The constant upheavals in the e-commerce industry brought by the current pandemic scenarios have had the whole world plummeting towards the limits of their homes and managing the day-to-day routines via virtual connections and contacts. The e-commerce industry has been quite experimental and busy building a sturdy backup plan to tackle this new normal and become adept in virtual networking. The e-commerce industry in recent years has seen exponential growth in virtual marketplaces emerging as an alternative to the physical shopping and purchasing predicament and making the commercial sector more global and within reach of mankind irrespective of any geographical boundaries.
E-commerce domains and brands have sought to set up virtual marketplaces as a safe place for merchants and vendors to create a social hub where vendors can seek potential clients interested in purchasing their products and striking a deal. In this article, we will be highlighting some points through which brands can build a successful marketplace to have instant revenue generation and help revive the e-commerce sector from the great pitfall.
A Brief Analysis of an e-commerce Marketplace
E-commerce marketplaces are real-time virtual markets where vendors and merchants get a legitimate platform to sell their products and services to potential customers globally through a virtual connection. These vendors will be making direct deals with the customers and strike a possible transaction based on the product/service that has been sold to ascertain profits and revenues.
The website admin can also employ third-party vendors to maintain and manage the shipping and delivery services whereas the former will manage the procurement of product, its availability, and packaging before sending it for shipping. All these crucial elements are performed in one place which is known as a marketplace that is open to vendors and merchants of all sorts and backgrounds.
Useful Tips on Attracting Potential Vendors To Your Marketplace
Statistics have shown that e-retail business possesses a lot more potential and bears the testimony of generating hefty profits that can amount to US$ 2.3 million in 2021, following a similar trajectory, building and investing in a marketplace will ensure equitable distribution of profits to all and allow a sense of revival in the commercial sector hampered due to the ongoing pandemic.
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1. Considering Contacting Vendors Via Social Media Platforms.
One of the easiest ways to approach vendors is to contact people via Facebook and Twitter, in the contemporary 21st century, almost every business is well equipped with a Facebook page to amass a large following and let their business explode in the public domain. Similarly, accessing these vendors through their business pages, group forums and panels can encourage them to partake in a marketplace activity and open their virtual shop via a marketplace. In this way, brands can create a list of vendors approachable and rent them a space in a virtual marketplace to begin their sales and earn equitable profits for both. The brands should have a compelling business idea to persuade the vendors to establish their shop with your marketplace. Similarly, exclusive commission and profitable contracts need to be drawn before making a final deal.
2. Employing Smart marketing techniques to boost merchant contact
Marketing is one of the most influential ways through which a brand can secure merchants and vendors that can help elevate the marketplace status. Here we have mentioned a quick brief of what marketing techniques can be proven effective to build a successful marketplace:
3. Making use of smart advertising to encourage publicity
Making use of social media to establish vendor contacts and help spread the word through posts, content, and poster templates can be an effective way to attract vendors. Merchants can see the promotional content and posters and can approach the brand to enquire about the marketplace. On the other hand, these posters can also reach vendors who are not on Facebook through word of mouth and can invite/approach the brand to inculcate a pool of potential vendors
4. Targeting audience via ads
Marketing tools such as Google ads can also be a smart way to persuade vendors and merchants to invest in the marketplace. The ads can be published on major vendor forums and e-commerce websites to divert traffic to the available market. This can ensure credible exposure and attention to attract and convince more merchants and businesses to join your marketplace.
5. Contacting Vendors Directly To Make Them Join Your E-Marketplace
There are other direct ways available through which a brand can approach vendors without any social influence.
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6. Social business listings:
Manual business listings available in a particular area can be approached and the marketplace idea can be floated in the database of available vendors in a social listing to amplify the information and invite more vendors.
7. Merchant associations and groups
Almost every vendor or merchant is associated with a particular association that represents the vision and goals of an enterprise as a whole. The admins can contact such associations to avail the list of vendors or merchants to inform them about the marketplace idea and get them listed as official members of the marketplace.
8. Local Trade and State Fairs
The local trade associations sometimes organize fairs and trading deals where all commercial business vendors come together to host and sell their products. Such a place can be a perfect choice to inform the merchants about the envisioning marketplace idea and convince them to invest their stake in this idea to build and expand their business.
9. Using Blogs to Attract Vendors
A blog is a great way to spread information and is a safe way to bounce often in google search to spread information and data regarding the marketplace and related elements. Blogs are an effective way to reach the masses and due to the content being shareable, the blogs can cultivate a massive following if used efficiently. The blog should contain all the relevant details regarding the vision behind the marketplace idea, the prerequisites required, and now to reach the admin for a successful business expansion to ascertain steady profits.
