How to Prevent Disintermediation on your Platform
How Startup Founders Can Prevent Or Stop It
I’ve covered this in my previous article that I’ve written, but I want to dive deeper into this topic as many founders have requested me to write more about this issue.
Your online C2C platform can offer a lot of value to your users. And, it’s a great source of revenue for you.
So, why would anyone want to disintermediate?
Disintermediation happens when people bypass your platform and transact directly with each other.
The only way to prevent disintermediation is by making sure that your users are getting more value on your platform than they would from dealing directly with each other.
If you want to keep them on your platform, make sure that you are constantly innovating and evolving in order to provide more value than they could get from direct transactions.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. “We are already providing great value to our users. We don’t need to innovate!” But, if you want to stay ahead of the curve, you need to be constantly innovating and coming up with new ways to provide value.
If you aren’t adding value, then someone else will come along and add more value than you do.
This is what happened in the hotel industry when Airbnb came along.
They added a ton of value by giving people a place to stay when they needed it. Airbnb is now valued at $100 billion dollars (post-IPO). That’s a lot of money!
You can prevent disintermediation by continuously adding more value on your platform than your users could get from dealing directly with each other.
You should also make sure that your online C2C platform provides:
Value for both buyers and sellers
You want to make sure that there is equal value for both parties on your platform so that they both continue using it.
A strong community
If you have a strong community on your online C2C platform, then there is no reason why anyone would want to deal directly with each other instead of going through the online C2C platform because everyone knows that others will be there if they need them or if they have something for sale or want something sold quickly and easily at a fair price.
Good reputation
If people trust your online C2C platform and feel like it has integrity and honesty behind it, then there is no reason why anyone would want to deal directly with each other instead of going through the online C2C platform because everyone knows that others will be there if they need them or if they have something for sale or want something sold quickly and easily at a fair price.
Speed
Make sure that people feel like deals can be done quickly on your online C2C platform because this encourages them to use it over dealing directly with each other.
Sometimes transactions take too long or may not even happen when dealing directly with each other because sometimes people just don’t show up or respond back when someone tries selling something in person.
If you can provide these things, then you will have a great online C2C platform that people will want to use over dealing directly with each other. This is how you prevent disintermediation.
If you want to keep your online C2C platform from being disintermediated, then you need to make sure that you are constantly innovating and adding more value than your users could get from dealing directly with each other.
You can also prevent disintermediation by providing the things I mentioned above such as value for both buyers and sellers, a strong community, good reputation, and speed.
These things will encourage people to continue using your online C2C platform instead of dealing directly with each other because it is faster, easier, and more convenient for them.
Disintermediation is one of the biggest threats facing online C2C platforms today.
If you want to keep your online C2C platform from being disintermediated then you need to be constantly innovating and adding more value than your users could get from dealing directly with each other.
This will encourage them to continue using your online C2C platform instead of dealing directly with each other because it is faster, easier, and more convenient for them.
Regards,
Alexander
About the Author
I am the Founder of Cudy Technologies (www.cudy.co), a full-stack EdTech startup helping teachers and students teach and learn better. I am also a mentor and angel investor in other Startups of my other interests (Proptech, Fintech, HRtech, Ride-hailing, C2C marketplaces and SaaS). You can also find me on Cudy for early-stage Startup Founder mentorship and advice.
You can connect with me on Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderlhk) and let me know that you are a reader of my Medium posts in your invitation message.
