The service marketplaces have arrived mainstream in a big way with numerous startups going beyond million-dollar valuations.

It is one of the most lucrative business models in the current market dynamics. In the past years, there has been a steep rise in the service/gig industry. This has resulted in several companies coming to the forefront. Startups like TaskRabbit, Upwork have already penetrated the market and made a name for themselves. However, there is still a huge void to be filled, as most of the population is still yet to get accustomed to online services.

According to a survey conducted jointly by Burson-Marsteller and the Aspen Institute-approximately 45 million Americans, or 22% of the adult population, say they have worked or offered services in the On-Demand Economy. Meanwhile, the survey said 86.5 million Americans, or 42% of the adult population, have used at least one On-Demand Economy service. 

These numbers are increasing exponentially because of COVID outbreak, which allows new startups to ideate & grow. However, the biggest predicament in front of aspiring entrepreneurs looking to enter this sector is that- just launching a service marketplace will not promise a definite success.

It needs to have robust features and user engaging design to surpass the competition. Therefore, what features one must look out for when we talk about a powerful and complete service marketplace? 

Let us take a closer look at some of these crucial features without which any service marketplace is incomplete.

Customizable and User engaging design

Nowadays, it is all about design that either makes or breaks a website. This is why a service marketplace website must have a highly user engaging design to stand out of the competition. Moreover, the service marketplace platform must also have an advanced theme management system in place so that the website administrator can customize the design as per their convenience.

Robust Admin Dashboard

Other than design, the back end functionality is of umpteen importance. The matter of the fact is that a product that excels in design but lacks functionality has a very minuscule chance of making it big. Features like Task Management, Blog Management, Payment/Money Management, Admin User Management, Manage IP Addresses, FAQ Management, Role Management and much more must be visible right on the dashboard making it easy for the admin to manage the whole website.

Mobile Friendly

In the current market dynamics, it has become necessary to have a mobile-friendly website to ensure that the users can even access it on a mobile device seamlessly. This means that the website changes its aspect with respect to the screen size. However, one must keep in mind that these should be a responsive approach to the design, which keeps the design and functionality almost similar across different screens. In addition to it, the platform must also have support for native mobile applications.

Multiple payments gateways integration

What if you offer all the above features in your online service marketplace but the consumer is unable to make the payment, as the gateway is not compatible. This is the sole criteria that can lead to making the online service marketplace redundant. This is why before choosing a service marketplace platform; you must take into account which payment gateways it supports. In addition to it, you must also note whether the platform has any provision for adding custom gateways.

Smart recommendations

Nowadays, ecommerce has evolved in such a way that people prefer it when they get smart recommendations based on their previous hires. 

Multi-level security

Multi-level security feature is a must in the online service marketplace to run the platform well and without this, we cannot consider the platform safe to use. One of the biggest concerns in front of people is whether their data is secure or not. This is why the service marketplace platforms must adhere to multi-layer security to gain trust among the consumers. 

Hassle-free bid management

Service marketplace should have an easy bid management system for both taskers and service seekers to post and reply to bids. This can turn out to be a tiring task in the absence of smart bid management functionality. So while choosing a service marketplace software must check this feature to avoid future hassles. 

Easy communication

Communication between tasker and seeker should be easy. Choose a service marketplace that has this feature as well. This will make instant communication, and make conversations easy for taskers and seekers. Because exchanging emails cannot match the ease of personal interactions through chat.

Conclusion

The fact remains that there are very few ecommerce service solutions, which fulfil all the above-mentioned criteria. For entrepreneurs looking to venture into this sector and launch their online service marketplace, could opt for Yo!Gigs. I found this service marketplace platform software to be a powerful and complete package. It has a wide array of features ranging from customizable design to security architecture.

However, the main USP of Yo!Gigs is that it removes the hassle of launching a service marketplace for non-coders. This means that you do not need to have any advanced knowledge of coding to run a service marketplace using Yo!Gigs. The best possible definition of this platform would be high on features low on price.