3 Reasons the Marketplace Model Will Bolster Your B2B Omnichannel Strategy
Why make 2021 the year you implement a marketplace to strengthen your B2B omnichannel strategy?
We look at 3 reasons why now is the right time to take the next step on your marketplace journey, taking into account the success Platform Pioneer Conrad Electronic has had in developing their B2B marketplace.
1. It’s the only way to really meet all your customers’ needs
A marketplace of third-party products is the quickest way to extend your range and ensure customers always leave your site having found the product they need and at the most competitive price possible.
Before Conrad launched their marketplace, their B2B business was selling around 700k owned electronic products. Their executive team knew the only way to achieve the ambitious SKU count their customers were looking for was to launch a marketplace. By doing so, Conrad has been able to offer its business customers an even more professional service with a larger selection of products and easy access to all the sellers and products relevant to their business. The company has added 5M+ offers, their assortment multiplied x7, and order numbers increased by 500% compared to the 3 years before the marketplace launch.
2. Marketplace does more than just enhance your e-commerce strategy
Your customers need and expect the personal touch. Not only should they be able to access an extended range of products thanks to your online platform, they should also get a 1:1 selling experience. Encourage your sales teams to use your marketplace to better sell to your B2B customers. For example, the Mirakl Marketplace solution enables internal employees to create price estimates on marketplace products for B2B customers.
An extended assortment also creates an opportunity to make more sales on all channels, not just an eCommerce site. A rep on the field or in-store can push more cross-sells to their customers and can ask the marketplace team to source products that their customers want at speed, rather than having to wait for months because of lengthy procurement processes. In addition, customers who sell the marketplace operator’s offering through their own purchasing system also benefit from this extended assortment.
3. The Mirakl Marketplace B2B solution is built specifically to ensure your marketplace best serves your sales team’s needs
Forrester has found that 82% of B2B buyers would buy again from the same supplier because of that supplier’s broad selection, and 84% would buy again because of consistently low prices.
Our team has learnt a lot in the last 4 years. By channeling our voice-of-customer philosophy we have developed a range of custom features to specifically address customer requirements for the B2B market. These include a negotiation tool, quantity discount and multiple vendor order management. Our enterprise B2B-ready technology will enable B2B marketplace operators to segment their offering per sales channel and provides price flexibility for B2B ordering (where huge purchase volumes require discount per quantity logic). Conrad is also leading the way in introducing our specialist B2B features within their marketplace strategy.
A massive thank you to the Conrad team for pioneering a visionary strategy every step of the way. We are proud to work with their team to support and enhance the Conrad B2B Platform Revolution.
