How to Connect with Vendors for Your Online Multi vendor Marketplace?

Updated On: 12th July 2022

Between having the idea of launching an eCommerce marketplace and actually setting one up, there are a number of steps involved.

First, there is the selection of a niche marketplace based on the target market, and then there is the tricky task of choosing the right eCommerce multivendor marketplace software for your website.

Next in line is finding vendors for your multivendor marketplace. This is where you might have to get up from your computer screen & do a little leg work.

Without a decent number of vendors to sell products, your multivendor marketplace is just a pretty website sitting idle somewhere at a deserted corner of the internet. So, it is really important that you begin to discover merchants for your prospect online marketplace at an early stage; in fact, before even making your first investment.

Now the question is, ‘how to?’

The bad news is; you will hardly find any comprehensive guide on this subject on the internet.

But since you are here, the good news is, this post is one.

This post will guide you on different ways to discover merchants for your online marketplace (online & offline) & how to connect with them to give your prospect eCommerce venture an ideal start.

Table of Contents

• A Coming Soon Page
• Social Media Marketing
• Banner Ads
• Offline Marketing
• Connect with Merchants Directly
• Others key things to keep in mind
• Some more exceptional ways to win over sellers for your marketplace
• Conclusion

But First, a Coming Soon Page

Before we begin with different techniques to find merchants, it is important to mention that you first must have a Coming Soon page (preferably using the same domain you intend to use for your online marketplace) for merchant’s signup, where all your marketing efforts will lead them.

The Coming Soon page should typically consist of a registration form and some details about the prospect business. It would also serve well if you mention on the page how selling products on your website will benefit merchants.

Now, let’s discuss the marketing efforts that will direct merchants to your website/Coming Soon page.

Social Media Marketing

Social media is definitely the most effective & most efficient online tool for the purpose, so it is important that you make the most out of it.

Create account on social networks that will serve well based on your target niche. Ex: Pinterest & Instagram are musts for a fashion marketplace. Facebook is imperative in pretty much every scenario.

Start sharing informative & promotional stuff on these accounts. And don’t shy away from spending a little to promote your posts, as it can bring great results at the cost of a small investment.

Other than that, join groups & communities of merchants across different social media channels to directly connect with them.

Quick tip: Social media marketing may seem like a piece of cake at first, but it is not. And that makes social media marketing prone to some common blunders.

Banner Ads

Placing banner ads on websites where you think merchants of your selected niche can be found is another good way.

Join online ad networks. Google AdSense is an obvious choice, but there are many others. Choose the ones that allow you to publish ads on the most relevant websites based on your niche

While creating your banner ad copies, keep two things in mind – a) you are creating ads for merchants not for customers yet, b) you are inviting them to register not for selling products yet. Your ad copies should clearly reflect these intentions, otherwise, the provided information can be misinterpreted as misleading, and ultimately screw up leads.

Offline Marketing

Offline marketing may not be as sleek as online promotion of your business, but many a times, it is more effective (in the case of discovering vendors for your online marketplace as well).

You must have guessed already that here we are going to talk about hoardings, posters, pamphlets, etc. But the key to success lies with the strategic placement of these ads.

A good place to start is to apply posters on delivery trucks of logistic services where it will definitely come in merchants’ notice. Then there is placing hoardings in wholesale markets, distributing pamphlets in trade fairs, merchant associations, etc.

Basically, try to make your ad copies reach wherever you expect to find potential merchants for your marketplace.

Quick Tip: It is probable that many of the merchants that will encounter your ads operate only offline. So it is advised to put some element in your ad copies that encourage such merchants. For example, tell them how selling online will help them get more orders and boost their market reach.

Connect with Merchants Directly

So far what we have discussed is one or another way of inbound marketing to attract merchants. Now, let’s round-up a few outbound marketing ways to directly connect with merchants for your online marketplace.

But first, you need to know where to find the merchants’ information. Bullet points mentioned below will tell you that:

• Online Business Directories: Search out online business directories like Yellowpages, Manta, Yelp, etc. for the merchant of your selected niche. Also, run a search on Google, Bing, and other search engines, as they also have their own business directories with sellers’ contact information.
• Merchant Associations: Approach merchant associations within your targeted area to collect data of merchants of your selected niche.
• Trade fairs: Attend trade fairs (specifically related to your target niche) to connect with potential merchant partners directly, tell them about your business, and obtain their contact information.

Once you have sufficient merchant data, start approaching merchants by calling them through Skype, and other means of online & offline communication. If possible, schedule face to face meetings, as it is the most effective way.

Note: Above-mentioned techniques to connect with merchants are equally effective in attracting customers to buy from your online marketplace.

Recommended Reading: Best Multi-vendor eCommerce Platforms to Build a Scalable Marketplace

Others key things to keep in mind

Apart from reaching out to merchants, you also need to brainstorm over how to convince vendors to join your business.

Of course, there are ways to lure them by telling that selling things with you will give them better market reach, quicker order processing, etc. But that is pretty much what other marketplaces are offering.

So, your best shot to attract them is by offering some concession on commission rates. For example, charge less commission on first 10 or 20 sales of each merchant, or whichever offer you think is more feasible to provide for your business and would work with partner merchants of your niche. Besides that, a cool UI will certainly attract more vendors as that will assure them of traffic too.

Free trials tend to work wonders too. Let sellers try your marketplace’s ecosystem to help them discover the features and benefits specific to their needs that make them join you. 

Let’s check out a few more exceptional ways to win over sellers for your marketplace:

Build sellers’ personas before making an offer

Crafting a perfect offer for potential sellers requires understanding their personalities, traits, pain points, and needs. Create seller personas to gather such information, which can help build customized proposals for each seller and reach out to them in a more persuasive manner.

Conduct surveys to determine the gender, interests, business niche and demographics of your sellers. You can even collect this data via existing surveys on your targeted sellers. In addition, confine your business segment to be able to find out which sellers match your concept and where to look for them.

Run an email campaign

A standard email campaign may already make you enter into your targeted seller group’s bad books. Because who wants to partner with someone who is trying to take over others’ customers or partners?

So, choose the ethical way of running an email campaign in disguise to invite sellers associated with other similar marketplaces to try out selling on your platform. Social media and online communities are a great source to find who to promote your marketplace to.

Collaborate with offline communities

Like the online communities, offline communities also present sellers with their products that may conform to your business concept, but may not have an online presence. Get in touch with these sellers to offer them a platform that can meet their needs while profiting them.

And therefore, see thousands of prospective sellers signing up on your eCommerce marketplace in a trice.

Research your competition

Look for businesses running on a similar concept as yours and find out what they are offering to their sellers. It will pave a way for you to design a better offer that trumps those of your competitors by adding new, unparalleled elements of advantage.

You need to identify, more or less, a point of intersection where your strengths meet your rivals’ shortcomings and your potential sellers’ pain points, so you could demonstrate to sellers in question what your multivendor marketplace has for them.

Conclusion

The various techniques discussed in this post aren’t just for regular product selling website but apply to all kinds of eCommerce marketplaces where multiple vendors are involved such as online grocery marketplace, apparel website, online food ordering portals, and so on.

It is possible that due to various business models, you might have to approach things a bit differently, but for the most part, these techniques will work out effectively.

Similar Read: Business Strategies To Address The Online Marketplace Chicken and Egg Problem