What should a smooth buying process look like?

As Steve Jobs once said: “You’ve got to start with the customer experience and work back to the technology – not the other way around.”

A smooth buying process means customers feel like they made the right choice when buying a product or service. The feeling should continue beyond the initial purchase when the product or service are subsequently used.

It’s important to understand the customers’ perspective before designing a marketplace from the status quo to purchasing. The status quo represents what the customer is doing before embarking on the buying process. In B2B environments, a purchase can consist of dozens of steps. 

Also, understanding different elements in the customers’ psychology and their desires, needs, wants, and fears help create an environment that exceeds all customer expectations and delivers the best outcome for buyers and sellers.

 

When building a marketplace…

Consider who the marketplace participants are. It’s vital to map the buying experience from s buyer and sales perspective to collect insights and data that can help solve current and potential issues. Getting marketing and sales people involved in the early stage of the process helps in building a solid marketing strategy.

Here are some interesting facts from Tech Crunch to consider when building a marketplace:

  • a conversion rate of 30-60% is a reasonable expectation
  • the higher your average selling price, the lower the conversion rate may be
  • the harder it is to find goods elsewhere, the lower the conversion rate may be
  • price dispersion is a sign of the inefficiency of your market, and in turn, illiquidity

 

Behind the scenes of a marketplace

We are always adding features to our marketplace platform - Progora by implementing disruptive technology, perfecting UI and UX and enticing users to return again and again. Here are a few key things that we like to practice daily:people sitting at desk

  • be aware of pricing structures
  • check product information and validity
  • stay relevant to industries and customers
  • provide margin transparency
  • offer instant quotes
  • master user experiences
  • focus on customer satisfaction and retention
  • make sure that the buying process is as smooth as it can be

 

 

Three main objectives to consider when building a marketplace

  1. Make sure products stay relevant – product base should come directly from manufacturers ensuring that the product information is correct, the pictures are high quality and relevant, and the price is correct.
  2. Understand human nature – creating a compelling customer experience starts with understanding how people and brain science interact with technology and developing journeys that are intuitive and seamless.
  3. Map right the intersection of AI, IoT and UX – make sure you invest in the right set of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies and make use of these to create great customer journeys. Collect, process and understand data to improve website interface and optimise customer journeys.

A static marketplace is easy to build, an evolving marketplace sets successful companies apart from competitors.

We continue to evolve our solutions by constantly adding smart features and new functionality. Take a look at the overall list of features for the ultimate marketplace technology.

 

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