The marketplace allows customers to interact with businesses using an app. Having that interaction can be immediately followed up with a purchase that can happen in minutes or even seconds, and finally, be followed up by a thank you. With this, the consumer receives the service/product right away, and you receive the purchase funds within minutes or even hours. This is an excellent win-win approach.
You’ve likely heard of a “platform” that allows businesses to create their own marketplace and that in many ways is similar to B2C marketplaces. It’s no secret that the big players in the marketplace are Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Facebook, Google, and even Etsy again. Of these, Amazon is by far the most established and arguably the most dominant marketplace. Facebook is trying to make a play with that, and it has the advantage of their 1.2B users having established purchasing and shopping habits. If you want to create a viable and sustainable business that can compete, these are some of the steps that you need to take in order to build a B2C marketplace.
Step 1 – Understand the Process
When someone signs up for your service or product, you’ll want to understand what they need to do in order to create an account and purchase the service or product. It’s here that the “why” of the business comes in. You need to decide if it’s something that you can create a service/product for or if you want to sell a product or service to someone else that they can provide.
Step 2 – Decide If You’re Going to Build It Yourself
You’ll have to decide if you want to create your own platform or if you want to use a platform that is already available. This isn’t something that will be easy to decide. But if you take your time and don’t rush it, you’ll get it done.
There are many platforms to choose from. There are approximately 40 of them listed in the Google Play Store and in the Apple App Store. There are also a lot of services that can be used to build a B2C Marketplace. If you’re deciding to build your own marketplace, you’ll have a much better understanding of what your platform will be able to do.
Step 3 – Understand Your Needs
One thing that you may find will come up in either your initial research or during the platform selection is what is known as the “stack.” If you decide to build your own, you’ll need to understand your needs so you can make a decision on what you want in the back end. In case you choose a service to build your marketplace, you’ll need to understand what your options are and what is included. There are a number of platforms out there for you to choose from, and it’s important to know what’s included in the options you’re looking at.
Step 4 – Determine the Most Important Features
When looking for the features and benefits you need for your B2C Marketplace, you’ll need to look at your products and services. Are there too many features for one service? Could you use different types of services? Are you going to have a simple marketplace where they can shop, interact, or have a payment in just minutes? Knowing what you need will allow you to decide on the best services to use for your needs.
Step 5 – Choose the Services You’re Going to Use
Then, you need to decide on your top options. This will allow you to see if your needs can be met with one service, two services, or more. There are always going to be trade-offs in the services and platforms. But knowing the trade-offs will allow you to choose the best option for your needs.
You’ll want to consider what features you will use in your B2C Marketplace. You’ll want to take into consideration security, payments, customer information, marketing, design, analytics, and more.
