We’ve pulled together chapters from our eCommerce experts and augmented them with content from industry leaders to create an ultimate guide for CEOs, CTOs, and tech leaders.
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Building a marketplace can seem like a complex, even daunting task. Our new ebook is a practical guide that starts with the big picture and then drills down into different types of marketplace and ends with the really raw details. It simplifies the process for your business.
That's why we’ve prepared a comprehensive book for CEOs, CTOs, and tech leaders.
Online marketplaces account for more than half of all online retail and yet they are still less understood and less easily embraced by businesses than traditional online stores. We’ve built both eCommerce sites and marketplaces for over a decade, so we know the differences and the similarities. We discuss the advantages of modern marketplaces and break down your build into time-specific steps, talking about the individual technologies that you should be looking at.
We take a wide view on what makes a good platform and present a list of features you can copy from some of the world’s leading players. Our technical team then take you through the specific steps of building a B2B marketplace and list all the essential technologies you need to include, along with recommendations of which solutions to use.
Divante is a top-of-mind global eCommerce company. We believe in the power of community and so we have augmented the ebook with expert analysis on specific areas you should consider when building, such as delivery, loyalty programs, relationships with your customers, and the specifics of B2B and B2C marketplaces.
We’ve included statistics and quotes for at-a-glance inspiration, as well as a checklist of the key takeaways and a diagram of exactly how the technology in your online marketplace fits together. The ebook is designed so that no matter if you have one hour or one minute of free time, you’ll find something that you can bring into your business to make it better.
Before you commit to creating a new third-party marketplace or expanding your existing eCommerce to include other merchants, ask yourself why you are doing it, who you are trying to reach, and whether you can bring real value.
A marketplace is often a great concept but getting off the ground can be difficult. There are hugely powerful competitors such as Amazon and Alibaba on the market and it is also difficult to overcome the issue of attracting vendors when you have no end customers, and vice versa.
At the end of the day, your marketplace will be judged on your products, prices, delivery, and customer service. The most important indicator of success is doing your research up front, identifying your customers, and delivering something that is not already available on the market from established platforms.
You can’t take on the behemoths of online eCommerce and win out. Don’t be over-ambitious and think that you will surpass Amazon in years to come. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t build a platform that reaches millions of customers and is highly successful. In fact, the best way to put yourself on that path is to look to the top platforms for inspiration.
Amazon, Alibaba, Zalando, eBay, and others have taken social proof, recommendations, user interfaces, delivery, customer experience and other elements of the eCommerce experience to new levels through constant innovation and calibration. If you are building a new marketplace, look at which features you can replicate without investing millions, and see how you can create a familiar experience on a brand new platform.
The B2B marketplace is an obvious opportunity for digital transformation of traditional business models. It creates a unified system that is used by producers, distributors, and end customers and makes processes easier at all stages. It is a huge value-add to even established businesses but building a B2B marketplace is a long-term commitment of time, money, and resources.
It may seem complex and perhaps even overwhelming but it can be broken down into manageable phases. And it’s not just about changing the technology. With a traditional business model, much of the challenge lies in changing the perceptions and habits of your network and your own people. Everything is new and you need to clearly communicate the value of what you are building.
The project can require two years of budget if it is to be a success. It needs to be carefully planned and executed, but it will then set up your business for the decades to come.
An online marketplace is made up of essential elements, technologies that promote growth, and nice-to-have features that you can class as a bonus. It is similar to an online store but there are crucial differences that you need to understand and accommodate.
We look at the key parts like your merchant’s panel, eCommerce, and payment system and explain what each does and then make specific recommendations of technologies to use based on our long experience. We also talk about growth elements like your PIM, search, and personal contact systems, then dig into the nice-to-have features such as product feeds, headless CMS, and marketing solutions. In total, we’ll present more than 25 technology solutions that we’ve tested in our own projects and will show when each is the best option for your business.
ECOMMERCE EXPERTS
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