We’ve previously looked at reasons why you should build a service marketplace platform, whether you’re a services company, a SaaS organization, or anyone looking to sell your own or third-party services online. (Check out this blog for a recap). Ecommerce has long been the preferred method of buying and selling a huge range of goods in the B2C sphere, and the B2B world – and the services industry – has caught up.

This brings us to the next very important question. When launching your own services marketplace platform, should you build your own marketplace infrastructure from scratch or simply join an existing marketplace? 

Pros of building your own private service marketplace platform

The most obvious upside of having your own private marketplace infrastructure developed is that you can enjoy complete control of the marketplace. You can dictate how your services are displayed and how customers interact with you. In addition, you can also decide whether you’d like to allow third-party suppliers to sell services through your website – and if so, whether (and how) you’d like to monetize those transactions. 

With your own private service marketplace platform, you’ll also be able to collect valuable customer behavior data that enables you to set up your marketplace in a way that facilitates easy self-service. Whether they’re conducting research, looking for customer support, or comparing service providers, modern customers value self-service. So, when your marketplace is ideally set up to accommodate customer self-service, your sales team’s time is freed up to focus on other tasks. For example, instead of chasing new prospects who may not be ready to buy yet, they can focus on closing deals with qualified leads or growing existing accounts. 

Cons of building your own private service marketplace platform

Unfortunately, the flip side of the coin carries some serious considerations for anyone thinking about building their own marketplace. For starters, building, maintaining, and managing your own service marketplace platform is no small task and will take up a sizable chunk of your time and resources. The problem with this is that every resource diverted towards the upkeep of your marketplace is a resource diverted away from perfecting your core offering. If you’re a SaaS company, you should focus on software development. If you’re a B2B services company, you should focus on the services you provide. Anything that dilutes your focus needs to be 100% guaranteed to deliver a return on investment.

Probably the biggest red flag associated with building your own marketplace platform, however, is the sheer cost. As you almost certainly know, software development costs can be astronomical, especially when it comes to a piece of technology as complex as a private service marketplace platform with all the bells and whistles like secure online payments, online proposals, seller and customer portals, and so on. You spend a lot of time conducting research to avoid making the mistake of implementing inadequate tools to manage the complex sale of services. Worst case scenario, there’s no user adoption of the channel and the gigantic cost of development is unjustified.

Enjoy all the pros of having your own private service marketplace platform, without the cons of investing in development.

Luckily, there’s a way to have your own private marketplace ecosystem without taking on the costs and risks associated with building your own technology. Morphed’s white-labeled eCommerce marketplace infrastructure is specifically geared towards selling services – both your own and those of third parties. We understand the complexities involved in selling services online and have built a solution that allows you to go to market faster and start selling in a way that’s sure to delight your customers. 

service marketplace platform

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