The BigCommerce Marketplaces

Let's clarify what the BigCommerce Marketplaces look like - there is the BigCommerce App Marketplace, and within the Apps world, there are Apps that connect your online store to Marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay, FaceBook Shops, Google Merchant Centre, and Tag products on Instagram. So what does this mean to your digital marketing plan, and how does that affect your eCommerce platform's approach to your channels and presence.

Omni-channel isn't new

For the past decade, being able to spread your presence into various channels has been well known and is key to getting your brand and products in front of customers. However, in the past, the costs associated with this strategy tied to the logistics and various communication/interfaces made this a difficult endeavor. What is new, is how BigCommerce Partners have helped integrate your Online Store into the marketplaces from within the BigCommerce login.

The Online Store structure

Like most eCommerce stores, having your BigCommerce Theme optimized for your marketing funnel, with UI/UX features helping clients convert on your site is of course a priority - but because BigCommerce has an amazing API and it's fast, real fast! This allows for additional marketplaces to be in "synch" and allows for a single ordering process to be executed, keeping costs low and streamlined. This can significantly simplify the inventory management process pulling from one central source.

BigCommerce Apps

There are many BigCommerce Apps to can apply to your online store, such as the Product Recommendations App. The Sell on Marketplaces Apps is where you will find the Digital Channel "connector" Apps for your product and services to be uploaded to that marketplace. The digital marketing strategy is multifaceted with this eCommerce solution, your content marketing is also able to reach a greater audience improving your conversion rate based on the same product portfolio and marketing.

https://www.bigcommerce.com/essentials/features/drive-traffic/sales-channels/

Social Media Marketing

Online businesses focus their efforts on online marketing and the most engaging type of online marketing is social media marketing. This is because the audience can engage with the business directly, ask questions, comment, and share their experiences. Relevant products to audience interests drive synergy, especially when in groups (FaceBook). When products are shown in the context in which they are in use, it adds a lot more weight in visualizing the products in their environment. It demonstrates the lifestyle, the application, the utility, and the reasons for considering the product. Connecting that engagement to various marketplaces lowers the conversion barrier since users are already established in these marketplaces and are comfortable in using the likes of PayPal or their credit cards with the payment gateways associated with them.

Digital Marketing and Marketplaces

When doing a little email marketing to your audience, any eCommerce business will bring awareness of their activities in products, services, thoughts, and client experiences. By having your audience profiled by the marketplace, the business can tune the digital marketing efforts to those "marketplace customer types" where an eBay customer would have a different profile than an Amazon shopper. What makes them different? Payment methods, checkout methods, Apps, security, access by devices, and how they share their purchase experience on their social media accounts.

The Online Shop at the center

With a BigCommerce store at the center of your sales infrastructure, it gives you the ability to link up with the various marketplaces and configure your accounts to them. This will then upload your products, pricing, and images to each marketplace to then be able to put them in the marketplace. When a sale is taken from the marketplace, the order is then sent back to your BigCommerce store to be handled and shipped.

Conclusion

Consider adding a marketplace or two, or three as you grow your marketplace network. Keep in mind that your competition is probably doing it, and you need every edge possible in getting to your audience. If you need assistance in seeing what needs to be done to make these connections, just feel free to reach out to us at wish@thegenielab.com.