Bol.com, Amazon and other marketplaces have become so large that consumers are increasingly searching for their products directly on these platforms rather than through Google. As a brand, it can be interesting to engage with marketplaces to reach a wider audience. On most marketplaces, merchants pay a monthly fee (different per platform) and a commission when they actually sell something. This way, you can test which products do or do not generate revenue on such a marketplace.
How can you link Magento to a marketplace?
There are several integration tools available to connect your Magento webshop to a marketplace. For a client of PHPro we used Channable, a tool specialized in feed management and SEA automation. With this link you can send your products from your webshop to over 2500 comparison sites, affiliate networks and marketplaces. They offer a direct link that automatically updates your products on the various marketplaces. You don't have to update them manually. Channable automatically forwards orders placed on Bol.com to the Magento platform. Which makes it even easier to manage everything.
PHPro helped this client with the full integration. We made sure that the right plugin was installed so that all webshop products were automatically sent to Channable. Furthermore, we closely monitored the entire process to ensure that the data was exported and imported correctly. With success!
Possible problems and challenges?
Marketplaces renew their restrictions and parameters regularly. As a seller, you are required to fulfill them. We have noticed at PHPro that this is a difficulty for customers. To give an example, if you write the delivery time with your products, as a “producer” you must also strive for this. For example, Bol.com is quite strict about this, because they don't want to get a bad reputation either. When you don't strictly adhere to these rules, Bol.com pushes your visibility on their platform down. Something you definitely want to avoid.
Tips to sell better on marketplaces
Now that you have made the link between your Magento webshop and the marketplace, you want to be sure of good sales. Because of the link, your products will be automatically pushed to the system, but with some optimizations you can sell even more. There are many other sellers on the marketplace, so your products need to stand out.
What you need:
- A strong description of the product
- An eye-catching title
- High quality photos
- A video of your product
Another tip to sell better on marketplaces is to score good reviews. When your product and yourself as a seller have good reviews on the marketplace, it will positively influence a new buyer's decision. It gives confidence to the potential customer. Marketplaces themselves are sensitive to bad reviews, as they want to make sure the customer remains satisfied. A good tip is to set up a good internal system to deal with complaints and returns. The faster these are resolved, the better you will score. How quickly should they be resolved? That often depends on the rules of the marketplace itself, but a good rule is definitely within 72h.
Often the marketplace has a system to advertise on, this is also something you can use as a seller. At Bol.com, for example, you can bet on Sponsored Products. They bring your product to the attention of a customer searching for it. As a seller, you can determine the search terms on which you want to be found. You only pay if someone clicks on your article. So again, it is important to optimize your article for sales.
Selling via Bol.com?
Want to link your Magento webshop to Bol.com or other marketplaces yourself? Don't know where to start?
Get in touch with PHPro!