How to build an Online Service Marketplace like Urbanclap?

The typical e-commerce sites can easily be termed as online marketplaces. These e-commerce sites not only provide products but also services too in association with multiple third-parties, whereas, the transactions are efficiently managed by the marketplace operators. A service marketplace is like an e-commerce site platform that initiates, coordinates, and finalizes buying and selling of services between the service provider and the seekers.

An online service provider has unlimited access to the marketplace. Few renowned examples of online marketplace service providers are Freelancer, Fiverr, UrbanClap, etc.

What is a Service Marketplace?

A service marketplace is an online platform that works as a bridge between service providers and seekers. It helps in initiating, encouraging, innovating, arranging, and finishing up the purchase of services between the seeker and the providers. On the platform of the service marketplace, the disclosure of service frames opens the door for customers to pay for the work on the basis of its offering to the consultants or the experts.

Here, clients get a great variety of services for themselves or for their home needs as well. Getting service at your doorstep, instead of going out has become a need of our hectic schedule and these home service app is a wonderful platform to get things sorted instantly. These service marketplace not only include household services but also professional services as well.

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The technology-based apps which are rapidly promoting individuals to not to go out of their house and get work for them through these platforms. It is becoming a trend that many small companies used to look for freelancers or distant employees, who do their work while being at his home and being at any part of the globe.

Why are Online Service Providers preferred?

The online service provider marketplace is much more efficient and easy to reach for an individual and save their time as well. Here, one can get multiple issues resolved at once. All these home-based services are very effective for those having a hectic schedule and couldn’t allot their time for other household activities.

Apart from that, these online service providers are a great help to those who are new to the city or recently migrated from their familiar surroundings. On this platform, one can get services like Electrician, Plumber, Carpenter, House Cleaning, Car Cleaning, Pest Control, Dry Cleaning, Beauty services, and many more. One can easily conclude such services as an online business directory in terms of providing a variety of services.

The marketplace for service providers allows all the service seekers to get instantly connected with endless professionals from a variety of fields and industries. However, it is quite difficult for such platforms to manage and maintain the requirements of both the service providers and service seekers.

Let us take a look first, who is a service provider and a service seeker in an online service based marketplace.

Service Providers- Under the platform of an online service marketplace, the service provider could be an individual or a group of employees who used to work under any shop owner or with the respective registered company in that platform.

Service Seeker- In an online service marketplace, the service seeker is one who looks for the service provider to fulfill their variety of needs through a specialist and can know in advance how much they will be charged for the service on an average.

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Now, let us take a look over some reasons why the home service provider facility is majorly preferred among people;

1. In a busy schedule, people find it difficult to look for an experienced professional therefore they like to prefer to go with the home services app.
2. Due to home service provider facilities, the interruption in the way of available services will lead to almost negligible.
3. We all want every service to be available at our door-steps and convenient to reach them.
4. In this hectic life where both spouses are working, then it becomes very hard to have time to find any expert for getting the household works done.
5. During an urgent requirement, it becomes quite difficult to find a professional to fix the issue instantly. Therefore, these service marketplace came to the rescue of people.
6. People new to the city, or the students who don’t have time to search for the right person, are used to going for the online service provider
7. Elderly people who face problems in walking, for them the home service provider will definitely be a great helping hand to get the issue resolved just by the use of their finger-tips.
8. Likewise, many females also don’t like to go out of their homes in search of an expert professional.

How does the Online Service Marketplace Model work?

These home service provider platforms are a boon for small businesses that don’t have any online presence due to monetary issues or other issues. This home service app allows a variety of businesses to come under a single platform and make a proper detailed online business dictionary to all the service seekers.

This business model minimizes the wastage of time and traveling as well. All the business seekers are supposed to list your business on the platform and can get work while being at their small shop or home. To list your business successfully the reliable marketplace platform always does the required inspection and verification, then only allows them to get the entry in the online business directory.

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The online service provider business model works two ways, where the work request will go to the professional services provider. If the work request suits them then they accept it or simply decline the request. After the request gets declined, the request moved to the other service provider and this can only be applicable to the nearest 5 service providers.

Meanwhile, the one who accepts the request, it gets automatically assigned to him. Then, on the allotted date and time the service provider visits the service seekers provided address after the work is done the payment will be done successfully. Based on the service, the service seeker will provide his feedback on the app. However, if any issue arises between both parties, then the admin has to intervene in it and look out for the mutual issue resolution.

Challenges with the Online Service Marketplace

To successfully establish a business with an online marketplace for services is quite challenging and has to go through a lot of ups and downs. Though sustaining in the market with any kind of business is never going to be an easy call. The challenges the home service provider platform faces are as following;

1. Fulfill the Customers Requirements – For any business it is difficult to always fulfill the requirements of the customers. Similarly, the issue also arises at the marketplace for service providers platforms too. The customer sometimes expects a cheap price for the work and might also deny paying the amount to the professional. This becomes a reason for dispute between the service seeker and the service provider. Therefore, to resolve the issue the executive used to visit and verify the work to resolve the issue.
2. Trust among Service Provider and Seeker – Trust plays an important role while building connections between the professional service provider and the service seekers. This trust of customers with the online home service platform will itself minimizes the cases of disputes among the customer and the service provider. Despite that, it is very evident that in the business one can trust the customer but not the professionals. This may result in a decline in the conversion rate on your service marketplace platform.
3. Product and Service Presentation – In any business, usually the proprietor has control over in which his products get presented to the clients. However, this picture is quite different in the online marketplace for services platforms. In the online service marketplace, the entrepreneur and the business owner are having very little command over how their product gets introduced in front of the client.
4. Demand and Supply Gap – For a service provider platform, it is a great challenge to deal with the gap of demand and supply in the market. Whereas, in the online service marketplace the condition can be very evident where the gap is quite high among the demand and the supply in the marketplace.

