The Importance of a Multi-Marketplace Expansion Strategy
Overview
When was the last time you purchased something from a single platform without researching any other marketplaces first?
The simple fact is this; Not only are there more marketplaces emerging than ever before but customers are continually exploring and utilising these different marketplaces to identify the best prices and delivery terms.
Take eBay for example, the famous auction site is starting to abandon its original philosophy and instead, is embracing a marketplace presence which directly rivals that of the likes of Amazon.
Marketplaces are big business and with so many of them available out there, the opportunities are endless. In this guide, we will explore how a multi-marketplace strategy can benefit direct sellers like you, and provide some insight on our tips for making this a success.
What does a multi-marketplace strategy look like?
When customers have options, they become more widespread. This is especially true with more and more marketplaces embracing the same values and selling strategies - it is no longer the case that Amazon are the only top dog in the industry - other marketplaces are rising to meet Amazon's standard, and customers are opting to explore different options and try other sites and destinations.
For sellers, that means that broadening you own horizons across a number of marketplaces, could see your sales figures double, if not triple, by simply making yourself known across a greater spread of sites.
Tapping into your local marketplace is a great way of establishing a reputable and trustworthy local brand present, while operating and building a name for your brand on alternative marketplaces, meaning you are less likely to become reliant on a singular source for sales and customer traffic.
Our tips for a multi-marketplace expansion strategy
When it comes to creating and devising a solid expansion plan, work on building a brand presence on a selection of different marketplaces - enticing a broader customer base and tapping into the movements of those customers who are moving away from the single-track Amazon market.
As a general rule, we recommend the following rollout plan:
- Phase One - Amazon
- Phase Two - eBay
- Phase Three - Groupon, Wish & OnBuy
- Phase Four - Targeted marketplaces for your particular industry or product type
When you stick with one single marketplace, not only are you limited in terms of customer reach, but you also only benefit from one marketplace's marketing plan, Seller Support Team and advanced feature base.
Embracing a multi-market strategy will expose you to a wider cross-section of both your industry and other similar products. This will enable you to learn from, and implement other marketing and seller techniques and will of course make your products available to a much larger customer base.
Another important aspect of a multi-marketplace strategy is channel management. This means having a solid plan around the pricing of your products across the different marketplaces. One of the biggest mistakes that brands can make is to react to competitor pricing on individual marketplaces. This not only cannibalises sales, but also drives the credibility of your products down. The best strategy to implement is to align pricing across the marketplaces to establish a strong 'street price' and plan promotions according to a promotional calendar. This will not only maintain the credibility of your brand, but you will find that this also makes your promotions a lot more effective.
Lastly, it is really important that when adopting a multi-marketplace way of selling, that you implement a robust solution for managing your stock, listing and orders across the multiple channels & listings.
Connecting, managing and automating your online stores through one central location will allow you to:
- Automate cross-channel stock updates
- Eliminate overselling and customer complaints
- Prevent human error
- Save time
- Sell on more sales channels with just one log in
- Have full product, listing and order visibility in one place
- Have to flexibility to create what you need, when you need it, and push this to your multi-marketplaces
- Synchronise different areas of your business, providing complete clarity on operations, allowing you to make informed business decisions
For more information on Expandly, and how we can help you to adapt into a multi-marketplace business, click here
Need more help?
For more support and guidance on embracing a multi-marketplace strategy, please get in touch with us today or visit our website for a full breakdown of our account management services.
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