What You Should Know About Selling on Business Marketplaces

posted byMuse Media Marketing10/26/2020

Selling on business marketplaces has become a prominent e-commerce tactic, and its popularity has grown exponentially in recent years.

Online marketplaces like Amazon, which now boasts over 112 million prime users in the U.S. alone, are taking the world by storm.

To remain relevant, every business has to be able to compete in the business marketplace.

In this article, you will learn:

What is a Business Marketplace?

An online business marketplace serves as an intermediary between customers and businesses.

They provide an outlet for businesses to sell their products and for customers to buy them. The marketplace, for the most part, does not sell products itself. However, Amazon is the exception.

The most prominent business marketplaces are Google, Amazon , Facebook, and Instagram.

In this article, we will be focusing on horizontal marketplaces , which sell a broad range of products.

Horizontal marketplaces, like Amazon and E-Bay, allow businesses to sell virtually any type of product they wish.

In contrast, vertical marketplaces serve a smaller niche, selling products that fall into one specific category.

The Benefits of Selling on Business Marketplaces

There are many benefits to selling your products on a business marketplace .

First, business marketplaces provide increased utilization, meaning the business spends more time generating profit, helping to mitigate sunk costs such as staff and infrastructure.

Second, business marketplaces are automated, meaning rather than having to set up your e-commerce store, many business marketplaces have automated the ability to list products and carry out transactions.

Third, business marketplaces can be easily set up and used. Rather than investing in a storefront or website, businesses can sell through the business marketplace, which functions as an e-commerce platform would.

For example, business marketplaces allow for customers to review products, a vital component of increasing product sales.

Fourth, business marketplaces often do a portion of the marketing for you by suggesting your products to customers who are likely to buy them. Amazon, for example, looks at the spending patterns of each customer and suggests other relevant products based on this data.

How to Sell on Business Marketplaces

Marketing

One of the biggest challenges with selling on business marketplaces is standing out from the competition. Marketplaces have an endless stream of products, and there is likely another product that will be in direct competition with yours, having a similar function or price point.

Therefore, it is essential to have an effective marketing strategy when selling on a business marketplace, many of which offer their advertising options.

For example, Amazon offers the opportunity for both product and brand sponsorships that can help target consumers searching for a specific product or those who are just browsing.

Next, you will want to create “optimized product content,” which is the content that makes up each product listing. Product content includes the title of the product, the description, pictures, and what category the product is listed in.

Having high-quality product content could be the difference between your product getting noticed and it being buried by the competition. Therefore, it is important to value the marketing of your product just as much as the product itself.

Selling Products and Fulfilling Orders

Once you have caught the customer’s attention, it is important to maintain that relationship not only to make a sale but also to create a loyal customer base.

Maintaining positive relationships with customers is especially important when selling on business marketplaces because reviews play a prominent role in purchase decisions, which influence 95% of shoppers.

Improving these relationships can be as simple as including shipping or delivery on a large item you are selling on Facebook Marketplace, for example. This also functions as an incentive for customers to buy from you. Or, you can put extra effort into maintaining a smooth return process!

Another important way to maintain positive customer relations is “contact response time,” which is how quickly a seller responds to a customer’s inquiry. Being diligent about answering consumer questions not only boosts positive reviews, but it also helps a business increase its rankings in the marketplace.

On Amazon, this could help a business achieve a “buy box,” or on Google, it can simply improve your reviews.

Additionally, with increasing competition in business marketplaces, strategic pricing plays a key role in the success of your business. This means if sales are low, the seller decreases prices to be competitive in the market and increases sales.

The final step to being a successful business marketplace seller is fulfilling orders. We live in a world that runs on instant gratification. Therefore, when a customer buys a product, the more quickly they receive it, the happier they will be.

To ensure the best customer experience, decrease delivery time by automating the tracking and work with a fulfillment partner.

Conclusion

Selling your products on a business marketplace will elevate your business and increase your sales.

Our team and Muse Media Marking will not only help you choose the best business marketplace for your products but also help you curate and implement an effective sales strategy to boost your revenue!

The marketing experts at Muse Media Marketing will help write persuasive product listings and help you track your performance. Whether you are hoping to boost sales on Amazon or raise awareness for your brand on Facebook and Instagram, Muse Media Marketing will guide you along the way!

If you are ready to set up your business marketplace account or are looking to increase your sales, book a consultation with Muse Media Marketing today.

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