Dec 17, 2021

What does the marketplace model offer B2B businesses? How can you apply the marketplace platform model successfully as a B2B business?

3 Use Cases for Creating Your Own Successful B2B Marketplace

Many of the world’s biggest businesses right now are online marketplaces.

Amazon, AliExpress, eBay and Etsy are all widely recognized names. All of them operate as marketplaces within the digital retail space.

Discover how creating your own B2B marketplace allows you to extend and scale your business, gain competitive advantage, and increase revenue. In this blog post we present three common B2B marketplace examples.

Extend Your Product Range With a B2B Marketplace

One of the most compelling reasons for a B2B business to create a marketplace is the ability to quickly extend your range.

Transitioning to a marketplace model gives you an opportunity to scale your product catalog on your own website in a risk-free way. Rather than having to develop, manufacture and store products, businesses can add 100s or 1000s of new products very quickly by partnering with third party sellers.

By incorporating these complementary products, you can improve the breadth and depth of your assortment to create a one-stop-shop for B2B customers.

This can drive up spend per customer as they can purchase multiple products in one visit. It also reduces the chance of them leaving your website without buying something due to not being able to find what they’re looking for..

As the marketplace operator, you also gain additional data benefits from having a greater assortment. You can gather information on which products sell more and use this to determine where you should expand your own first-party range.

In essence, a B2B marketplace model empowers you to make decisions that are driven by real data, rather than hunches or guesswork.

Rather than having to develop, manufacture and store products, businesses can add 100s or 1000s of new products very quickly by partnering with third party sellers.

Leverage Your B2B Marketplace to Maximize Aftermarket Sales

Manufacturers of B2B machinery, equipment and devices may also see marketplace opportunities in aftermarket maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO).

Whole ecosystems of other businesses exist around the primary product to sell spare parts and maintenance services. The customer would typically have to source these partners themselves and spend time and effort to check they have the required credentials.

As the original manufacturer, creating a marketplace model around your offering enables you to bring together the third-party sellers of spare parts and service providers to create a one-stop-shop for all post-sale requirements.

The association with you as the original manufacturer gives the end customer confidence that the MRO parts and services on offer are legitimate. Having a single destination for everything associated with your machinery or equipment also makes it quicker and easier for the customer to manage their MRO requirements.

For the third-party MRO businesses, the marketplace model gives them a potentially new way to sell directly to customers online. In addition, it may increase their sales as the power of your brand name is likely to draw a lot more online traffic to the website.

White Paper

The Fundamentals of Launching a Marketplace

What can a marketplace bring to your existing business model, and when is it relevant to start your own marketplace? This white paper helps you understand these questions and give you some hands on tips on how to get started towards a new platform business.

The B2B Marketplace Works for D2C And Resellers

Some B2B brands may want to start selling directly to consumers (D2C) but are concerned that they will take business away from resellers, certified dealers and distributors.

A marketplace model can solve this issue of brand conflict by enabling you to bring retail to your website through your resellers.

By connecting your resellers to your website for sales, the experience for the end customer is vastly improved. Rather than just reading about your products, they can click to buy them instantly through your partners. This enables you to make the most of the traffic that your brand name draws to the website. It also eases the customer’s shopping journey, which is always a plus.

Your resellers will appreciate the opportunity to boost their revenue by selling directly to your audience. And as the owner of the website, you gain valuable customer data that you can use to improve and optimize your wider business.

A marketplace model can solve this issue of brand conflict by enabling you to bring retail to your website through your resellers.

What Are Additional Benefits of Using a B2B Marketplace Model?

These are just some of the ways a B2B marketplace model can futureproof your business, but there are many other ways businesses can benefit from it.

Simply put, there has never been a better time for you to launch a B2B marketplace.

Businesses that create their own marketplace platform not only gain new revenue streams in the form of commission on sales, but they also gain access to valuable new insights about demand in their industry and from customers.

For the end customer, this model offers a much better customer experience by bringing more of their needs together in one place. It also enables them to fulfill more of their business needs online, which is the way they are used to shopping in their personal lives.

The better the customer experience, the happier the customer. And the happier your customers are, the better it is for your bottom line.

The good news is that creating an online B2B marketplace from scratch doesn’t have to be technically complicated. Avensia and our partners can help support you through the entire process from strategy to technical platform to ensure that your B2B marketplace is a success – whichever strategy you adopt.

B2B / Marketplaces

3 Use Cases for Creating Your Own Successful B2B Marketplace