Many of you who are considering using Sakurabook may be wondering whether to use a so-called marketplace reservation site or build a reservation site with Sakurabook.

Reservation marketplaces are portal sites for reservations such as Rakuten Travel, Yahoo! Travel, Space Market, Hot Pepper Beauty, EPARK Dental, and PayPay Gourmet.How should I choose between opening a store in such a reservation marketplace and Sakurabook, and how should I use them properly?I will introduce briefly.

Reservation marketplaces: Rakuten Travel, Yahoo!! Travel, Space Market, Hot Pepper Beauty, EPARK Dental, PayPay Gourmet, etc.

First of all, let's briefly check what the "reservation marketplace" is all about.

As I have already mentioned, specifically, the following reservation sites will be collectively referred to as "reservation marketplaces".

• Rakuten Travel
• Yahoo! Travel
• Space market
• Hot pepper beauty
• Hot pepper gourmet
• EPARKDental
• PayPay gourmet
• …etc

These reservation marketplaces have a variety of companies open on one service site, and customers can search and compare among them, select the service and store to use, and make a reservation.

For example, when a customer wants to stay at an inn, they access Rakuten Travel or Yahoo! .We will refer to these as “reservation marketplaces” in this article.

Features, advantages, and disadvantages of reservation marketplaces

Let’s take a quick look at the features, advantages, and disadvantages of reservation marketplaces.

As a feature, first of all, it is advantageous to acquire new customers.There is a high possibility that customers who do not know your company at all, such as the name of the store, will be found, making it easier to acquire new customers.

Also, since the design and functions are already in place as a reservation site, it is convenient that you can start accepting reservations simply by registering an account and entering information.You can go online without having to build your own website.

in this way,The main advantage of the reservation-based marketplace is that it is advantageous to acquire new customers and it is easier to open a store than building your own website.You can say.

On the other hand, there are not only advantages, but also disadvantages.For example, there is a point that profitability will inevitably decrease because a usage fee is incurred for each contract.Also, the more popular the marketplace, the more intense the competition.

in this way,"The main disadvantages of reservation-based marketplaces are concerns such as low profitability due to the burden of usage fees, and intense competition that cannot compete with major price competition.It can be said.

In addition, although this is a flip side of the merits and demerits, since the design and functions are unified throughout the marketplace, it is possible to easily open a store, but it is also possible to open a store easily. I want to install the function of ", but it will be quite difficult.

Difference between Sakurabook and reservation marketplace

Then what about Sakurabook?We will focus on the differences from the reservation marketplace and introduce it.Let's start with a quick comparison chart.

*◎…excellent, 〇…acceptable, △…somewhat difficult

None of the items can be explained in a short time, so the above table summarizes with a simple evaluation to grasp the trend.We will explain in detail below.

Acquisition of new customers

Reservation marketplaces are better than Sakurabook for acquiring new customers. Sakurabook is a reservation system installed on the site of the company's own domain built with Shopify.In other words, since it will be an in-house domain store, access will be taken from inflow ports such as search, advertisement, and SNS.Therefore, it is necessary for your company to start marketing from the stage of increasing awareness.

On the other hand, reservation-based marketplaces may be found by customers who do not know about the company at all by searching for conditions within the marketplace, even if the company does not focus on its own recognition expansion strategy.Therefore, marketplaces are more advantageous for acquiring new customers.

Conversion to repeater

From the perspective of passing on new customers to repeat customers, Sakurabook can be said to be more advantageous.Customers who have used our service once know the names of our shops and facilities.It is possible to increase profitability by applying from our own domain store (Sakurabook site) that does not charge a fee.

In addition, the Sakurabook site, which is our own domain store, can also independently develop campaigns for repeat customers. The Sakurabook site is more advantageous in terms of developing limited coupons and gift campaigns that encourage the desire to use it again and building customer relationships that do not end once in a lifetime.

Fees and Profitability

As I have already touched on briefly, the Sakurabook site does not charge a commission for each contract like the marketplace (*Depending on the Shopify plan you use, there may be a settlement fee of around 3%).In the case of marketplaces, it is not uncommon for a commission of around 1% to be incurred for each contract, but the Sakurabook site does not charge that much.

Therefore, in terms of fees and profitability, the Sakurabook site is more profitable.

Competitive environment

Regarding the competitive environment with competitors, there is a difficulty that cannot be generalized.As mentioned above, many other companies in the same industry have opened stores on the marketplace, and the marketplace will be exposed to a severe competitive environment.There is also the risk that if major neighboring companies intensify price competition by using their financial strength, small and medium-sized businesses will be unable to compete and will be forced to withdraw.The marketplace itself is a service that meets the needs of customers who want to compare similar services and choose the cheaper and better one, so intensifying competition is a destined factor.

On the other hand, in the case of the Sakurabook site, there is no competition with competitors within the site because it is the domain point of the company.However, competition occurs in a wider range of markets, such as the search market, SNS market, and advertising market.It is common that this is also an environment that can never be said to be harsh.Therefore, it cannot be said that the competition between the marketplace and the Sakurabook site is fiercer.

However, it is certain that the Sakurabook site, which is an independent domain store, is less likely to be swayed by competitors' discounts and campaigns, and can be operated at its own pace.

Branding

It is a measure to differentiate from competitors by directing originality such as site design and function implementation unique to the company.When it comes to branding like this, the Sakurabook site has an overwhelming advantage.

In the case of the marketplace type, the basic functions and designs are almost unified, and there is usually not much room for customization by the company.After all, the marketplace service is to meet the demand of customers who want to compare and choose, so there are many cases where the design and functionality are unified so that it is easy to compare.

On the other hand, the Sakurabook site will be a site of its own domain, so it will be possible to customize functions and designs more widely. Sakurabook is a Shopify extension (app) that can be combined with other Shopify themes and Shopify apps to create a wide range of functions and designs.Of course, it is also compatible with Shopify's online shopping and payment functions.

Another strength is that it supports Shopify's new Online Store 2.0 standard, allowing Sakurabook's reservation wizard to be freely installed in various locations within the site.

Both Sakurabook and Marketplace are highly recommended

So which is better, the Sakurabook site or the marketplace?As you can see, both have advantages and disadvantages, so it is best to use both strategically.

For example, reservation marketplaces such as Hot Paper Beauty are operated with a focus on "acquisition of new customers", and customers who have used it once will receive reservations from the next time at the Sakurabook site's own domain store. It is a development that goes on.

By designing the flow of services, such as giving customers who make a reservation on the marketplace and come to the store a leaflet of the company's domain store and a coupon that can be used next time, we will create a flow of "from the second time on, at the company domain store". You can also make

In this way, by clarifying the division of roles and using them strategically,It is possible to maximize the merits of both the marketplace and the Sakurabook site with its own domain and compensate for the demerits of each other..