If you’re thinking of creating a business like a Marketplace (or you’ve just started it) and one of the first questions that come to mind is how to create your own brand, BINGO! You’re going in the right direction. Without a doubt, one of the biggest mistakes is not paying attention to branding from the beginning and letting it be created at will. Remember that everything communicates, so there’s nothing better than controlling it.
But let’s start at the beginning. Next, we’ll introduce you to the concept of branding and, through examples, you’ll see how important it is for a Marketplace to work properly. Finally, we will explain how to create your brand.
If you are still in a stage of reflection on how to create your own Marketplace, we recommend that you read our articles on how to validate your idea before carrying it out or how much it costs to create a Marketplace.
What is branding?
There are many different opinions about what exactly branding is. One of the best definitions is given to us by Shopify, who describes it as “all the ways in which you can establish an image of the company in the eyes of the customer”. In other words, they are all the attributes and values that the public relates to the brand.
It is important to note that the way the company looks is not always the same as how it is perceived from the outside. For example, a luxury yacht charter marketplace may see itself as a business with class, reliability, and quality, while potential customers may think it is a posh, overvalued or environmentally unfriendly site.
Airbnb as an example of branding
Airbnb is one of the Marketplaces that has worked best with your brand. It argues that the modernization and urbanization of cities have caused something as essential as being part of a community to be lost. Using Airbnb, things change, as you share and visit home with other travelers or people from the same city.
If you think about it, what distinguishes Airbnb from Booking is not the prices or the quality of the apartments, but that feeling of community. Something similar happens with Blablacar and the way it communicates its advantages.
Why should you consider your brand?
Following Airbnb’s example, branding helps you differentiate yourself from the competition and create a community, something very important in a Marketplace. Every detail counts, and nothing is random. The trust it generates is gained through obvious aspects such as the profiles with verifications or the opinions in the profiles, but also from the high quality that the photographs of the apartments must have.
How to create your own brand?
Given the importance and advantages of creating your own brand, you will understand that you cannot miss the opportunity. Besides, not controlling it may turn you against it. You should think about two main things: who your potential customers are and how you would like to be seen. It will not be the same to have a Marketplace for buying and selling surfboards as one on criminal law.
Bearing this in mind, you should focus everything you do on it and constantly ask yourself if you are complying with that idea. The logo, your messages on social networks, the typography of your website, the tone of your blog, the files of your users … EVERYTHING.
Surely you will also have to do some extra action to face your brand. For example, if you want to make it clear that you are committed to the environment it would be a good idea for your Marketplace to create a campaign to prevent deforestation. If your objective is to reinforce the idea that you are a reliable business, giving several secure payment options will be fundamental. The only one that 100% avoids any kind of fraud is the escrow. If you want to know how to implement it or have any questions about exactly how it works, contact us without any commitment.
