These days, there are plenty of B2B marketplace solutions for anyone looking to set up an online shop. Most of these solutions come with many features that make deploying ecommerce platforms easy. However, picking the right solution can sometimes be a challenge.
If you’re planning to set up an ecommerce platform, there are a couple of things you need to consider. In this article, we will review some of the factors you should consider when looking for a B2B marketplace solution.
Open-source vs. Premium Solutions
These days, there are plenty of open-source ecommerce solutions on the market. All of these solutions are free and come with plenty of features that make setting up and deploying your platform very easy. Open-source platforms are also compatible with other resources such as ERP systems.
Premium solutions cost money, and they are shipped with inbuilt features that can be customized to meet your brand’s needs. However, one downside of premium solutions is that they might not be compatible with other resources. You might also incur extra expenses whenever you need to scale up the platform.
Compatibility
Whenever you’re choosing a B2B solution, compatibility is vital. Adding extra features to your B2B platforms will allow you to quickly create better workflows and improve customer experience. It will also enable your developer team to develop and integrate in-house solutions that will make your platform better.
Make sure the solution you pick is compatible with multiple features. This will allow you and your team to streamline workflows better. You can also make your solution deliver an excellent customer experience for both mobile and web users.
Recent studies show that many people access web pages using their smartphones. Whenever you’re looking out for a B2B ecommerce or marketplace solution, be sure to go for one that has a mobile-first design. A mobile-friendly solution will allow users to shop and checkout easily using their smartphones.
Integration and Deployment
Developing in-house APIs and features can be expensive, especially if you’re outsourcing your developer team. As such, you need to make sure you get a headless B2B marketplace solution. Headless platforms are decoupled, meaning that both the frontend and backend are treated as different entities.
As such, developers can work on either the backend or frontend separately without any risk of destroying the underlying architecture. Headless systems also make it easier to create integrations and ship new features. Another benefit is that headless ecommerce or B2B solutions are easy to deploy. If you’re on the lookout for a headless ecommerce solution, then you can try this out.
Built-In Ecommerce Operations
Running an online shop can sometimes be quite stressful, primarily if you’re operating multiple shops. Most of the work involves managing inventories while ensuring that your customers get the best experience when using your platform.
B2B marketplace solutions allow owners to create product descriptions complete with images and videos. It is also effortless to create custom fields to add extra product information to deliver a user-friendly and informative product page that will lead to conversions.
Supported Payment Gateways
Most online shops are designed to target the global market. As such, you will need a platform that allows users to make their payments securely. The payment gateways should also support refunds and return policies. Most B2B marketplace solutions have inbuilt payment features supported by third-party payment platforms.
When looking for a B2B marketplace solution, make sure that the payment platform supports multiple payment options. Ideally, customers should at least be able to make payments using their credit or debit cards.
In addition to card payment, the platform should also be integrated with PayPal or any other wallet. PayPal and other wallets such as Stripe allow customers to make payments using different types of currencies.
Marketing Features and APIs
Marketing is critical for the success and growth of any online business platform. Ensure that you get a B2B marketplace solution that has integrated marketing APIs. As such, you can run your marketing campaigns easily.
Besides email marketing APIs, SEO support is also crucial. Built-in SEO plugins will allow you to create optimized products that will rank highly on SERPs. The SEO features will also help guide you on where improvements are needed whenever you’re making the product listings.
Another essential feature is the analytic tool to help you monitor your conversions. The analytics tool will also give you more insight into customer behavior, highlighting areas of your online shop that may need extra work.
Excellent Community and Support Team
You will most certainly come across specific challenges when setting up your project and issues may come up either during setup or deployment. Make sure you pick a platform that has an excellent support team. You can always request assistance wherever you come across particular challenges.
Most B2B marketplace platforms have a 24/7 technical team ready to offer support in case you get stuck. The technical support team will also help you integrate new features into your solutions, especially if you’re not a tech-savvy person.
Bottom Line
B2B marketplace solutions make it easy for entrepreneurs to set up and deploy their webshops quickly and easily. There are plenty of platforms on the market, both open-source and premium. If you’re starting out and low on cash, then you should consider going for open-source ecommerce solutions.
Whenever you’re selecting any ecommerce solution, you need to consider a couple of things. First, make sure to factor in scalability for when your business grows. Also, go for solutions that don’t require too much coding. Compatibility is also critical, especially if you’re going to add extra features or services to your platform.
Remember to pick a mobile-friendly solution. A considerable percentage of online shoppers do so from their mobile phones. Make sure you get a solution that has inbuilt marketing and SEO features. These features will help you create optimized product listings for better ranking and conversions. Overall, solutions that require less coding will make it easier for you to focus more on running the business side of things.
