What are B2B marketplaces? Examples, benefits and things to consider

B2B marketplaces are similar to retail e-Commerce stores or B2C e-Commerce platforms. These online platforms act as a common place for registered businesses to join and sell their products online using the features on the platform.

Once a B2B business signs up to a B2B platform, they can carry out a multitude of functions based on the platform’s offering – e.g., receive purchase orders, connect with other businesses, buy/sell and transact online without ever having a physical store presence.

At time, they even get to utilise the logistics system of the e-Commerce platform to deliver their products. The most crucial benefit of B2B online marketplaces is that a business gets to leverage the customer base that is already existent on these marketplaces.

What are B2B marketplaces?

B2B marketplaces are platforms that sell products to businesses. Like an e-Commerce store, there are multiple businesses, traders and other suppliers registered on the platform. These registered members can display their products along with the required information that can be found by businesses looking to buy products.

For example, if you are a CNC machine manufacturer who has signed up on X B2B platform. You will start receiving orders through the platform and can use X’s B2B logistics system to send your machine to the buyer.

Similarly, if you are an MSME in India, you can explore Tata nexarc – a B2B digital platform that enables emerging businesses to avail reliable and affordable solutions for their business. You can find business solutions for logistics, raw material procurement, business loans, government tenders and more.

B2B marketplaces usually generate revenue from two sources: subscriptions and advertisements and affiliation. The mains source of revenue is subscriptions signed by businesses which allows the latter to use the platform to sell their products. The marketplace will usually ask businesses that have signed up for the subscription for a percentage of profit received from selling on the platform.

Benefits of selling on a B2B marketplace

Given below are the benefits of signing up for a B2B marketplace for buyers and sellers:

• Sell products wholesale

Most B2B businesses sell products wholesale. B2B marketplaces allow sellers to sell wholesale or as per the quantity requirement defined by the buyer. There are also B2B wholesale marketplaces like Flipkart Wholesale that allow businesses to purchase products in bulk at the best discount margins.

• Access to customer profiles

When you receive purchase orders you will be able to access the customer’s profile on the marketplace. This profile will have details about the business who is buying your products. This information can help a business identify specific business needs of customers and tailor products according to these needs.

• Access to the marketplace’s logistics platform

B2B marketplaces have their own expanded logistics network which can be utilised by the sellers on the platform. Even though you will be liable to pay a delivery fee to get your products delivered, it prevents the hassle of creating your own logistics system.

For instance, on Tata nexarc’s Logistics, we have partnered with trusted logistics service providers in India. As an MSME business, you can ship products across 19,000+ pin codes at the best rates. You can use our online shipping rate estimator to calculate and compare rates from different partners and work with the one best suited to your business needs.

• Analytics

Businesses can create profiles on the B2B platform along with their offerings. This profile also has tools that can help them monitor their sales. These tools often are in the dashboard of the seller account. The dashboard will reflect the number of products they have sold, the money they have received from the sales and basic customer data. Using this data sellers can make modifications to their products to cater better to the needs of their business buyers.

• Expand to new markets

Platforms like Amazon Business have buyers from domestic and international markets. Registered members can test their products on Amazon’s global B2B marketplace to seek potential international buyers. You can use their network, experience and connections to rope in international buyers.

• Reduced operational costs

B2B platforms often offer order fulfillment, payment processing, and reverse logistics services. This reduces operational costs and frees up more cash for other expenses. These platforms even handle customer care for your deliveries to customers.

Examples of B2B marketplaces

There are many online B2B marketplaces in India. Here are a few of the famous B2B marketplaces in India which are popular among business buyers:

• Indiamart

Founded in 1996, Indiamart is a B2B online website that has been one of the top B2B marketplaces that became highly popular among suppliers and buyers. They host over 100 million buyers, 5 million suppliers and 75 million products and services.

They feature products and services of small and medium businesses on their platforms and have a global customer base. The platform allows product/service inquiries from interested buyers directly.

• Flipkart Wholesale

Started by Indian e-Commerce giant Flipkart, Flipkart Wholesale aims to make business easier for small retailers and business owners in India. As the name suggests, businesses can purchase any products in bulk at discounted prices. It has an easy seller onboarding process that can be done through your phone.

• TradeIndia

With a vision to help MSMEs go digital, TradeIndia was launched in 1996. They have established global value chains that will provide opportunities to MSMEs to export their products easily. They have over 10 million registered users and 80000 product categories.

Apart from these, you can also consider trying Tata nexarc’s platform to procure steel metal. It’s an online portal where you can buy steel at the best rates. We have onboarded verified suppliers and offer quality products and easy credit options on purchase.

How to register on a B2B marketplace?

All B2B marketplaces will have a website where businesses can register themselves. The registration process is easy and can be done withing a few simple steps. Platforms will require you to sign up with a mobile number and email ID, and enter details of the business such as PAN card and GST registration. You will also be asked to upload the names and details of the products your wish to sell, I.e., a product/service catelogue.

Using B2B marketing to boost your sales on B2B marketplaces

To increase your sales on a B2B platform, you first need to learn about B2B marketing and plan a business growth strategy. This term refers to marketing your products to other businesses. Companies selling software-as-a-service (SaaS) subscriptions, security solutions, tools, accessories, office supplies, etc., are the companies that require B2B marketing.

B2B marketing campaigns are aimed at employees of businesses or business owners who control purchasing decisions. These employees could range from entry-level end-users to C-suite staff.

The difference between B2C and B2B marketing is that B2C marketing is advertising your products directly to your consumers. The content in these advertisements is usually filled with quips, puns and pictures to make the marketing copy more eye-catching and interesting to the end consumers.

B2B marketing content, on the other hand, is more informational and straightforward. This is because businesses are looking for certain requirements and their purchase decisions have a revenue impact. When businesses buy products, their primary focus is Return on Investment (ROI), which is rarely a factor for retail consumers.

Creating an efficient B2B marketing strategy

While creating marketing strategies for your business, it is important to have a marketing plan, a well-defined process to execute the plan and manage the plan once it is executed. This is the most common strategy adopted by businesses for B2B marketing:

• Define the business goals you are looking to achieve with the B2B digital marketing strategy.
• Create a marketing strategy based on these goals
• Identify the target audience and research their business profiles to get an idea of their specific needs
• Using the information derived from research create a marketing campaign or advertisement that displays content in various formats describing your offerings
• Use tools like Google Analytics to see how your advertisement/campaign is performing

B2B marketplaces are ideal places to sell your products as studies show that half of the world’s business-to-business (B2B) buyers frequently placed their orders on e-Commerce platforms. Business buyers and sellers are attracted to these platforms because they can utilise the marketplace’s features and boost your sales figures without having to put major efforts into finding buyers for your products.