SO YOU WANT TO START A VIRTUAL MARKETPLACE?
Virtual Marketplaces have become an essential facet of any product or service-based business in light of COVID-19 and how it has changed the way we all do business, let alone operate on a day to day business. Now, more than ever, it’s vital to make your business available to your customers both via brick and mortar and on the virtual side. If you’re ready to take that step, let’s go over some basic requirements, needs and recommendations on different eCommerce platforms that are available.
What You’ll Need
Banking info for the business or a “payment gateway”
If you’re already using a payment processor, this information will come in handy. If not, each platform will direct you to the specific needs they have to successfully start your virtual marketplace. Some platforms will offer this in-house for you, such as Shopify.
Shared login
This information will be used to login to your marketplace, track sales, low inventory, or refund notifications. It’s important to make sure that this information, which consists of a common email address, is something you plan to check often and have easy access to in case any emergencies arise. While some platforms might offer free access to your store from other user accounts, you may have to share your login information with another employee, who might be helping you manage inventory, etc. If this is the case, please make sure that the shared information is well-protected, and something that you entrust another employee or individual to access.
Inventory listing
Though a common practice we hope you are already practicing, having an update tracking system for inventory management is vital for any business, now especially. Make sure you have an inventory count of each product and their number of units, as this will make planning easier.
Product visual representation
Visual representation of your product serves a multitude of purposes, on top of helping brands market and sell their products. For starters, users are more likely to engage with brands who have up to date, high-res images of their products that make it easier to explore the integrity of the product from their screen. It also helps with boosting SEO, making it easier for new users to discover your content. Depending on what product or service you provide, it may not be possible to provide a photograph of your product. If so, we recommend using free resources like thenounproject.com to source free use icons that you can slightly tweak to better fit your brand and represent your available products.
Business branding
You’ll want to brand your virtual marketplace in your business colors etc so make sure to have that info ready to make the transitions easier. This comes in handy in case you are also trying to make a seamless transition from an old website to a simple virtual marketplace.
Recommended Platforms
The following recommended platforms are spaces in which we currently operate with our clients. Meaning, these platforms have been tested by our teams and have proven results of success for each of our clients. While we can’t decide what’s best for you and your business, we can share our professional experience with you as best possible to help better inform your decisions.
Shopify
Shopify was created by Tobias Lütke, a German international student residing in Canada who wanted to sell snowboarding gear online. Without access to an eCommerce platform, he simply built one for himself, discovering later that others could use it, too. Today, it’s one of the fastest-growing platforms available – and one of the simplest to use. One of our more popular platforms, Shopify is a fully integrative online platform, complete with over 70 different templates to choose from, as well as the ability to start from scratch. Shopify also has an extensive library of third party features and functionality that further enhances the customer experience and caters to your vision. Product and store setup from start to finish is quick and easy, an office favorite.
WP Engine
For our US and Canada-based businesses, Wordpress offers an online store capability that supplements existing WordPress sites and builds well for those looking to use their platform to grow a website as well. You can sell products or services online using their “Store” option. To use the Store option, you will need to be on a WordPress Business plan and have previously installed a custom plugin or theme. As a full Content Management System (CMS), the platform is robust enough to either stay small or expand to whatever size and scale you need. We typically recommend this platform for businesses that may have staff members with experience in technology. While you can customize essentially everything about your website and virtual store, that also means you are held responsible for a minute, yet important things, such as mobile responsiveness, which would normally be taken care of on platforms such as Shopify or Squarespace.
Drupal
For our larger business models who may also have an extensive affiliate membership or some sort of commissions-based income, we recommend Drupal Commerce. .Drupal Commerce is revolutionary software integrating commerce, content, and community to create engaging Web experiences that bring e-retailers more traffic to drive more results. With Drupal Commerce, online retailers have a simple yet powerful platform and the flexibility to integrate a rich commerce experience anywhere within their environment. If your business generates revenue based on both product sales and a thriving membership base or affiliate program, we recommend using this platform as its capabilities are extensive and strong enough to steadily support your business.
Weebly eCommerce by Square
The actual powerhouse of Square, Weebly is great for those who already have a Square POS for payment processing. We see many of our clients who are service industry-based use Square. If this isn’t you, and you aren’t already on the platform, we strongly consider it. Square’s overall platform support, both virtual and in-person, is extensively supportive at affordable prices, including their payment terminals and registers that work well in-store or in spaces like markets or pop-up shops.
Magento
Another platform recommendation for our more robust clients is a new favorite that’s both complex and effective: Magento Commerce by Adobe. In Magento, users can marry content with commerce to customer demands, for flawless grand interactions. Order management, including shipping, is more streamlined using enhanced Business Intelligence strategies. In light of the rapidly growing mobile online community, MC puts Mobile Commerce at the forefront with increased support in sales channels, and the creation of a Progressive Web Applications or PWA studio. If you’re a business managing a chain of restaurants, or a series of coffee shops, or simply own multiple stores or brands with a unified need to move products and engage with customers, then this platform is for you. Magento makes it easy for our clients to transform into, or continue to operate on a more efficient level, as effective, data-driven commerce organizations.
Stripe via Squarespace
As always, we love to work with our favorite website platform, Squarespace. If you are already built into this platform, you can simply upgrade your plan and opt to build out your eCommerce from there. Much like Squarespace, Weebly offers web-hosting capabilities, as well as e-commerce capabilities including online store operations. Squarespace’s all-in-one online store offers the potential to manage your website, community, and online shop all in one place. With payments processed by third party platform, Stripe, Squarespace offers a one shop stop experience other platforms cannot provide. A personal go-to for our team, for any local business or brand seeking to procure a brochure website.
Conclusion:
As we mentioned before, we can’t tell you which program works best for you. Every brand has different sets of needs and goals for their businesses, all of which can be complex, yet resolved with the proper support. What we can tell you is that the support you need is out there within the virtual marketplace. If you’re looking for a guide to take the lead on making this store happen, GSATi’s team is fully equipped to assist from start to finish, no matter the platform.
Take the next step and contact us today.
