Should you include marketplaces in your marketing mix or not?

bol.com, Amazon, MediaMarkt: these are all marketplaces with a wide reach. Nowadays, digital marketplaces are impossible to ignore, whether you’re a marketer or a consumer. Whilst the giant bol.com has established itself as a marketplace, more and more mainstream e-commerce websites are launching their own marketplaces. It’s not just smaller websites doing this; the big names are getting in on the act too. For example, MediaMarkt is already operating a marketplace in Germany, Kruidvat is set to launch its own marketplace in the Netherlands later this year, and companies such as Leen Bakker, Praxis and Douglas are also taking up the challenge. So now is a good time to check whether you’ve already included marketplaces in your marketing mix!

Start selling on marketplaces

As an e-commerce business, do you currently have no marketplaces at all in your mix? If so, this is certainly worth considering. Marketplaces offer you additional sales channels, often with a wide reach. If you choose the right digital marketplaces, there’s a good chance your target audience will be there. This gives you an extra touchpoint to engage with customers. Furthermore, the willingness to buy on marketplaces is often high. This ensures that your touchpoint becomes a selling point. All of this can send your sales soaring, but of course, nothing comes for free: these sales channels often charge a variable commission per sale and sometimes also a fixed monthly fee to use their platform and reach. So bear this in mind when putting together your marketing mix involving marketplaces; you’ll be giving up part of your margin. Ultimately, you decide the price at which the product is sold on the channel.

Choose suitable marketplaces

Choosing the right marketplace sounds simple, but in practice it often proves more challenging than expected. With an ever-increasing number of marketplaces, it can be harder to identify which one truly suits your business. It can also be more difficult to decide whether to start on an all-round marketplace, such as bol.com, or to begin with a specialist marketplace, such as Praxis. Both options have their pros and cons. The relative importance of these may vary depending on the situation. List the pros and cons for yourself to make the decision easier.

Give your listings the attention they deserve

Once you’re live on a marketplace, the work doesn’t stop there. Sometimes sales come in straight away, but often you need to put in more effort. You need to ensure that your listings are found and that the conversion rate is right. You do this through, amongst other things, listing optimisation and advertising.

In any case, it’s often a good idea to add marketplaces to your marketing mix. Marketplaces provide more conversion-focused reach amongst a new target audience. So, if you get it right, that means more extra turnover! Would you like to discuss the ideal marketplaces for your mix? Feel free to get in touch with us – we’d be happy to help you find the right solution!