Successfully integrating into marketplaces: why and how?

At a time when 30 per cent of French retail trade takes place on marketplaces, many e-retailers – from the smallest to the most established – are wondering whether it is worth embarking on the marketplace journey themselves. From a well-managed customer experience to increased brand awareness and visibility, or even a new growth driver: marketplaces offer significant advantages. Before you get started, however, it is essential to assess the challenges and difficulties associated with this sales channel to ensure a successful launch.

Marketplaces are platforms where sellers and buyers are brought together to buy and sell goods or services. Marketplaces differ according to several criteria, such as the type of goods (physical or services), product category or sector (fashion, household appliances, culture, furniture, etc.); you can find the various marketplaces by sector in this article.

Why join a marketplace: what are the benefits?

The meteoric growth of marketplaces in recent years confirms a clear enthusiasm for this sales channel: 40 per cent of global e-commerce transactions are expected to take place on them by the end of 2020.

As we’ve said, marketplaces do indeed offer undeniable advantages:

- Visibility is a key factor and can be of interest to both brands in their launch phase and designer brands,

- by showcasing their products on well-known or specialised marketplaces, brands can reach a broader or, conversely, a more niche customer base – one that might otherwise be inaccessible,

- Delegating sales and, in some cases, fulfilment to experienced marketplaces helps ensure a consistently high-quality customer experience,

- It reduces marketing and communication costs. Joining a marketplace means benefiting from its management of advertising, search engine optimisation and other communication-related aspects.

- Brands gain access to an established and robust customer base; they can also benefit from features such as transaction and payment functions specific to the marketplace,

- build consumer trust more quickly. If you are a new brand, your future customers do not yet know you. Joining a marketplace that suits your products and sector reassures potential customers about the quality of your offering and the security of payments.

- Analyse your customers’ behaviour. Marketplaces often analyse consumer data – such as purchasing behaviour and product preferences – thereby enabling brands to adjust their sales strategy.

- Simplify your logistics management. Marketplaces sometimes take care of dispatch, returns management and customer service, which helps brands reduce their operational workload.

- Integrating with a marketplace enables you to enter new markets whilst minimising risks, whether you’re launching new products or expanding internationally.

With this in mind, start by identifying your reasons for wanting to join a marketplace and what the potential benefits might be for your brand.

Launching on a marketplace: what are the challenges?

Whilst launching on marketplaces can be a great opportunity for your brand, it is by no means a new El Dorado.

The success of a marketplace launch will depend mainly on one thing: your resources. Facing direct competition on the marketplace, your brand will need to stand out all the more, which requires a significant investment in terms of both cost and time.

Delivering a consistent brand image, engaging content and effective search optimisation is a long-term endeavour. It also means having to adapt to the specific requirements of each marketplace, making the management of product information (text, visuals, customer reviews, etc.) more complex. Multiplied by the number of sales channels, this can quickly become time-consuming and a source of errors.

Finally, it is important to remember that delegating your sales to a marketplace means delegating the customer experience. You must therefore ensure you have the capacity to fulfil orders. But above all, it is important to note that, once the parcel has been dispatched, you will no longer have any direct contact with the customer and will be unable to handle after-sales service. The data will remain the sole property of the marketplace and, very often, customers will remain loyal to the marketplace rather than to your brand.

How can you succeed on marketplaces?

Having weighed up the pros and cons, you’re now convinced: you’re going to give it a go.

The first step is, above all, to establish a proper launch strategy. There are numerous marketplaces, and competition is fierce. Take the time to decide which marketplaces you’re going to invest in, why and how. For a seller of second-hand books, for example, it might make sense to have a presence on both fnac.com and the Emmaüs website.

Next, draw up an action plan that will help you stand out:

• What products will you be offering?
• What visual experience will you offer? On the La Redoute furniture marketplace, for example, some sellers choose to showcase images of their furniture in a real-life setting within a room, whilst others present the furniture against a white background.
• How will you present your products? Some marketplaces offer dedicated sections, which you can manage just like your own shop.

Once you’ve done your thinking, it’s time for action! To prepare for the launch and perform well on this new sales channel, make sure you’re properly equipped. Product information and its distribution across the various marketplaces are crucial: you’ll need to combine a PIM (Product Information Manager) with a unified commerce solution. Whilst the PIM enables better management of product data (in real time), the marketplace solution allows you to adapt product information to the requirements of different marketplaces and manages the sales cycle (stock levels, prices, etc.).

There are many benefits to this combination. As well as gains in productivity and resource efficiency, your time-to-market will be significantly optimised, enabling rapid roll-out, including internationally. Furthermore, you’ll be ready to expand into other channels just as quickly in the future.

Finally, here are some best practices to follow to ensure a successful integration and operation on marketplaces:

• Optimise your product information. Using the PIM, ensure your product listings are reliable, complete and comprehensive. Make high-quality images and visuals a priority; provide accurate and detailed descriptions of your products (materials, components, origin of materials, place of manufacture, etc.) as well as relevant keywords to improve your products’ visibility.

• Manage customer reviews and ratings. Encourage customers to leave reviews and provide feedback on their shopping experience and satisfaction. Respond to both positive and negative reviews to show that you genuinely listen to your customers and thereby build consumer trust.

• Make use of the promotions specific to your marketplace. Marketplaces often offer attractive discounts and promotional features that you can use to your advantage to attract the attention of potential customers.

• Set yourself apart from the competition. Clearly define your positioning and the specific features that make your products unique. Highlight these in your product descriptions to stand out in the competitive marketplace environment.

• Comply with the marketplace’s policies. Ensure that your brand’s activities and practices comply with the marketplace’s rules, whether these relate to dispatch times, returns policies or customer service.

Conclusion

The decision to launch on a marketplace must form part of a comprehensive and well-thought-out sales and marketing strategy. Whilst this sales channel offers numerous advantages, the challenges should not be underestimated. If you’re prepared to make this investment, selling on marketplaces can be beneficial for your brand, provided you’ve prepared for the launch and adapted your processes and tools. We wish you every success!