A 4-Phase Strategy for Marketplace Growth

Establishment

Objective: Gain traction.

During this initial phase, focus on establishing a solid foundation for your brand. This is based on a test and learn philosophy. These are the key actions to take:

• Account setup

• Marketplace research

• Product development and selection

• Establish SEO strategy

• Build out brand assets: Listing images/A+ Content/Store

• Initial reviews strategy: Vine

• Stock setup: Hybrid/ Vendor/Seller/FBA/Direct Fulfilment

• Pricing strategy

• Launch strategy

• Paid social campaigns to aid launch

• Testing and learning philosophy

  
  

Acceleration

Objective: Gain market share & establish profitable lines.

In this phase, focus on expanding your market share and establishing profitable product lines. Consider the following actions:

• Grow market share

• Big variations

• Continuous SEO focused on competitors

• Drive up BSR (Best Sellers Rank)

• Reviews: focus on building brand presence

• Aggressive competitor targeting tactics

• Expand advertising investment

• Social listening

• Affiliates

  
  

Defend + Grow

Objective: Optimise and adjust.

During this phase, your focus shifts to optimising your brand's performance and defending your market position. Consider the following actions:

• Catalogue management

• New product launches, retire those not working

• Audit resellers and focus on Buy-box retention

• Split variations to drive down competitors

• Advertising defensive tactics

• Stock optimisation: Hybrid/Vendor/Seller/FBA/Direct Fulfilment

• Special events

• New markets

• Consider Hybrid

• DSP

  
  

Yield

Objective: Maintain dominance for high-earning SKUs & grow SKUs in growing phases.

In the final phase, your focus is on maintaining dominance for your high-earning SKUs and introducing new SKUs, while proactively monitoring the market. Consider the following actions:

• Optimise SKUs in Establishment, Acceleration and Defend + Grow cycles

• Manage successful listings and products with day-to-day tactics

• Monitor new brands and products entering the niche; adjust immediately

• Pricing strategy: Variable pricing

• Optimise SKUs using visual SEO

This process can be accelerated with an effective pricing strategy and big advertising budgets. For more information, contact sales@rt7digital.com.