B2B Marketplace, the secrets of an exceptional user experience: UX design best practices

Introduction

Designing a BtoC or BtoB marketplace can be a real challenge. Whether they are buyers or sellers, your users - or future users - are already used to the best experiences of the genre: Airbnb, Le Bon Coin, etc. (Jakob's Law). While a thorough study of their needs is always the best way to start a quality UX design, it is always good to keep in mind some best practices to stay up to date in terms of user experience.

A powerful shopping experience

Designing a successful BtoC or BtoB marketplace means first of all meeting the standards of an efficient e-commerce experience. Here, the challenge is to offer its users the essential tools to find and buy the right product in the easiest and fastest way possible.

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Autocompletion and Fuzzy Search

Offering results in a proactive way thanks to an autocomplete feature allows your buying users to save time and launch more accurate searches. Set up a flexible search system (or Fuzzy Search) also allows your users to find what they are looking for more simply by allowing mistakes in their search terms. (spelling mistakes, typos, etc.)

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Advanced filtering and sorting features

To help them find the right product, it's also essential to provide your buyers with tools to optimize their searches and organize products that may be of interest to them. Giving its users relevant filter and sorting options means offering them more control and means to find the right products, thus increasing the relevance of the results offered and facilitating the comparison between the various results.

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A detailed and valued product

Providing the most relevant information to a buyer when buying a product is the best way to increase the conversion rate of your marketplace. This includes good quality photos, a clear description, transparent prices, the category to which the product belongs, and customer reviews about the product and the seller. Combined, this information makes it possible to guide the user in making a purchase decision. It is therefore important to ensure that sellers share this information when selling their product. Thinking about this marketing process then becomes as important as thinking about the product page itself.

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Clear and practical navigation that promotes conversion

Whether your marketplace is aimed at individuals or professionals, the navigation principles of your platform must promote conversion at all stages of the buying process. From the results page with accessible and visible shopping cart buttons, to the payment steps with stepper principles and sticky action zones, your experience should guide your users in an efficient, simple and transparent way. (by avoiding dark patterns!)

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An efficient recommendation system

A product recommendation system on a marketplace has many advantages, both for buyers and sellers. On the one hand, the recommendation makes it possible to promote the discovery of similar products by avoiding research, making the experience more fluid and comfortable for buyers. It is also an asset for your sellers since it also promotes upselling and/or cross-selling through the recommendation of similar or complementary products.

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A reassuring, secure and transparent experience

Whether it is a question of retaining buyers or convincing new sellers to sell their products on your platform, gaining the trust of its users is decisive in the success of its BtoC and BtoB marketplace.

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A strong brand identity

A strong brand identity at all stages of the experience creates a familiar environment for your users. In this way, you strengthen the bond of trust between your users and your platform in addition to developing your brand image.

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Transparent prices and stocks

To build trust with your users and reduce uncertainty in their purchasing process, providing clear and up-to-date information on product availability and costs is always a good idea. And this is even more true if your marketplace is aimed at professionals buying in large quantities.

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Clear and transparent courses

Help your users monitor their progress and find their way around key or sensitive paths such as payment. By improving their browsing experience, you will reduce the risk of abandonment and therefore increase sales and satisfaction.

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A secure environment

Inspire confidence in buyers and sellers by setting up secure systems such as payment or profiles and by communicating on these devices through badges or reinsurance elements.

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Customer service available

Setting up support (chatbot, call center, etc.) for your users to answer their questions is the most effective way to improve their experience and their overall satisfaction.

A practical and automated experience

Designing a successful BtoC or BtoB marketplace also means knowing and anticipating the tasks and actions that your users are required to repeat regularly in order to offer them help and more simplicity.

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An efficient sales management system

Help sellers manage, optimize, and effectively promote their products in a simple and automated way.

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A simple re-purchase system

Imagine functional principles that facilitate the re-purchase of previously ordered products to simplify the experience of recurring buyers and, thus, accelerate their loyalty.

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Options for saving your searches

If the search for products proves to be a recurring action on your marketplace, it may also be interesting to set up options for saving search criteria to save your users time.

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An invoice manager

Essentially appreciated in BtoB, the invoice manager allows a marketplace to extend its value proposition. By supporting its users on a task similar to that of the act of purchase, you offer them a more complete and practical experience, thus increasing their satisfaction.

A familiar experience that integrates into existing processes (BtoB)

Understanding the context of use of your marketplace and the buying and selling habits of professionals in your sector is the best way to design a BtoB marketplace that meets their needs. While a precise study of these expectations is required, more general principles are always interesting to incorporate at the time of design.

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Dynamic prices

Give your selling users features to change the prices of their products based on the season, changes in demand, or promotions.

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Additional product information

To help professional buyers make informed purchasing decisions, additional product information is often expected: Legal information, qualities, packaging, etc.

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New ways of interacting

More sensitive and engaging in BtoB, the act of buying is generally a longer and more complex process for a company. Imagining modes of interaction that go beyond the simple buy button is therefore a good way to increase sales. Offering communication channels between buyers and sellers or the possibility of requesting a sample are options to take into account at the time of design.

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An integration of existing tools

Imagining ways to connect your marketplace with the software that your users already use in their business (CRM, ERP, etc.) increases the chances of adopting your platform.

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Multiple payment options

Offering varied payment methods and the possibility of paying in different currencies means offering more flexibility to businesses using your platform, thus increasing their satisfaction and conversion.

KPIs to guide the experience (BtoB)

Designing a successful BtoB marketplace also means taking into account the need for businesses to streamline their decision-making. It is therefore important to make data a central part of your experience.

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Tools to manage your purchases and sales

Offering tools that allow its buyers and sellers to track data relating to their transactions promotes informed decision-making and therefore performance. Setting up tools of this kind on its BtoB marketplace is therefore essential to retain a company in the long term.

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Data visualization to monitor your activity

Offering a clear and tangible visualization of key data on the activity of your BtoB users is also an effective way to help them analyze and manage their activity on your marketplace.

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