Essential Steps for Online Marketplace Success
While you could test dozens of different strategies on each marketplace, a handful have really stood the test of time. These essential steps will go a long way in getting your new marketplace account set up for long-term success.
- Optimize product content.
There are product listings shoppers see, and product listings people buy.
The difference?
Your product contents. Product titles, descriptions and categories are often what compel consumers to make purchases. The more effort you put into these, the more likely you are to see your listings rise to the top of marketplace search results.
Tip: Take time to find the right keywords, create compelling product descriptions, identify the best categories and optimize your images.
- Prepare to advertise.
The vast majority of product pages are populated with ads. But these aren’t like the popups and banners that people tend to block or ignore. These ads get clicked.
If you want to be truly successful on marketplaces, you’ll need to invest in at least a little digital marketing to help put your products front and centre.
Essential Steps for Online Marketplace Success – How to quickly get your new marketplace account set up for long-term success.
- Calculate profits.
Each online marketplace has its own set of seller transaction fees, commissions and requirements. Taking time to understand these differences today can ensure they’re profitable channels for you tomorrow.
- Automate your pricing.
You may have solidified pricing on your online store, but that doesn’t mean those exact prices will automatically carry over to each marketplace.
Remember: within marketplaces, shoppers often have an array of options for purchasing the same product at different prices.
Tip: To remain competitive in this area, you’ll need to adjust the price of each product up or down based on your competitors’ pricing. Even just a little reduction can be enough to win the sale.
- Diversify your shipping strategy.
Marketplace shoppers don’t just want fast, free shipping. They expect it. An astounding 96% of customers now expect free shipping, and 26% will abandon a shopping cart if shipping is too slow.
Without a cost-effective way to deliver on these demands, fulfilment costs could soon be eating up your profits. For this reason, having consistent access to the most competitive carrier pricing and delivery options is essential.
There are several ways to diversify your shipping strategy. Many use a mix of different methods to ensure the fastest, most affordable option for each order. In this scenario, you might use private carriers such as UPS and FedEx for some orders, and USPS for others.
Developing an ecommerce business
Essential Steps for Online Marketplace Success – How to quickly get your new marketplace account set up for long-term success.
- Be ready to expand.
If you’re serious about growing an ecommerce business, you’ll eventually want to start expanding to multiple online marketplaces.
When you do, the key is to streamline your growth. Many companies do this by relying on an ecommerce platform built to integrate with dozens of different marketplaces. That way, instead of uploading your product data every time you decide to expand, you simply add your data and list products once — and then tell the platform when it’s time to share it with another marketplace.
- Let your customers know.
Last but not least, don’t forget to spread the word! Send an email, do a push on social media or add call-to-action buttons on your website. Whatever you choose to do, make sure your customers know they can now buy from you on their favourite marketplaces.
Essential Steps for Online Marketplace Success – How to quickly get your new marketplace account set up for long-term success.
