marketing comes in. You need to market your platform so that it gets a higher profile. A smart move would be to have a blog that showcases the success stories on your platform. For example, since you have access to sales figures, you can pinpoint sellers doing well. Contact them and profile them.
Potential sellers will see this and might be encouraged to try out your platform. Besides that, your current sellers will also feel good because of your reaching out to them. This increases customer loyalty and can push them to develop more on your platform.
Target Customers Of Other Platforms
If you’re looking for potential customers, you should look at those already using other platforms. You know that they would already be open to working with you. You have to work on differentiating your platform from them. Unhappy customers from other platforms will likely be looking for something better or different. If you can offer that, they would be willing to jump ship. Even if they are happy where they are, sellers are looking for profit, too. If you can offer that to them, then you can expect them to move to your platform or, at least, try it out. Many online sellers operate on multiple platforms to get better coverage.
Easy Listings And Management
Sellers who have a ton of inventory might find it difficult to keep their listings straight. You should find ways to help them out. For example, you might improve the interface so that it is easier to list products for sale. Additionally, managing a large inventory can be a problem, so helping automate it can make things more convenient.
Offer A Good Commission Structure
One issue that you should focus on is a good commission structure. When sellers use your platform, you can expect a cut on every sale. But you want to be reasonable. Too high a commission, then your sellers are not making a profit. Aim to find a balance between earning and being generous to your seller.
For example, you might offer incentives like a lower commission rate to reach a particular sales target. You can also choose to go with a more interesting subscription fee instead of a cut. This assures you a good stream of income, but you might miss out on big sales.
Building up a market platform is not going to be easy. New ones start small, with growth measured in ones or twos at the start. The key here is to build momentum by gaining more sellers and buyers. The tips above should help with that. Once your platform has gained a critical mass, growth and development should soon follow.
