INTRODUCTION

Ecommerce marketplace tools are a hot topic of conversation among ecommerce owners. They want to know the best sales channel they can take advantage of and how that sales channel will help them grow their business.

Ecommerce is one of the worlds most booming industries. With the increase in online shopping, it has never been a better time to start your own ecommerce business. Finding the right ecommerce marketplace tools can be difficult at times so I’ve put together this guide with my favorites and links to some other popular ones.

What is E-commerce Marketplace?

The E-commerce marketplace or the online e-commerce marketing is a place or a website where one can find different brands of products coming from multiple vendors, shops or person showcased on the same platform. The marketplace owner is responsible for attracting customers and the processed transactions, while the third party vendors deal with the manufacturing and shipping. Online Marketplace streamlines the production process through one simple portal, where the manufacturers sell their products directly to the consumers, therefore avoiding the stagnant process of stocks holding. This kind of supply chain management is usually referred to as the “Dropshipping” method.
Companies like Amazon, eBay, and Flipkart (India) have experienced massive success in the eCommerce marketplace business model. This OmniChannel model has so far proven to be the most profitable business in web eCommerce. The entire marketplace runs on one software infrastructure, allowing all the vendors to sell their goods under the umbrella of one website. In terms of revenue, these companies take a percentage of the sales on any product sold across the platforms.

Types of Online Marketplace

There are different types of e-marketplaces based on different business models or their method of operation – These are the following e-marketplace
• Buyer-oriented e-marketplace – This marketplace is run by a body of buyers who want to establish an efficient purchasing environment. This helps the buyers to lower their administrative costs and get best prices from the suppliers. The suppliers can also use the buyer oriented e-marketplace to advertise their product to the set of relevant customers. An example of a buyer-oriented portal that links many suppliers to a few buyers is the Exostar.
• Supplier-oriented e-marketplace – This marketplace is operated by a large group of suppliers for establishing an efficient sales channel and increase their visibility and get leads from a large number of potential buyers. This type of Supplier-oriented e-marketplace are also called as supplier directory and are usually searchable by the product or the services being offered. The buyers can also access information about the suppliers, products or the region that they are not familiar with. Successful examples of this business model are (CCO) Cisco connection Online which operates Cisco’s electronic marketplace.
• Vertical and horizontal e-marketplaces – Vertical e-marketplace provides online access to businesses vertically across every segment of a particular industry sector such as automotive, chemical, construction or textile. Buying or selling using Vertical e-marketplace helps increase the operating efficiency while decreasing the supply chain and inventories cost and procurement time. A horizontal e-marketplace on the contrary connects buyers and sellers across different industries or regions. It will allow the buyers to purchase indirect products such as office equipment or stationery.
• Independent e-marketplace – It is usually a business to business online platform operated by a third party and is open to buyers and sellers from a particular industry. You can register to these platforms and get access to classified ads, request for quotations and place bids on several products from your industry sector. Participation in these online auctions and exchanges mostly can be done through a minimal payment of the registration fee. Some popular examples of Independent e-marketplace are Alibaba.com, eBay.com etc.

Benefits of Marketplace Ecommerce

Business Benefit

• • A marketplace allows the business or platform operators to charge a cut on the products that the vendors sell therefore exponentially increasing the profit opportunities.
• • E-marketplaces provide a transparent purchasing process as factors such as the prices of the product and availability of the stock are all accessible on a single platform in an open environment.
• • Better opportunities for suppliers and buyers to establish new trading relationship either within or across their supply chain.
• • Time constraints for trading across geographies is eliminated because of the online platform which operates round the clock.

Benefits for Buyers

• • The buyers get a wide variety of options on products to compare on a single website. Thus helping them find the most reasonable price for the best quality product.
• • Real time updated information on the price and availability makes it easier for the buyers to get the best deal.
• • The buyers can find trusted established vendors and build a trading partnership by dealing exclusively with them.

Benefits for Sellers

• • Smaller stores or vendors who are not sure about establishing their own eCommerce website or want to reduce their marketing costs can align themselves with these larger businesses and gain visibility through their fulfillment options.
• • Regular exchange of quotes between the new and the old vendors is possible, thereby streamlining and maintaining- standardization.
• • The platform acts as an additional sales channel to market and sell their products.
• • Enables oversea sales by providing opportunities to trade in the international e-marketplace.

