The virtual multi vendor marketplace is one of the most prominent trends of the eCommerce industry. The ease of expanding inventory and product range makes it an inevitable upgrade for the eCommerce sites. While the complexity in making the code changes and marketplace management have been intimidating the store owners for long, but not anymore.The Multi-vendor Marketplace Extension is a handy solution that converts your eCommerce store into an online multi-vendor marketplace site. Prestashop marketplace addon, Magento multi vendor marketplace extension, Magento 2 Marketplace module and OpenCart multi seller marketplace plugin are such extensions that can easily convert the online single-vendor sites based in the respective platforms into a multi vendor marketplace.
Even though this marketplace is an effortless platform to reach out to the wider range of audience, convincing the seller to indulge into them is still a task. Just like it was difficult to convince the end users to shop from the online stores instead of the shopping malls, convincing the vendors to sell their products on the marketplace is strenuous.Are you facing the same problem?Here we have enlisted some of the ways to encourage the sellers to register a shop account at your marketplace. Check them out.
1. Market your multi vendor marketplace smartly
Marketing is the stepping stone of all the business structure. Whether the idea is to attract the end user or the vendors themselves, nothing but a smart marketing strategy is a foundation for the pillar for the future. Listed below are some of the ways to market your business idea appropriately.
While the internet and the social media platform is a handy way to reach out to a larger audience in one go, offline marketing is a must when it comes to attracting the sellers. Along with the hoardings and TV ads, you need to visit the vendors in person. There are a lot of sellers who may not be technically sound, but can add a lot of value to your business.
Strategic placement of the ads and banner is a must. The delivery trucks of logistic services are one of the best places to start your campaign. Place the hoardings in wholesale markets, distribute pamphlets in trade fairs and place where it comes in merchants’ notice.
Regardless of the target audience, the social media platform is the most effective place to get noticed. Create an account on social networks where you expect to find your target niche. Create an online buzz with affiliate marketing.
Join groups & communities of merchants across different social media channels. This will help you connect directly with them. Share information on these platforms and keep the merchants updated about the latest progression.
2. Make the transaction easier
The lack of technical knowledge is the biggest turn off for merchants across the market. So, you need to educate them that the entire idea of the marketplace is to make the things simpler for them while attracting a larger customer base. The user modules and training sessions can help them get an idea of how the entire business structure works. The Prestashop marketplace is one such platform that may prove boon for the vendors. The unlimited features for Marketplace can make the sellers feel like they are using their own website. Easy inventory management, payment options, and order management can make the entire business transaction smooth for the sellers. Optimize your marketplace according to the need of the vendors and convincing the vendors will become easier.
3. Be clear about the commission structure
The commission and the payment structure is another big concern of the vendors. Make the commissions that the sellers will be assigned. Whether you structuring the commission as per the category or the product or the quantity. Everything should be explained. Install the modules at your marketplace that automatically break down the cost and ROI. It should be assigned at the payment gateway itself. Any delay in this may leave the vendors in suspicion. General followed strategy is payment at the end of every week. This keeps the books clean and liquidity maintained at the sellers’ end.
4. Help them manage inventory
Inventory management is the biggest heck for all the online merchants. This is another reason that makes them hesitant in delve into the multi-vendor marketplace. Prestashop Marketplace CSV Import/Export Addon is one such module that can help import the products and its combinations via CSV. Thus, it becomes easier for the vendors to enter data and keep track of the products. Other than that the Prestashop store owners can manage the low stock problem with the help of Prestashop Marketplace Low Stock Alert Addon. It keeps a track of the inventory of the sellers and provides an alert message when the stock is below a certain limit.
5. Optimize the marketplace with plugins
Even if the marketplace is easy to handle and requires no technical supervision, there are still a lot of factors that may fail to convince the vendors. The language barriers, currency conversions, invoice generations and customer support are some of these issues. Convince them about the changes that being in the marketplace can bring to their overall business scenario by installing plugins and extensions. Prestashop deal manager, Low stock manager and other such addons can help you optimize and customize your marketplace integration accordingly. Find out the loopholes and the pain points of your vendors and update the marketplace.
6.Informative blogs
Feel free to write about the success stories and reviews of your vendors. Informative blog with some Marketing data will tempt the sellers and bring them close to your store. Moreover, Google indexes blogs quickly thus will help the admin in catching the attention of multiple sellers across the globe in short time.
Additionally, the multi vendor marketplace extensions developed by Knowband offers a lot of other features that make it even easier for the store admin delves into the multi-vendor scenario.
Some of the admin features are discussed below:
- The multi vendor marketplace extension enables the multi-vendor feature in your eCommerce. The store upgrade is done without actually making any code changes.
- The automates the entire process of store tracking and management.
- The admin can approve/disapprove the seller’s profile if they want to from the back-end.
- The multi vendor marketplace module for Magento, Prestashop, Magneto 2 and OpenCart even allows the admin to track, add or remove the products/category from the site.
- The plugin allows the store admin to fix the global/individual and order-wise commissions and manage the dues easily from the back-end interface.
- The admin can even view the performance of the individual sellers and can even track the transaction of the marketplace.
- The admin can send email notifications to the sellers via multi vendor marketplace module.
- The sellers get a separate dashboard to keep a track of their products as well as sales.
- They can view the orders and manage the same from their dashboard.
Conclusion
The various tips and techniques discussed in this post are just the first step to take your business model forward. However, the process of convincing the vendors is an ongoing process and should be improvised according to the needs and requirements. The prominent chicken-and-egg problem of the marketplaces is something that you need to ponder. Hence, create well-researched marketing strategies that involve both the customers and the sellers as attracting the third-party vendors is the key when it comes to catering the customers in the best possible way.
For any query, feel free to contact support@Knowband.com
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