It has been my biggest project to date and at the same time my biggest failure: Coguan. I have not talked about it for a long time because in the end the past is the past. 13 years have passed since then. I had not yet turned 30. What times, what an adventure…
1 Connecting demand and supply at the same time is critical
2 Trust is the key
3 Making it very easy
4 Generating demand and supply internally
Connecting demand and supply at the same time is critical
If you set up a marketplace for anything from scratch where you want to unite supply and demand, timing is one of the most important things. You have to create enough supply to attract sellers and at the same time attract enough demand for sellers to have sales.
Why is it so critical? Apart from the whatsapp data fact that I think it is common sense, people have less and less patience. A seller that you attract through advertising to your website and who does not find what he is looking for will not come back so quickly. If you then add to this the experience of a seller who uploads his products and doesn’t sell or sells but at a much lower price than he could get elsewhere, then you’re going from bad to worse. This user will tell x-people that your platform is a waste of time and some people will be affected by this negative publicity who might have considered giving you a chance but in the end won’t.
Trust is the key
Whenever there’s money involved you always need trust. That barrier is always big at the beginning. How do you get over it?
Advertising is one way but you have to the idea of generating customize invest a lot so that you’re seen frequently everywhere and that way it seems like you’ve always been there.
Influencer marketing will possibly be more effective but here you’ll also have to invest time in attracting people and paying them to speak well of you.
Positive experiences with your platform.
To achieve trust there’s not just one thing you have to do. In the end it’s the sum of many small things.
Make it very easy
Lowering the barrier to entry is another key. You have to make it incredibly easy. For example, you can tell people that you take care of everything. They powder data won’t have any work in listing their products, for example. Not charging money for intermediation could be another way to start. If the perceived risk is minimal, then it should be less complicated to attract people to do a test.
Generate demand and supply internally
Another way is to have capital to buy products and sell products yourself as a platform. In this way, you create a kind of satisfaction guarantee. It is equally complicated because it requires money.
You see. Even 13 years later, I don’t have much clearer ideas. I am clear that it is not easy but it is not impossible either. I will keep thinking about it.