How to Attract Buyers to a P2P Marketplace Platform
The article was initially published on Codica Blog.
When you want to start a marketplace website, the chicken and egg problem becomes a hot topic. It is difficult to attract both platform sides as there is no demand without supply and vice versa.
Here comes the question of whom to attract first. There are many effective techniques that can be applied to different platform types and offered goods.
In this article, we want to share 4 quick ways to attract buyers to your P2P marketplace.
1. Create a pre-launch landing page
If you are just going to launch your e-commerce store, you can attract potential buyers by creating an early-access landing page. What is it?
In a nutshell, it is one-pager on your website offering an overview of products and services that will be available on your platform.
The landing page should have a clear call-to-action so that customers can quickly sign up and leave you their email address. Thus, you will be able to provide them with the most recent updates and best offers.
Below is a great example of a landing page implemented by Uber. It clearly demonstrates the benefits via headlines and attracts users to join the platform.
2. Create a referral system
Once buyers register an account on your marketplace, offer them to participate in a referral system. How does it work? Customers send invitations to their family and friends via social media or email. After bringing new users to your platform, they get a specific reward. For example:
- if you invite N+10 friends, you get $20 of free credits;
- if you invite N+20 friends, you get more $40 of free credits;
- if you invite N+50 friends, you get more $150 of free credits.
This approach can help you gain many buyers even before the launch of your e-commerce store.
Below you can see a successful implementation of a referral system by Airbnb. The company greatly stimulates existing users to invite friends. This way, it is a win-win strategy for both platform visitors and newcomers.
3. Set different constraints
Scarcity is another efficient marketing strategy that can help you gain new customers. You can set time or quantity constraints to encourage buyers to make a purchase.
This strategy works the following way. You provide goods or services for a definite period of time or offer a limited number of items and inform users about the quantity left.
Why is this tactic so popular? The thing is that people like the power they get when owning an item the rest can’t receive. This situation causes quite a stir on your platform and stimulates consumers to sign up and get a certain product.
4. Reward the first buyers with free offers
Why don’t you contact vendors and ask them to provide some of their items for free for a limited period of time? This technique is beneficial for all three sides:
- Suppliers of goods can get a new customer channel. If everything is done right, they may want to partner with your platform in the long run.
- Buyers, in their turn, will not miss the opportunity to receive several goods for free.
- Finally, the marketplace can gain a sheer number of new customers. In addition, they can partner with vendors before the launch of their e-commerce platform.
Conclusion
When you plan to build a marketplace website, we recommend considering the user acquisition issue in advance. If you choose several marketing strategies to attract buyers before/after launch, you will have a huge benefit over rivals.
We hope our article will help improve your marketplace brand awareness and acquire lots of users. For more details, take a look at our blog article: 4 Quick Ways to Attract Buyers to P2P Marketplace Platform.
Are you looking for an experienced marketplace development team? Codica would love to bring your idea to reality. Let’s get in touch and discuss how we can help you.
