B2B businesses still prefer to trade offline. The offline B2B market generates an incredible $6.7TN annually. It is not difficult for small offline B2B companies to move to the internet. Technology evolves, the marketplace changes and customer needs change. In short, online things move quickly.
SouqBox could be a great tool here…
SouqBox supports the online setup of B2B businesses using minimal risk and technical know-how. SouqBox claims that they can set up most websites in 20 minutes. They are also suitable for all industries. The platform was designed for B2B, regardless of whether you are in telecommunications or automotive parts.
SouqBox believes that online communication is a growing trend for business customers.
SouqBox can also be used to help B2B companies grow. Start by creating a basic eCommerce website/marketplace. You can then increase your site’s capacity as needed. If there is high market interest, this could mean bringing in other sellers or expanding your product range.
SouqBox loves the MVP (minimal viable product) concept. This means that you can use their service indefinitely to try your ideas online. This is a great way to gauge customer demand, get a feel of the platform, and discover your preferred operating style – all with no risk.
You can also try their paid plans with their 30-day free trial, and if you like it, you can upgrade to a paid-plan user full-time if necessary.
Let’s stop with the preamble. Let’s look at Souqbox main features.
Performance Tracking and SEO
You can edit the meta-tag keywords to best describe your market with SouqBox. This is a great way to improve your SEO. It helps search engines rank and classify your website content.
You can also integrate your Google Analytics account with SouqBox to track the performance of your marketplace directly from your Google Analytics dashboard. This makes it so easy to track the performance of your website.
Creating Listings Is Simple
It is easy to create new product listings. Click the “new listing” button in SouqBox’s website builder. Fill out the required parameters, such as listing name, product description, keyword, and image, and then upload an appropriate image.
To generate a suggested unit price (including tax), you can also use our ‘pricing calculator. This calculator will give you information such as total quantity, units sold, minimum order, currency and the guide price per unit. It also includes information about VAT tax in %. SouqBox then crunches the numbers to give you a suggestion.
You Can Upload Ads In Bulk
It is easy to upload multiple ads to your website. You can easily upload multiple adverts to your website by downloading an Excel file from SouqBox.
Take, for example:
- Name
- Category
- Description
- SKU number
- Total/minimum quantity
- Options for payment
- Keywords
…and more.
Upload this Excel file to SouqBox and you can start publishing ads directly from your dashboard.
The Negotiation Tool
The B2C model is dominated by fixed pricing. However, this doesn’t work in this case. The B2B industry offers more flexibility, which requires negotiations and complicated logistics.
The ‘negotiation tool’ allows you to offer customers the ability to negotiate on logistics and product pricing. This is particularly useful for selling second-hand products.
Free Web Hosting
SouqBox takes care of all the server management and hosting. SouqBox handles all of that for you, so there’s no need to hire a developer or have a lot of technical knowledge.
SouqBox also offers centralized upgrades and improvements. You don’t need to worry about this, because SouqBox takes care of it.
Affordable and Efficient End User Experience
SouqBox’s fully-branded dashboard is available to end-users for managing their business needs. They can access listings, payment options, negotiate, and much more from this centralized location.
Additional Features
SouqBox allows you to:
- Add a currency. You can choose the currency that your sellers can trade with, or you can give them the option of choosing from GDP, USD, Euro and others.
- Logistics and location – Choose the location and logistics options that you will offer sellers (e.g. the buyer arranges delivery, delivery negotiable or delivery included, etc.) and include a map in your ads.
- Security settings Allow customers to do what they want on your marketplace after they sign up. You can choose whether end-users are allowed to sell by default, or if your team must verify them before they can start selling. Unverified users can also be viewed by you.
- Summary of trading –You can see the products you are selling, manage your ads, and view your total sales, purchases, and market default commission.
- Product Management – Manage your own products and those of your sellers directly from your dashboard. You can view information from abandoned, sold and live listings as well as data such as views, clicks and guide prices.
Pricing Plans
After you sign up for SouqBox you will be asked to choose from one of their pricing plans. You can test each one for free for 30 days before you buy.
SouqBox offers five programs. Each program is listed below.
The Free Tier:
The free plan allows you to build your website, create listings and test its functionality. This package is a great way to learn about SouqBox’s software, and to see if customers are ready for online trading. .
Start: PS200 pcm
This package will unlock:
- Multi-vendor sales:Multiple vendors are able to sell their products from one site (like Amazon or eBay, but under your brand), giving you more options for your customers.
