B2B Marketplaces: What e-commerce startups should consider!
If studies are to be believed, marketplaces are already a “must have” for online wholesale suppliers, and brick-and-mortar retailers’ interest in selling on online marketplaces will also increase in the future. Stationary retail in particular is faced with the great challenge of tapping into the e-commerce business as part of a multichannel strategy. The easiest way for beginners to do this is via marketplaces. It’s not that simple either. We have put together the most important tips with which one can act successfully on Ebay, Amazon and eWorldTrade.com, but also on smaller marketplaces. Despite the change in tempo, some good things are valuable longer.
Define medium-term strategy: quick successes are not a matter of course!
If you want to start on the marketplaces, you shouldn’t expect to sell a lot overnight through this channel. The likelihood of this is only high for exceptionally cheap, high-demand items The rule is long-term work on positive reviews, profiling and much more. You should determine in advance how much time you can and will invest in the sale. You should stick to the decision for certain marketplaces and product portfolios for a while, as there is a risk of getting bogged down.
Choosing the marketplace: it’s not just the range that counts!
If you want to start selling on the marketplace, you should of course first consider placing it on
These Top 5 trusted Wholesale marketplace for Suppliers
Since these big players have a huge lead in terms of reach and awareness. But not only has the fact that there is strong competition and price war there spoken in favor of looking at alternative offers. The conditions and services of the marketplace operators are also very different. In some cases, the marketplaces offer to take over customer communication by e-mail or to answer questions seven days a week via a telephone hotline.
Presentation: professionalism is a must!
Anyone who saves on the visual or content presentation of the products should not even start. If you don’t trust your own abilities on this point, you can check whether the marketplace providers offer to take over the photo or text production. Detailed, factual product descriptions always pay off (even if the competition can simply copy over). It is important to name the products exactly and to follow the generally accepted names. Modifications or embellishments only ensure that you are less likely to be found.
Perfect service: the customer is (more and more) king!
Anyone who dares to venture into online marketplaces as a seller usually benefits from the trust they enjoy with customers. To do this, they oblige the participating shops to meet certain quality criteria in terms of product range and service. Especially when it comes to service, you have to be aware that the requirements will continue to increase. The customer does not understand that one provider is already experimenting with same-day delivery, while another only delivers when he is back from vacation.
Amazon, for example, would like to see the same speed in answering customer inquiries or processing returns as in-house. Those who do not trust themselves to do this — and also have no leeway with the issue of goodwill, which is important at the beginning — should avoid the marketplace adventure.
Software: don’t save at the wrong end!
Wholesale Traders and manufacturers entering the marketplace business should expect that if they succeed, they will sell on not just one or two, but perhaps a variety of platforms. In this case, it is advisable to use software that controls sales centrally, so that it is sufficient to enter a product only once. Systems are also available on the market that manage online and offline sales at the same time and accordingly allow a comprehensive overview of the inventory
Observation of the competition: Always look to the right and left!
Continuous observation of the competition is essential in a marketplace. Most of the time, the effort involved in comparing prices and presentations is underestimated. But marketplace means the coexistence of different providers.
By the way, Google is helping. If you enter “site: amazon seller: xxxx” in the search mask
you will be taken directly to the Amazon page, where all relevant information about the seller can be found at a glance and same goes with all of the above mentioned websites!
When calculating the price, you should be based on the average market price, not the cheapest provider — there will always be someone who, for whatever reason, decides to dump. Incidentally, Google also helps determine the market potential for a specific product: You can calculate the search volume for certain keywords using the free Google Adwords Keyword Tool.
Check marketing tools: there is usually more
Online marketplaces usually offer a wide range of marketing tools — from Google AdWords to e-mail newsletters. These can usefully complement your own advertising strategies. There are hardly any strategies here that are generally recommended. The rule is: test, test, test.
