Marketplaces: a powerful tool for franchises

Marketplaces are increasingly appealing to franchise networks. These platforms provide new, highly attractive sales channels with numerous benefits for network leaders.

The first type enables a network to unify its franchisees’ offers and sell them under a single umbrella.

It allows for a consistent brand strategy with enhanced visibility and provides better tracking of each point of sale’s activity.

In this case, the marketplace becomes a monitoring and analysis tool. It then provides qualified and quantified data to shape and adapt the brand’s commercial strategy.

A concrete example recently observed is that of the Cash Converters network, which successfully brought together 120 stores on its marketplace. Meanwhile, the Echelle Européenne network leveraged its marketplace to expand its related product range—without carrying any stock in-store…

The second form of Marketplace, B2B, brings together tools and services available to a network’s franchisees. Managed by the network head, this platform, dedicated exclusively to its brand’s members, offers, for example, new digital communication tools for its franchisees, negotiated at preferential rates, consistent and chartered services for its entire network, centralized procurement, etc.

In both cases, the marketplace operator is the network’s headquarters.

It is strategically important, first, to carefully choose the marketplace provider. This partner will create the online sales site—the cornerstone of the customer relationship. They must fully understand the technical challenges of the solution to be deployed, as well as its interaction with the brand’s existing information and logistics systems (ERP – Enterprise Resource Planning, PIM – Product Information Management, WMS – Warehouse Management System…).

Secondly, it’s essential to be supported by a payment service provider (PSP), as the platform functions first and foremost as an online transaction hub. The chosen PSP must be able to legally handle three-way payment flows between customers, franchisees, and headquarters.

Several use cases highlight how these platforms are ideal for testing new product lines or ranges—without holding stock and with a very fast time-to-market. They also have many advantages for increasing visibility (SEO) due to the breadth of the product catalog and the uniqueness of the product pages (which must comply with strict requirements). Lastly, the quality of customer data collected and centralized through the marketplace allows for a more optimized and personalized customer relationship strategy.

However, a marketplace must be actively managed. Product catalogs need to be maintained, product descriptions standardized, services organized, stock monitored, and prices defined. Then, sales must be tracked, performance analyzed, and strategies developed accordingly. Simultaneously, brand visibility, SEO, and SEA positions must be continuously refined. This requires dedicated and skilled human resources.

The franchisor/franchisee relationship is unique. It is based on a fragile balance of trust and expectations. When deploying a marketplace, one must ensure:

As you can see: a marketplace is a powerful asset for a network to remain competitive. It also positions franchise brands as players in a true omnichannel strategy across their points of sale. A differentiating element that helps strengthen the network, attract new franchisees, and generate additional business.

Michel Faillie, director of the Seenaps offering.