- Negotiable Trading: This negotiation feature is ideal for B2B’s who don’t always agree with fixed pricing models.
- Logistics negotiation This logistics negotiation feature allows B2B’s some flexibility.
- Stripe integration payments: stripe is an online payment platform which eliminates the need to have separate merchant accounts, payment gateways and one-off integrations. Accept all major credit and debit cards around the world and use services such as Alipay, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Apple Pay.
Like A Rocket: PS500 PCM
The ‘Like a Rocket” package includes everything from the ‘Kick Start’ plan plus:
- Customer support
- Reviews and ratings:Buyers have the option to leave product reviews and the seller has the option to publish them in advertisements.
- Unlimited customers, adverts and clients: Expand your client base and expand your reach without limitations
Big Guns: PS950 pcm
With ‘Like a Rocket’ you’ll have everything. Plus:
- Bulk Upload of Adverts: Upload multiple ads to your SouqBox site immediately and with minimal fuss (this can be done using an Excel sheet).
- Inventory Management: Manage inventory from your dashboard. Keep track of sales, stock and when to replenish.
- Partner module Your brand and another can work together on SouqBox to generate more business.
Whole Enchilada – PS2,000 pcm (Currently under Beta Development)
This package gives you access to SouqBox’s entire eCommerce suite. It also includes the following features:
- CRM
- SouqBox’s marketing package is advanced
- Advanced manufacturing and inventory options
- Management of the supply chain
*Full specifications still to be released. Contact Souqbox for more information.
How Souqbox Works
After you have selected your pricing plan, SouqBox will ask you to enter your domain name and marketplace name. SouqBox asks you to create a landing site and establish your branding. You can do the following on this landing page:
- You can add a logo to your website and a background picture
- Add a brief slogan or description
- Select the font size and color
- Upload a separate icon for your browser tab
- Choose colors to represent your brand and navigate menu
- Add a meta-tag description to your signup message
You can also provide important information that your sellers and buyers will find. SouqBox has fields that you can fill out. The information will be displayed in your marketplace footer. You can enter data such as:
- Use terms
- Privacy policy
- About us
- Send an email
- Phone number
- Information about a registered company
- Address
- Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest URLs
- Footer image
Online forms allow you to choose the information that you wish to collect about your customers, including their first and last names and email addresses.
You can organize your marketplace listings by category.
SouqBox: The Benefits
SouqBox makes it easy for B2B’s and entrepreneurs to start their online business. Although B2B marketplaces may be new, research shows that they could prove to be a lucrative way for businesses to trade on marketplace platforms.
SouqBox appears to be sensitive to the concerns of sellers when opening a shop in a new marketplace. They’re flexible and adaptable. The risk of failure is reduced by adopting the MVP model and offering multiple payment options.
SouqBox’s platform is simple and attractive to B2Bs. It is easy to set up. Businesses can save time and money by using the centrally hosted SaaS model. It is also easy to scale, giving users the ability to grow their business at their own pace.
The negotiation tool is one of SouqBox’s most distinctive and standout features. Negotiation is a key component of B2B selling. This is partly what makes SouqBox so different from B2C models. This is what makes SouqBox a B2B platform.
These are the core benefits of SouqBox:
- It’s easy to manage customer deals – It’s simple to settle funds, handle tax changes, and review – all from SouqBox dashboard.
- SouqBox can be viewed on mobile devices –SouqBox websites have a mobile-responsive design, so it’s easy to develop an app without having to spend time or effort.
- All data of your customers, sellers and you is protected. SouqBox keeps your data secure.
- Front-end design is a benefit – Your site can look exactly as you wish it to. Even the emails notifications and invoices you send customers are fully brandable.
SouqBox Review – Something to Consider…
B2B marketplaces remain a new concept. While SouqBox has tried to make their platform as flexible and innovative as possible, there are still some things that could deter B2B companies from setting up an online presence.
First, the specifications for their “Whole Enchillada” payment plan (which is currently being beta tested) have not been released. Some customers might be concerned about the difficulty of gauging SouqBox’s full functionality.
The MVP model and the forever free plan are a great option. The MVP model and the free forever plan already offer a lot of features. If these are any indication, then the final result could be very promising.
Our Final Verdict
SouqBox is a great option for B2B companies looking to launch online. It’s a complete package with so many options for customization and scalability. The setup process is simple, making it a great option to launch a B2B business online.
What are your thoughts? Do you have any experience with this platform? Let us know all about it by leaving comments below. We look forward to hearing from you!
