Creating New Marketplaces
Administrators can create and customize new marketplaces that serve as comprehensive platforms for showcasing partner products and services to drive customer engagement and sales growth. Each marketplace can be tailored to specific audiences, industries, or business objectives while providing powerful content management, lead generation, and analytics capabilities that support organizational partnership and revenue goals.
The marketplace creation process establishes the foundational framework for partner showcasing, customer engagement, and business development activities while providing comprehensive administrative controls for content management, user permissions, and performance tracking across diverse marketplace implementations.
Requirements
To create a new marketplace, users must be assigned a role with the following permissions:
- Administrator System Role
Accessing Marketplace Creation
Navigation to Marketplace Management
- In the Setup Home page, click Create > Marketplace
- Click New Marketplace
- Access the comprehensive marketplace configuration interface
Basic Marketplace Configuration
Essential Marketplace Information
Name Configuration:
- In the Name field, enter a descriptive name for your marketplace
- The name will be displayed as the marketplace title throughout the platform
- Choose names that clearly identify the marketplace purpose and target audience
- Examples: "Our Partner Ecosystem", "Technology Solutions Marketplace", "Regional Partner Network"
Path Configuration:
- In the Path field, enter a unique link path for users to access your marketplace
- The path appears after "/marketplace/" in the URL structure
- Use descriptive, SEO-friendly paths that align with marketplace purpose
- Examples: "ecosystem", "technology-partners", "regional-solutions"
Note: Changing a path value after a marketplace is published will break all links containing the original path value. Plan path naming carefully before publication.
Description Configuration:
- In the Description field, enter a comprehensive description of your marketplace
- The description provides context for users and helps with search optimization
- Include information about marketplace purpose, target audience, and value proposition
- Descriptions support rich text formatting for enhanced presentation
Advanced Configuration Options
Marketplace Type and Integration
Marketplace Type Selection
Type Configuration: Select the marketplace function type to align with business objectives:
Partner Listing:
- Marketplace displays vendor/partner information and services
- Focus on partner showcase and relationship highlighting
- Supports partner enablement and co-marketing objectives
- Includes vendor profile integration and partner-specific features
Product Listing:
- Marketplace displays individual products and offerings
- Focus on product catalog and service presentation
- Supports direct product marketing and lead generation
- Emphasizes product features, specifications, and customer benefits
Custom Hub Integration
Custom Hub Association:
- Associate the marketplace with a Custom Hub (Optional)
- Custom Hub integration provides correct navigation links for marketplace browsing
- Helps Magentrix deliver appropriate user experience based on organizational structure
- Select from available Custom Hubs or leave unassociated for standard navigation
Marketplace Features and Functionality
Core Feature Configuration
Active Status:
- Enable the Active option to make the marketplace accessible to users
- Active marketplaces are visible to users who have been granted appropriate permissions
- Inactive marketplaces remain hidden while allowing continued administrative configuration
- Toggle active status to control marketplace availability during development and maintenance
Pricing Display:
- Enable Enable Pricing to display pricing information for marketplace listings
- Pricing display supports transparent cost communication and purchase decision-making
- Pricing information appears on listing tiles and detail pages when enabled
- Disable for marketplaces focused on lead generation rather than direct pricing
Client Logo Display:
- Enable Enable Client Logos Display to show client logos within marketplace listings
- Client logos provide social proof and credibility for listed partners and products
- Logos appear in dedicated sections of listing detail pages
- Supports trust-building and partner credibility enhancement
User Engagement Features
Review System Configuration:
- Enable Reviews Enabled to allow users to submit reviews for marketplace listings
- Review systems support community engagement and listing quality feedback
- Reviews appear on listing detail pages with rating displays and written feedback
- Provides valuable insights for both users and partners about listing quality and satisfaction
Review Moderation:
- Configure Reviews Moderation to control review publication workflow
- Disabled: All reviews appear immediately upon submission
- Enabled: Reviews require moderator approval before becoming visible to users
- Moderators receive email notifications for each review requiring approval
- Moderation ensures review quality and prevents inappropriate content
Geographic and Reporting Features
Geographical Focus:
- Enable Enable Geographical Focus to include location-based functionality
- Users can filter listings by geographical regions when enabled
- Listings display location information and regional associations
- Supports location-specific business requirements and regional marketplace segmentation
Partner Reporting Access:
- Enable Enable Partner Reporting to allow partners access to their listing analytics
- Partners can view performance metrics for their own listings in the publishing area
- Includes views, requests, and engagement data for partner-published listings
- Supports partner engagement and performance optimization activities
Content Management and Governance
Terms and Conditions Configuration
Listing Publication Terms:
- Configure Terms and Conditions that must be agreed to before publishing listings
- Terms appear as mandatory acceptance requirements during listing submission
- Supports legal compliance and content quality standards
- Leave blank to allow listing publication without additional term acceptance
User Interaction Terms:
- Configure Marketplace Terms and Conditions for user interactions with listings
- Terms appear when users click action buttons on listings (contact, request information, etc.)
- Provides legal protection and usage guidelines for marketplace interactions
- Supports compliance with organizational legal and business requirements
Initial Configuration Workflow
Configuration Planning:
- Plan marketplace name, path, and description based on target audience and business objectives
- Consider marketplace type alignment with organizational goals and user expectations
- Evaluate feature requirements based on user needs and administrative capabilities
- Review legal and compliance requirements for terms and conditions configuration
Feature Selection Strategy:
- Enable features that align with marketplace purpose and user expectations
- Consider administrative capacity for moderation and ongoing management
- Balance user functionality with content quality and governance requirements
- Plan for scalability as marketplace usage and content volume grow
Post-Creation Configuration
Additional Settings Access
After initial marketplace creation, access expanded configuration options through:
- Settings tab: Core marketplace configuration and feature management
- Listing Settings tab: Custom fields, layout design, and content structure
- Banners tab: Visual content and promotional banner management
- Badges tab: Badge system configuration for listing highlighting
- Leads tab: Lead generation and management configuration
- Analytics tab: Performance tracking and reporting setup
- Moderation tab: Content approval workflow and review management
Immediate Next Steps
Permission Configuration: Set up marketplace permissions for user access, content publishing, moderation, and administrative management. See Configuring Marketplace Permissions.
Vendor Setup: Create and configure marketplace vendors for listing publication. See Managing Marketplace Vendors.
Content Planning: Plan listing categories, custom fields, and organizational structure before content publication.
Best Practices for Marketplace Creation
Strategic Planning
Audience Definition: Clearly define target audience and user personas before configuration to ensure appropriate feature selection and content structure.
Business Objective Alignment: Align marketplace configuration with specific business goals including lead generation, partner enablement, and customer engagement objectives.
Scalability Considerations: Plan for marketplace growth in terms of listing volume, user base, and feature requirements to avoid major reconfiguration needs.
Technical Considerations
Path Planning: Choose descriptive, permanent paths that support SEO objectives and user bookmarking without requiring future changes.
Feature Integration: Consider integration requirements with existing systems including CRM, email marketing, and user management platforms.
Performance Planning: Plan for marketplace performance based on expected listing volume and user traffic to ensure optimal user experience.
Content Strategy
Quality Standards: Establish content quality standards and governance processes before enabling user-generated content and reviews.
Moderation Capacity: Ensure adequate administrative capacity for content moderation and approval workflows when enabling moderated features.
Legal Compliance: Review legal requirements for terms and conditions, user agreements, and content liability before marketplace publication.
Video for creating Marketplaces:
Jump to Marketplace Checklist
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