Top 5 Marketplace Nightmares and How to Solve Them

Halloween this year may seem a little different. Normally, us Shuupsters would be getting excited about Halloween parties, dressing up in spooky costumes, and trick-or-treating.

However, 2022 introduced some challenges to our holiday routine and we were forced to move our activities online. The good news is that so many events and services have moved online it hardly feels unnatural any more.  We now regularly participate in online yoga classes, webinars, meetings, and food ordering. The demand for online services has truly spiked.

This is good news for e-commerce marketplace owners but they still may toss and turn at night thinking about how to optimize their business.

Which is why we are listing the top 5 marketplace nightmares that give can give our clients goosebumps:

The worst fear of every marketplace owner is that vendors won’t want to sell their products on their platform. This concern is not irrational, but take a deep breath and remember:

Making your marketplace attractive, trustworthy and functional is in your hands. 

You are in charge of your marketplace and it’s up to you where you want to take it. Lucky for you, Shuup is here to help navigate you in your journey to success.

So, let’s address the issue. How do you attract vendors to your marketplace? 

• Start onboarding vendors even before the launch
• Make sure the onboarding process is clear to vendors
• Test all integrations (payment processors, shipping services, etc.) before launching
• Provide support and assistance to your vendors during the onboarding process
• Advertise, work on your SEO, and offer a clear value proposition to vendors

Make sure you communicate all your fears and concerns to your project manager at Shuup. Our team will help you address every issue and avoid the most common mistakes marketplace owners make when it comes to communication with vendors.

It seems like there is never enough time no matter how far in advance you start planning. Sometimes you solve one problem and a new one pops up to replace it in an instant.  This can feel daunting but remember, running a business is all about solving problems.

Shuup will provide support and guidance to make sure your timeline is realistic and every critical milestone is reached before your launch.

Some tips to make sure you don’t lose your head: 

• Break your big project into small steps and do something every day.
• Use  Shuup’s checklist to see how you progress and stay on top of launch activities.
• If you feel overwhelmed, book a call with your Shuup project manager. They can help you manage your launch plan.

Just like when you start any business, there are a number of factors that need to come together to make your marketplace successful.  To continue to grow your marketplace revenue you will need to continue to grow both your vendors and customers.

Some helpful tips to follow: 

• Work on your marketplace marketing: implement a digital marketing and SEO plan
• Always be assessing the quality of services you and your vendors provide – and work to improve them
• Experiment with offers and sales, bring those products that get most attention to the front page

As Thomas Jefferson said,  “I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have“. In other words, creating a thriving marketplace is a lot of work but that hard work can pay-off big time.

When customers come to your marketplace, the first thing they see is your storefront. Use it to show them that they can trust your marketplace. It only takes a couple seconds for them to decide whether your marketplace looks reliable.

To avoid trust issues, user experience is the first thing you need to address:

• Work on the layout, make sure it’s easy to navigate and move through the checkout process
• Use clear, simple language that is understandable to  your target audience
• Avoid mistakes and typos and ensure your vendors do the same
• Check that your vendors upload relevant and good quality images and well written description of their products and services
• Write clear policies for returns, shipping and privacy for your customers
• Provide several communication channels: e.g. social media, customer service, and reviews for customers to refer to
• Use photos of the marketplace staff on the “about us” page. Research has proven that human photos on the website can almost double conversion.

If you are asking yourself this question, you are on the right track. It is indeed your responsibility to make sure that your vendors are high quality.

Luckily for you, vendor management is easy with Shuup. We provide you with all the tools you need to maintain great communication with your vendors.

For instance, Shuup allows you to easily: 

• Approve vendors and their products
• Correct vendor product descriptions
• Contact vendors whenever you have an issue and respond to their queries
• Be in charge of all the transactions and pay vendors after they fulfill their obligations to customers

We always fear the things we can’t control, however your marketplace isn’t one of them.

You are in full control and you can make your marketplace successful and a Shuupster will be there every step of the way, providing you with all the tools and guidance you need

Good luck and remember: Freddy Krueger is scary. Marketplaces aren’t

If you would like to learn more about Shuup, schedule a demo today!