10. An Outstandingly Fair Commission Structure To Make The Vendors Stay For Long
Vendors and merchants are a backbone for any e-marketplace therefore a steady commission structure needs to be built and signed to secure the vendor’s stake in the e-marketplace business. A merchant will be selling his products via the marketplace and will incur some additional expenses or perhaps occasional losses like any normal business. It is a crucial responsibility for an admin to ensure that the contract drawn between the admin and the merchants ensures equitable distribution of profits and revenue with minimal risk of loss and damage to alleviate the stress and make the business prosper for long. The commission charged should be fair and balanced to make the vendors stay and conduct business via your e-marketplace.
11. A Steady Grievance Redressal Portal to Solve Queries
Vendors will wholeheartedly accept offers from an admin which provides them with a sense of security and transparency in their business. A steady grievance redressal portal will accelerate the ongoing queries and questions of the vendors to ensure the longevity of the e-marketplace and ensure smooth business dealings.
12. Easing The Vendors Queries Regarding Sales and Marketing
To make an e-marketplace a success in the domain of commerce and accounts, the brands are required to inform the vendors about the current economic changes and modifications to let them frame their products accordingly. Such information provided will be useful in the customization of the products according to the latest needs and demands of people to make the sales more prominent and lasting. The admin is also responsible for informing the vendors of any extra channels of earnings that they can utilize to popularize the platform and assist in making it more profitable for both merchants and the admin.
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What is WC Vendor?
WC vendor is a unique plugin that allows the users or the brands to build a social marketplace like Amazon to host vendors specializing in selling different products and services. Once the vendors have been acquired and given a place to sell on the social platform, the website becomes functional like eBay and includes selling merchandise to potential customers with proper packaging and shipping.
Features Include:
- Seamless Front end support for the website admin to run the marketplace efficiently while the vendors focus on selling goods and services
- Facility to create individual vendor stores for the sale of versatile products and services
- Vendor store management to add depth to the growing admin-vendor relationship facility of shipping included hassle-free transportation of ordered goods.
- Commission system to generate equal profits and revenue
- Easy setup and settings for a fast social marketplace experience
- Social proof in the form of feedback to promote a thriving social marketplace
StoreMate WC Vendors – Multi-Vendor Marketplace WordPress Theme
A theme is an important element in solidifying the key essentials of an e-marketplace by making it more multidisciplinary and functional. Storemate WC vendors theme is one such impeccable addition to a website that assures a platform like eBay and Amazon to compel brands in creating a sophisticated e-marketplace.
Store mate WC vendors theme ensures a ready virtual marketplace that accompanies the attributes such as beautiful grid layouts to display your merchandise in an organized manner with WooCommerce integration and BuddyPress/BuddyBoss Support for global credibility.
1. Unique single product listing
Storemate supports an alluring single product listing style to make your product stand out in a hoard of marketplace vendors and provide ensure better visibility of your product and merchandise
2. Monetizing Your website via Paid Memberships
Storemate allows paid memberships choice to the users with the intention of monetization of a website for an admin. The theme also supports membership plugins like MemberPress, S2member, etc.
3. LearnDash Support for an Online Educational Revolution
Storemate also supports LifterLMS plugins like Learndash to offer online courses via the admin’s website and engage students all over the world to seek knowledge and ensure e-learning.
4. Create a Safe Social Marketplace With More Plugins Integration
With the support of additional plugins like BuddyPress, bbPress, Elementor, Woo Sell Services, and many more Reign Storemate can develop an influential marketplace rivaling Amazon and eBay to secure vendor/merchant assistance with integrated member profiles to accumulate more vendors and sales.
If your site is built using the Dokan multivendor plugin, try the Reign Storemate Dokan theme, Reign Dokan theme is built to cater to a world-class social marketplace that helps any WordPress website to seek transformation in terms of a social marketplace like Facebook and eBay. The websites made through Storemate Dokan will efficiently host the vendo
rs from all domains and bring them on standard platforms like Amazon to host a wide variety of goods and services accessible online.
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5. Responsive and Open to Customization
Storemate is exclusively easy-going and a responsive theme that caters to all available platforms and can be customized according to the norms laid by the brands. The customizable content includes expressive header variations with dashboard tweaks and changes. The theme can also be customized via color management, style, and layouts.
With the exceptional StoreMate support, a website can gain massive popularity and equip itself with the necessary urbane features of an e-marketplace to prosper for long with the support of vendors and merchants.
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