USP of Home Service Provider

Every business platform has its Unique Selling Point and it is very important for a business to learn about its USPs before getting into the. As well as, market those USPs while being into the market and promote the business in a positive direction. So, it is important to learn about the USPs of home service providers.

1. Providing a pool of services ranging from personal to home bases services along with other services as well. All these services can easily add good value to your business and make the service seekers’ life easier.
2. Home-based service is one of the major USP of this business, then it needs to be exercised well and give a new life to the business with the quality of customer service.
3. Make sure to highlight the availability of highly skilled professionals that are easy to reach for the local peoples. The service seeker only needs to go through the home services app and look for their required professional.
4. Ease the search procedure of professionals for the service seekers. As well as, help the service provider professionals to expand their businesses smoothly due to the online home service facility.

Types of Services exist in an Online Business Directory

1. Plumbing
2. Bathroom
3. Leaking
4. Mixers
5. Sanitary installations
6. Lighting and replacement of bulbs
7. Water motor or an electric transformer
8. General Maintenance
9. New electrical extensions
10.  Transfer or installation
11.  Clean and wash
12.  Water leaking
13.  Gas filling
14.  Cleaning Carpet, Brushes or Brady
15.  Cleaning of water tanks
16.  Clean the house completely
17.  Cleaning tile
18.  Removing or installing furniture
19.  Remove or install Curtains
20.  Unpack or install a home appliance
21.  Removing or installing plates and others
22.  Installation new Satellite
23.  Internal Connection
24.  Receiver Installation with extensions
25.  Programming new receiver
26.  Maintenance or repair of computer
27.  Maintenance or repair of telephone
28.  Maintenance or repair of a printer
29.  Smart home appliances
30.  Domestic Shipping
31.  International Shipping
32.  Small Car
33.  Family Car
34.  Other services
35.  Computer & Site Programming
36.  Application services
37.  Other services

How to Provide a Good User Interface in Home Service App?

While designing the app always keep in mind to make the user-friendly and user-understandable as well i.e. the app should be in users’ native language. This will attract all types of people who are not frequent users of any application or face problems with English or any other common language. Therefore, when a user installs the online home service app in his/her device, it should automatically pick or request the user to select a language and add location.

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Steps can be followed in the following manner when the app launch on the user device;

1. User Registration
   1. Initially, the user can select his/her preferred language.
   2. Then, redirect to the User Registration page; where users can log in or can skip the procedure for a while.
   3. To make the registration successful, users need to provide a few details like Name, Mobile Number, and Password.
   4. After that, a One Time Password will be sent through SMS to the users provided mobile number to authenticate the number and the user.
   5. Then, the user can add his location to get the accurate results, or may skip the step and add it when required.
2. Login/Forget Password
   1. Now, a user can log in to his/her account by using Mobile Number and Password.
   2. In case you forgot the password, then on the login screen click on ‘Forget Password’ and a temporary password or unique will be sent to the mobile number and then the user can reset his/her home service app account password.
3. Home Screen
   1. Display the links or controls to navigate to different sections of the online business directory.
   2. Main Category will be available with the sample images and users can easily slide all the featured services and images.
   3. Then click on the category will show a complete list of the service provider sorted on the basis of location along with their image and description.
   4. Users can view the profile (like previous work, ratings, feedback, and other details) while going to the specific service provider.
   5. However, all the available services category and the professional service providers will always be managed by the admin only through the Admin Panel.
4. Book Service and Track Service
   1. To avail the service, the user has to describe their problem with the help of images and words too.
   2. The Service seeker can select the date and time according to their convenience as well as can go for urgent services i.e. in 120 minutes, 180 minutes, or 240 minutes.
   3. After booking, users can track the status of the service with keywords; Pending, Confirmed, On the Way, Ongoing, and Job Completed.
   4. The service seeker can also cancel the service request before the 6 hours of the allotted time, and it may or may not add cancellation charges to the client.
5. Payment and Invoice
   1. After the work has been completed, users can make payments through different modes like Credit/Debit Card, UPI, or Cash.
   2. The successful completion of payment the receipt will be generated with the required details and the mode of payment as well.
6. Rating
   1. After the successful completion of the service, the user can give their feedback and star rating to the expert professional and can rate their experience on the home service app as well.
7. Setting and Notifications
   1. Users will receive notification for accepting or rejecting the service, service status (service start, complete, or professional is arriving soon).
   2. Users can ON/OFF his notification. (User & Service Provider both can do it).
   3. Change Language (User & Service Provider both).
   4. Change Password
   5. Logout
   6. Delete Account
   7. Terms & Conditions
   8. Privacy Policies
   9. FAQs

Apart from that the Admin and Service Provider Interface also needs to be done properly and accurately. So, there won’t be any flaw and the services can be carried out smoothly and accurately. As it is going to be a great responsibility for the service marketplace platform to be transparent and equal among each client and the expert professionals. There will be a number of small or medium-scale expert professionals who will get associated with the platform so always try to make it a reliable and trustable service platform for the service providers and the service seekers both.

If you think you are also on the same page and looking to introduce this type of service in your city or state. Then, you can instantly reach EngineerBabu. If you are having any unique idea then also we are there with our dedicated expert developers’ team to make your dreams come alive. Feel free to Contact Us and read our other informative and valuable blogs on our website.

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