Some of the best success stories come from new entrepreneurs who are establishing their own e-commerce storefronts. However, jumping headfirst into this type of business model can be risky. If you don’t prepare yourself with the proper tools and services, you could lose everything. 

Here are 7 business tools that every small business owner needs to successfully launch and grow their online storefront.

1. An e-commerce platform

The first and most important tool for a successful e-commerce enterprise is the platform itself. Platforms such as Shopify and WooCommerce were designed specifically for e-commerce storefronts. These platforms come preloaded with a slew of tools and services to help you manage your business. Each platform has its own themes and included services. Pick the one that’s right for your business. (Are you looking for a storefront option where your internal team can order branded merchandise (SWAG), official print materials, and more? Mimeo has you covered. We offer corporate-branded storefronts via our Mimeo Marketplace platform.)

2. Digital payment processing systems

You can convert more business by making your products or services purchasable on your website. Thankfully, several third-party payment providers make online transactions trouble-free and easy to manage. PayPal and Stripe are two of the most popular solutions available today. Nearly all e-commerce platforms can integrate these payment solutions into their website infrastructure.

3. Email marketing platforms and print marketing

To let new and existing customers know about products, you can turn to email marketing. This is a great way to get the word out about your brand. MailChimp is an invaluable tool you can use to grow your email list and execute coordinated marketing campaigns. What makes MailChimp so great is its ability to automate many of your marketing tasks. It also helps to track abandoned shopping carts and send customer follow-ups automatically to maximize conversions. 

Another effective way to spread the word about your brand is through direct mail. With direct mail, you can break through the constant digital noise and land in your target customers’ hands. Mimeo has been helping clients print and distribute captivating direct mail pieces for over 20 years. Our print solutions include postcards, flyers, brochures, catalogs, newsletters, and SWAG. Learn more about Mimeo’s direct mail printing services here.

4. Advanced analytics and tracking

Once your e-commerce site is up and running, you need to track and analyze all pertinent sales information for your company. Kiss Metrics provides behavioral customer engagement automation that helps you better understand the purchasing habits of your customers. Regardless of whether you’re focused on making more sales or increasing the performance of your website, Kiss Metrics’ website integration helps test valuable data points on your storefront to see what changes you should make to maximize efficiency.

5. Shipping service integrations

All online businesses need to have a solid understanding of how to handle their logistics efforts. Shipping service integrations through companies like Shipping Easy and Ordoro take the heavy lifting out of shipping quotations and label generation for your order fulfillment. Both companies are ideal for e-commerce businesses and can help automate order generation and marketplace fulfillment with high efficiency and minimal lead time.

6. Social media management solutions

Every successful company needs to maintain its social media presence. That being said, keeping social media profiles updated regularly is extremely time-consuming, especially for smaller teams. With the integration of social media management solutions for your e-commerce storefront, you can keep customers engaged while automating the legwork required to do so. HootSuite is one of the gold standards in social media automation, allowing you to access and post all your branded digital content in one easy-to-use platform. This platform is great for helping you organize your content and automate posts based on your editorial needs.

7. Customer relationship management software

Regardless of all the tools and services you use to benefit your e-commerce setup, nothing is more important than your customers’ satisfaction. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools have been around for years now, but Zendesk is by far one of the most popular tools in use today. That’s because out of all the customer service tools available, Zendesk concentrates on creating the best customer experience on your website while tracking those experiences through an extremely intuitive interface. In combination with a dedicated customer support team, using Zendesk can give your company a real competitive edge when compared to other companies’ lack of customer engagement.

Running an e-commerce business can be a great step forward for any small business owner looking to improve sales and brand awareness. With the use of these e-commerce tools and services, you can maximize your results online while ensuring the best overall shopping experience for your customers.

CONCLUSION

Running a marketplace can be difficult. You don’t want to lose any of your merchants or buyers. You have to keep your sellers happy and protect their reputation. On the other hand, you need to earn their trust and make sure they’re making sales and having a positive experience.

You want to sell on Amazon and other marketplaces, but do you know where to start? In this article, I’ll explain the best tools that you’ll need to make your life easier.