The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in an eCommerce boom like never before seen. Brands that already had an eCommerce website moved their focus to driving online sales while others rushed to build one.Online marketplaces also experienced a tremendous increase in popularity demand and sales. This is why it is imperative for brands to ensure that their marketplace strategy is on point.
Marketplaces are highly competitive as thousands of brands are directly competing with one another. It can be a challenge for your brand to stand out and drive conversions. Here are a few things that you should keep in mind to help improve and optimise your marketplace strategy:
Choosing the right places to sell is integral to your marketplace strategy. Each marketplace has different offerings rules and policies but most importantly have a varying customer base. It is important for you to understand which marketplaces have the right customer base and can drive the highest conversions for your brand. Reflect on your past data to see which marketplaces have performed the best for your brand and leverage it to build your strategy. Further consider the key markets that you want to target and consumer preferences in those countries.
Though the basic concept of marketplaces remains the same it is important to adapt your strategy to suit the different types of marketplaces. Some may be niche marketplaces on which clients expect more detailed information about your products. You are also more likely to be competing with brands that offer similar products and perhaps even specialise in them. Users on niche marketplaces are likely to be more interested in your industry and can expect more in-depth information. So choose your marketplaces wisely and then tailor your strategy for those marketplaces to drive higher conversions.
Your product detail page is super important to say the least. It is where customers get information about your company and your product when shopping in a marketplace such as Amazon. Shoppers decide within seconds whether they want to further engage with a detail page or go back to search results. Hence it's vital to ensure that these pages are spot on and have the right information about your company product and policies. Don't forget to mention the key selling points that might help the customer make a decision swiftly.
When writing out your product detail pages put yourselves in the shoes of the customer. This will enable you to understand the type of information they may be looking for beyond just the information about the product. They may also want to know about your company policies such as returns warranty of products payment options and delivery.
It's also important to ensure the content across all product detail pages is accurate and optimised. A digital shelf tool can ensure that product pages are pristine across all marketplaces.
Ratings and reviews are arguably the most important factor when selling on a marketplace. Shopping online and finding the right product can be a task for many consumers especially with thousands of options on marketplaces. Ratings and reviews are a key part of the consumer buyer journey today as they influence the consumers purchasing decision. They can be the edge you need to convert the customer that lands on your product page but might also be looking at competitor products.
In addition positive feedback is extremely important as 84% of online shoppers view online reviews as personal testimonies. Customer reviews are also trusted more than product descriptions. Further this can help to create trust between a buyer and a seller. When consumers come across a well-rated product they are more willing to trust the brand and the product and consequently purchase it.
Positive product reviews build credibility and social proof which in turn helps to improve your sales and conversion rates. A further tip is to use a digital shelf tool which can ensure you have oversight over ratings and reviews at all times. This allows brands to instantly analyse reviews and ratings across all marketplaces and leverage social proof by adding top ratings to product listings.
Marketplaces can be a very competitive retail environment however there are ways to optimise your marketplace strategy to get noticed and drive conversions. By ensuring you choose the correct marketplace have optimised product pages and are leverage social proof you are a sure to win more marketplace sales.
"Photo by Brad Javernick of Home Oomph"
