Trust plays an essential role in any collaboration, be it of a human, commercial or professional nature. True intermediaries between sellers and buyers, marketplace operators play an essential role in creating and maintaining a secure climate, in particular by ensuring that transactions remain fluid and secure. But contrary to appearances, ensuring good conditions within this type of environment is not an easy task. Here are some simple principles to put in place with buyers and sellers, to achieve this.
A trusted environment for buyers
The first impression is decisive. This is why nothing is more pleasant and reassuring than browsing a site or an application whose environment is familiar and intuitive. To be confident, buyers must be able to use a marketplace that meets these criteria.
It is a question of respecting the conventions and standards of the web (menu, logo, navigation uses, etc.) while offering a pleasant experience. Otherwise, buyers risk simply abandoning their basket, leaving the site, or even not using the platform in the future. The graphical interface must be designed in such a way as to ensure the smoothest navigation possible.
Moreover, the feeling of trust partly results from the sharing of experiences of previous buyers on products or services. The potential customer can thus compare his expectations, his choice, and confirm or not his purchase. It is also no surprise that ratings and comments remain essential elements of the customer journey.
In addition to the assessment of the quality of the products or services offered, the evaluations also reflect the customer’s shopping experience on the marketplace and make it possible to highlight the main questions that consumers could ask themselves. So, by providing as much information as possible and giving the opportunity to interact with the community of buyers, marketplaces will develop trust.
Another essential lever: compliance with the law and the Consumer Code, which provide a framework for all parties. For any transaction, the general and legal conditions must be clearly visible so that each party can engage in full knowledge of the facts. The most well-known aspects of these conditions are, for example, the right and deadlines for withdrawal, compliance with delivery deadlines, or product conformity.
It should also be noted that France recently adopted a new regulation which came into force on Saturday May 28 to stem scams prejudicial to e-commerce. This decree reinforces the obligations of e-merchants and online shops, which must offer consumers means of contact, an information sheet on the seller, as well as all the important information for the sales contract.
In addition, proof that the transactional environment of the marketplace is secure is required. If the transactions are governed by the European Payment Services Directive (PSD2), the general conditions of use and the entity’s logo should be mentioned to avoid any surprises when finalizing the transaction.
Finally, customer support and the potential impact on the trust he places in the marketplace is not simply limited to the purchase, but also concerns the entire after-sales dimension. This service is central since it will allow buyers to ensure that any disappointment is taken care of. In this type of context, the marketplace can play its role of mediator and intervene to help resolve the problem. Note, moreover, that it is possible (and even welcome) for the marketplace to provide a dispute management system that is directly integrated into the purchasing interface.
A trusted environment for sellers
Each party has its own rules of the game. Whether it concerns payment, commissions or disputes, it is essential that sellers know and understand in advance all the operating rules of the platform they are going to use. Thanks to a simple interface, reports, dashboards, or catalog integration options, the seller experience can be optimized.
We should add that for marketplace operators, it is recommended to ensure that merchants do not encounter any difficulty when using the various features of the platform. They should not feel helpless when faced with the intricacies of their back office. To overcome these possible obstacles, it is advisable to offer them (at least) training to get started so that their experience is as smooth as possible.
However, training salespeople is not an end in itself: they must be provided with long-term support in order to maintain the relationship of trust. In addition, regular contact with a dedicated person will retain these sellers; they must feel privileged and supported.
For the relationship of trust to be optimal, sellers should not wait to be paid.
According to a recent study, sellers who offer their offer via a marketplace have seen their traffic increase by 34% on their site. This is therefore an essential element in creating an environment of trust. Aware of this issue, some payment service providers (PSP) have deployed a specific feature: Faster Money-Out. This consists of not passing the funds through a bank but through a connector of financial institutions, allowing the payment to be sent in just a few seconds.
Finally, the payment service that is offered within the marketplace is also a central element of the experience of both sellers and buyers. Also, this is a pillar for gaining their trust. Indeed, for optimal conversion, it is essential to set up a simple and secure payment system, because in addition to reassuring buyers in the face of fear of scams, piracy or hackers, this will have a beneficial impact on customers. marketplace merchant sales. In fact, it is at the time of payment that the number of abandoned baskets is the most important.
Whether for end customers or vendors, establishing and maintaining an environment of trust is therefore the key to a lasting relationship between the various stakeholders. The seriousness and skills offered by the PSP also play the role of bridge to ensure a healthy commercial relationship and promote future purchases.