8 Things To Know Before Launching Your eCommerce Marketplace

When eCommerce entrepreneurs start their online business, they have to be ready for a lot of hard work. With the advent of eCommerce platforms, starting from scratch is no longer necessary, but there are tips to follow before launching your marketplace.

Success in any sales platform depends on the marketing strategy that is followed from day one. So in this article, we'll be discussing eight things you should be aware of before starting your online marketplace to make sure it's a hit!

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1. Research the Market - and Your Competition

If you want to succeed in online eCommerce, it is vital to analyze the market before starting. Research what your competition is doing, how much potential there is for growth, and the best times of year to launch.

The online market is rapidly growing, with eCommerce startups catering to niche areas. As an entrepreneur, give yourself plenty of time to research how you fit in and how you can get yourself ahead.

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2. Contact Vendors

Once you have your business model started, reach out to vendors to gain their support. These are your new partners. Before launching your platform, engage with suppliers and bring them into your business model. Vendors not only supply products, but they also can generate leads for you, acting as dual roles adding to your value proposition.

You want to make sure you have something to list on your eCommerce site, and you also want to be confident you can deliver!

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3. Find the eCommerce Platform That is Right For You

The fastest and most economical way to launch a marketplace is to use an eCommerce platform. Look at what similar entrepreneurs are using and check all the online demos. Take advantage of platform providers that offer personal tours and schedule a time to share screens as they walk you through the features.

Make sure to check out the front end, admin section, dashboards, and of course, the merchant views. Keep track of feature sets of each, and create a "short list" to quickly narrow down to a few that meet your needs.

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4. Choose the Right Pricing Package

After you have the shortlist of potential platforms and features, look at the cost now and for later. You might be starting small and on a budget, but if your business grows, you will want to scale quickly without having to change anything but perhaps a click of a button to upgrade.

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5. Set up the Store

It's time to start pulling the pieces together. Now that you have the platform, complete the look with a logo image, color scheme, navigation, product categories, and relevant contact information.

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6. Invite the Sellers

Reach out to your vendors, who are waiting on the sidelines, ready to see the extra sales you'll generate together. Adapt their product descriptions to fit your size and style, use high-resolution photos, and get those products listed.

This is also a critical step to discuss commissions, logistics, and any final contractual agreements.

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7. Social Media Profiles

Create profiles for your market place on the social media platforms that will work best for you. Different platforms are constantly emerging, tweets are now 280 characters, and each platform hits a slightly different demographic from a different angle. Provide consistent information across all the social media profiles, and your brand will begin to come alive.

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8. Promote Your eCommerce Store

No matter the eCommerce platform you chose, you need to do marketing and promoting. Pre-launch marketing can jump-start sales and get you noticed. Keeping the pipeline filled requires budgeting money and time to keep customers coming. You might choose to use paid marketing such as Google Adwords, Facebook Ads, or even hire a content marketing partner.

Don't let your work go to waste now.Once you have traction, keep things going!

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Are You Ready?

All these points add together to get you up and running quickly, generating cash flow early on, and providing quality service to your customers. You can quickly start your eCommerce business by following the process above and begin working towards success and growth.

Need some help getting started or growing your sales? Our pros in this area can get you up and running even more rapidly and work through planning your growth and global domination from day one!

eCommerce Quarterback loves to take some time with you to discuss your business ideas and find how we can make that happen together. Give us a call at (877) 326-6360 today!