We spoke about how to get a B2B marketplace platform idea in our previous blogs. You still have to validate your idea, thus your effort is not done. Only you can determine whether or not your concept will be successful after adequate validation.

The lack of market demand for a company’s product, per the study, is one of the major causes of business failure. So, you cannot run a business if no one wants your product or service.

You won’t have any grounds to be concerned that your new business will fail if you validate your business concept first.

It’s important to validate your marketplace business idea before creating your own marketplace. You must make sure that your concept is carried out correctly so that it can create a market that is both feasible and reliable.

No matter how much time and money you spend developing a market, if it is not serving the needs of the customers, then your efforts may be for nothing. 

Why Is It Important To Validate A B2B Marketplace Platform Idea?

You may test your ideas and assumptions on how to address the customer’s problem using the idea validation procedure. It’s crucial to test a marketplace business idea in order to gain more knowledge about the industry, the target market, and the actual issues that customers are experiencing. 

For example,

• Does the intended audience approve of the idea or product?
• Does the target market value the product?
• What about the idea or product don’t they like?
• Would they be open to using the idea or item?
• Do they intend to purchase the goods at the price we want them to pay?
• Do various target audiences provide any difficulties (e.g., varying demands and desires on both the supply and demand sides)?
• What is the current state of the market, who are the major players, and is it tough or simple to enter and get traction?

Before beginning development, test and validate your ideas for an Online B2B marketplace platform. Building a fully functional marketplace with numerous features is expensive and time-consuming. By building a Minimum Viable Platform(MVP) you can test your marketplace idea. 

Before building your MVP, the first and foremost thing in validating the marketplace business idea is to test your idea’s originality. 

How To Validate Your Marketplace Idea?

Test your Marketplace Idea’s Originality

You may approach these concepts of B2B marketplace platform idea validation any way you choose, but you should definitely start with this one before moving on to any others.

There is still hope if you find that another company or innovative entrepreneur has already implemented your idea: you could be able to create an improvement, adjustment, or spin-off that will be even more beneficial.

You face the risk of wasting time and money on an issue that has already been solved if you don’t evaluate the originality of your idea. Also, this way, you can know about your competitors. This brings up the next point. 

Know your Competition

Let’s talk about your major competitors in the marketplace. You should seek out your competitors by performing competition research armed with your possible company concept.

Make a comprehensive list of your direct competitors using social media, industry magazines, and in-depth research to better understand your market.

These are the questions you should ask yourself after making your list, going through each to improve your concept. This will guarantee that your idea precisely satisfies the demands of your target market:

• Is my concept comparable to, superior to, or inferior to that of my immediate rivals?
• Does my company concept address a clear market need or a specific problem?
• What are my rivals doing that I may learn from?
• What can I take advantage of things my rivals aren’t doing? How can I profit from the opening?
• What other B2b marketplace platform ideas have failed that is comparable to mine, and what can I learn from this?

It’s crucial to thoroughly research your rivals when checking out a potential business. You may further hone your concept and increase its chances of success by taking into account these issues.

The competition will teach you a lot, I promise. You’ll be able to strengthen your concept during those crucial early stages if you dig as far as you can.

Gather Feedback to Set Business Goals

Talk to people you trust in particular about your online B2b marketplace platform idea. You need brutally honest criticism at this point. Entrepreneurs sometimes get themselves in “idea lock,” when they are certain that their concept will succeed no matter what. 

It’s time to reevaluate if you are the only person who genuinely believes the notion is a good one.

Here are a few options to consider in order to obtain the input you require in order to improve your concept and establish your major goals:

• Make surveys and polls on social media asking important questions about your company concept to your friends, family, and coworkers.
• Hold focus groups for market research to get real-world input on your proposal or idea.
• Attend local professional meetups that are designed to help you build contacts with other professionals who can test your company concept.
• Join relevant online communities and forums where you may get customer feedback and business idea-based business guidance.

The possibilities are truly endless when it comes to receiving the appropriate feedback. Feedback may result in the following responses: 

• No, I won’t buy your solution.
• Maybe; right now, I’m not sure. 
• Yes, I’ll buy it without a doubt.

You’ll be able to confidently identify your key SaaS marketplace platform business goal after compiling your feedback.

Build MVP

The final step in the process of validating a SaaS marketplace platform concept is the product validation stage, which gives you complete assurance that the idea will be successful.

By the time you reach this point, you are already certain that there is a sizable enough market for your products or services. People are eager to pay you for the answer and are starved for it. The B2b marketplace platform idea validation step also provides assurance that there is sufficient demand for a proposed product. You also want to make sure that customers will buy from you.

You must use several teasing techniques to attract early users for your Minimum Viable Platform (MVP). Potential consumers that you have spoken with in person during the previous step have already been polled. Prior to launching your MVP, it’s crucial to establish a critical mass of testers and early users. To verify your MVP, you need to receive enough input from them.

It is important to ask for payment on day one when you launch your MVP(Minimum Viable Platform). In such a way, you can also analyze your pricing model and check if you need to change something. Your prices will impact your sales quantity. Sales and prices will impact your income and the profitability of your products.

While Validating the Marketplace Idea, Break the Myths

The fear of sharing one’s B2b marketplace platform idea with others is a common trait among prospective businesspeople. But, you shouldn’t like them, share your idea with everyone.

There are many myths about why business owners ought to divulge their startup concepts.

Myth 1: “I Need to Refine My Startup Idea First”

Truth: You ought to tell everyone you encounter about your concept. Why not rehearse before you present your proposal to potential investors? You may receive feedback early on and avoid spending time on an idea that won’t sell by spreading your idea to as many people as possible.

Myth 2: “My Business Idea Is Too Special To Be Shared”

Truth: No, it isn’t. Just consider the vast number of businesses that sell the same thing. There is a high probability that many other business owners are working on the same idea as you are if you have a company idea. But don’t let it discourage you since what matters is how you plan to carry out the concept, not the idea itself.

Myth 3: “If I tell others what my startup idea is, they’ll steal it,”

Truth: Probably not. The likelihood of someone copying your concept is rather low. Sharing your idea with others really makes seeking support easier and is a terrific approach to generating interest in your business.

If you’re still hesitant to share your concept with others, think about all the advantages your online SaaS marketplace platform may gain by letting others know what you do and how you plan to accomplish it. Also, remember the sayings of Joel Gascoigne,

“If someone does take your idea, they will never have the passion you have for it because they didn’t come up with it.”

Final Thoughts:

This chapter explains how to validate your marketplace idea. We have gone through the importance of marketplace idea validation. Don’t worry about it, but entrepreneurs like you sometimes feel overwhelmed by the process of launching their businesses. 

The first step is to create your idea, test the hypothesis, construct your prototype, and present it to potential customers or clients. You won’t have an idea worth pursuing if you don’t do this, and that’s alright. But keep in mind that the goal of market validation is to transform a concept into reality.

The final step of the B2B marketplace platform idea validation process is building the MVP (Minimum Viable Platform) – the first step of creating your marketplace. But how to build an MVP? I’ll tell you in the next chapter, “A Step-By-Step Guide to Building a Minimum Viable Platform.”