The marketplace concept has seen huge growth in the last few years. Businesses are opting for the marketplace to improve sales and boost ROI. The success of any project, including marketplaces, completely depends on whether it properly connects with the target audience. The marketplace has three important entities: buyer, seller, and store owner. The store owner manages the streamlining of the dealings between buyers and sellers. Modern buyers and service providers find the marketplace experience quite pleasant when they visit.
Important Features to Include in Your Marketplace for Success
This blog post mentions some key features that will make your brand stand out from the crowd.
Simplified Form
People usually avoid exploring online portal that includes lengthy forms to sign-up. At the same time, users hesitate to reveal their personal information in the process. Hence the whole journey from the sign-up to checkout should be smooth and secure. Renowned online stores allow users to explore and sign up during checkout. Buyers can sign up using their email or mobile number and can save it for the future perspective. The simplicity of the marketplace will keep buyers engaged with the website. In addition, users can sign up using their social media accounts like Facebook or Google. This helps cut down the whole process in 2-3 steps.
Rewards
Every marketplace offers a bonus to new users when an existing user refers them. These reward points are credited to the user’s account and can be availed during some services.
-
- Reward points are usually awarded on multiple scenarios, such as –
- When a user registers on the portal.
- When a new user completes the booking, reward points are credited to the referee’s account.
- Promoting and participating in marketplace promotional activities can also fetch your rewards.
Reviews
Marketplaces include several third-party service providers connected with the website owner in several ways. Hence, verified reviews are the only means to judge the reliability of the services. The major benefits of this functionality are mentioned below:
-
- Avail reviews by sending product reminders to the customers.
- Show custom reviews block on the Magento website.
- Boost reviews for the products for better marketing.
Magento, the renowned E-commerce platform, provides multiple ‘Reviews’ extensions that can be easily integrated with the store. Magento 2 development company can be outsourced to include these extensions in the online store.
Innovative Dashboard
Successful marketplace implementation boosts demand, supply, and a desire for the buyers and sellers to transact seamlessly. No two marketplaces are the same in process, but key metrics are the same as buyer activity, seller activity, and revenue. Merchants will be satisfied with your marketplace if they get a proper dashboard to manage sales and orders. The dashboard works as your manager to access all the products/services and manage the bookings, cancellations, and refunds.
Secure Payment
Marketplaces should include a secure payment management solution to handle the huge volume of transactions. The system handles payments for marketplace owners in a trouble-free way. There is no threat of losing money due to cyber-attacks and fraud. Funds will be shared only when buyers and sellers are satisfied with the payment standards. The other benefit of having a secure payment structure is appropriately handling disputes between buyers and sellers. Hence, the buyer can get a refund if the services are not as expected.
Social Media
Social media has become an integral part of the marketplaces in recent times. To illustrate it properly, let us discuss it with an example of car care services to describe this point. Users can make a profile of their car and interact with people having the same interest. They can also easily follow or unfollow posts. Community forums can also be created as per the principles of social channels. Groups of buyers and sellers can be created to perform internal communications. A message board is a great feature to include as an add-on. Connections with the same interest people in the marketplace build a sort of togetherness amongst the individuals and uplift the overall revenue.
Advanced Search
Advanced Search is important if your store includes a wide range of products and services to provide. Users cannot go through all the product listings in a short period. They should be given a feature to search for the desired item by applying important filters. Apart from that, Google Maps integration is also essential when developing advanced search functionality. It gives a proper idea to the users regarding the actual location of the service provider in their area and the route they take to deliver the stuff.
Push Notifications
Notifications alert users about the latest updates in their accounts, like order status or a modification in the password. You can promote the deals, offers, and product launches via push notifications and create excitement among your customers. The day and timing of sending these notifications are also very important. Click rates are usually highest at the end of the day, around 11 pm.
Wrapping Up:
Marketplaces provide a wide array of benefits to buyers and sellers both. Sellers can lower their marketing costs and improve their sales. Buyers can easily search and compare the same service providers in their contacts and enjoy the services. To enjoy the success of your marketplace, include these important features on a priority basis in your store. Once integrated, you will get a boost in sales, ROI, and overall brand revenue.
Author Bio –
Elina Reddy is the Sr Magento Developer in MagentoStore – a Magento Store Development provider worldwide. She has a great experience in Magento and is also a passionate blogger in the technology field. She loves to share knowledge and write about the best practices, tips, tools, and trends in web design & development, especially in Magento.
Follow us on LinkedIn – Badass Marketing.
Understanding eCommerce presented by Digital Media Marketing
