For many service seekers, it can be an ordeal to hire a service professional. Finding a dedicated platform to hire service professionals can be tough. That is why if you are thinking of launching a service marketplace that allows service seekers to connect with service providers, it would be a successful business venture.
However, before you decide to launch a service marketplace for professional services, you should under the best business model so that your marketplace becomes a roaring success.
The Business Model
As stated earlier, a service marketplace connects service providers with service seekers. Hence, you should ensure that your marketplace allows both service seekers and providers to register. The seekers should be able to post their job requirements on the platform while service seekers should be registered for a specific category and be able to see all the job postings in that category.
Make sure that each service provider should be able to create a profile that can be accessed by potential service seekers. However, once the job is posted, service professionals should be able to apply for it by sending a proposal, and the seeker should be able to check all the proposals before finalizing the right professional.
It is best to start your marketplace with a readymade solution that can be customized to suit your needs. IdyaFlow offers the right solution to entrepreneurs, who are interested in creating their own marketplace. The features can be selected based on your requirement and that enables you to choose the best revenue model for your platform.
Selecting the Right Revenue Model for Your Service Marketplace
There are many different revenue models that you can choose to ensure your marketplace generates money. You can choose one of the following or have a mix of models.
- Get registered members, both service seekers, and service professionals, to pay a nominal fee to use the platform. This subscription can be monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, or annually.
- Charge service professionals a fixed rate for any project they undertake or the rate can vary based on the project value.
- Allow advertisers to advertise themselves on high-traffic web pages. Just make sure that the advertisers are from industries and sectors you are catering to.
How Will the Platform Work?
Since this is an on-demand service marketplace, it should be designed to function as a conduit between service seekers and service providers.
Service seekers should be able to create an account and post their jobs based on the service they are seeking. Once the job is posted, the seekers will receive proposals from different providers and they should be able to compare and analyze the proposals to choose one that fits their requirements and budget.
After the service seeker accepts the proposal, they should pay the accepted rate into an escrow account. Once the project is successfully completed, the payment will be released to the service provider.
On the other hand, the service provider can create an account and log in. Once they do that, they should be able to view all the jobs posted in their chosen categories. Once they choose the project, they should be able to send a proposal. They should begin working on the proposal only after it is accepted by the service seeker.
Creating a Minimal Viable Product
Many entrepreneurs spend a lot of time, effort, and money designing a service marketplace that is complete. However, their aim should be to launch a minimal viable product that can be tweaked and improved as the marketplace grows and becomes popular.
Make sure that when you launch your marketplace, it has an attractive and engaging homepage. Most visitors will decide whether it is worthwhile to check the platform further in the initial few seconds. Hence, focus on making the homepage informative and ensuring that the design is intuitive and provides information that service seekers and providers are looking for. Also, focus on optimizing the page for search engines so that it shows up in the SERPs.
The homepage should feature service professionals. You can transform this into a revenue-generating feature. You offer this feature to service providers who are highly rated for a nominal fee. You can feature the popular service providers from different categories but ensure it is from categories that are the most sought-after by service seekers. It will enable them to find the right service provider and at the same time, it will also give providers exposure.
Ensure that you have a tab that explains how the website works for service seekers and service providers. That way, there will be no confusion when someone is using the website. Remember that your homepage should not be ambiguous. It should have a clear CTA so that visitors know what they should do after checking it out. This will increase conversion and transform website visitors into paying customers.
Choose Categories with Care
As a service marketplace, your platform should offer a wide range of categories. Categories make it easy for service seekers to find the right professionals. Do not have overlapping categories as it can make your marketplace confusing and cluttered.
When you have categories, it becomes easier for service seekers to post their requirements. They can select the category and ensure that their posting is viewed by service professionals in the same category. This will enable them to choose the right professional.
Create Simple and Quick Registration and Log-in
Do not make the registration and log-in a long and convoluted process. Instead, ensure that it is straightforward so that service seekers and providers can register quickly and proceed. If you have a long process, many will not follow through.
Ensure service providers and service seekers have separate accounts and that option should be available at the time of registration. This way, there will be no confusion and it will clearly highlight who is the seeker and who is the provider.
In Conclusion
Remember, it is easy to create a service marketplace for professional services, as long as you have the right application. IdyaFlow offers a feature-rich application that can be customized. You can add reviews and testimonials to make your platform more trustworthy. The application also allows you to incorporate a footer. Here, focus on city selectors so that potential service seekers can find service professionals in their geographical area. Other footer ideas include content-based web pages and links to your social networking profiles.