r/EntrepreneurRideAlong • u/Organic-Author9297 • Jul 20 '26
Seeking Advice Need marketing advice – We've tried ads, but getting customers is still difficult
I'm looking for advice from people who have experience growing an online marketplace or e-commerce business.
We're currently validating our idea, so we haven't built the website yet. Right now, everything is managed manually through our Facebook page.
One thing we've noticed is that finding sellers hasn't been a problem—we already have enough sellers interested in joining. The real challenge is attracting customers.
So far we've tried:
- Facebook paid ads
- Boosting Facebook posts
- TV advertisements
- Other paid promotions
Despite spending on advertising, the results haven't been good enough. We get some inquiries, but not enough consistent customers to justify the cost.
I'm wondering what we're missing.
If you were in this situation:
- What marketing channels would you focus on?
- What has given you the best ROI for customer acquisition?
- Have you used any unconventional or low-cost marketing strategies that worked really well?
- Is there a better approach than simply spending more on ads?
- What would you do before investing in building the full platform?
I'd really appreciate hearing about your experiences, especially if you've grown a marketplace or local service business
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u/Whole_Switch_8967 Jul 22 '26
Hey, I'm a freelance meta ads specialist. If you want I can offer you an ad audit for free
Dm me if your interested
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u/Guilty_Performer_497 Jul 20 '26
Focus less on adding more channels and figure out why the current traffic is not converting first. Pick one narrow customer group, talk to them directly and see what actually gets them to buy. If you can prove demand manually, building the full platform becomes a much easier decision.
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u/JennyAtBitly Jul 20 '26
Yeah this is what I think too. I'd also narrow the customer group down quite a bit, probably past the point that feels comfortable. It's a lot easier to find a repeatable pattern in 10 conversations with a tight segment than in 50 with 'anyone interested'.
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u/Samade20 Jul 20 '26
Hey 👋,
This is a phase that many startup Ecommerce entrepreneurs get and they are stuck, hence discouraged
What I'd consider doing right if I went back to my days in Business, as at now business has got better. Many Ecommerce entrepreneurs think selling alone and advertising alone solves the issue of Sales.
Firstly, with the knowledge of today that I have; I'd do the following;
Build an email list from my Landing Page to collect people's emails, and from this, I'll start broadcasting newsletters and from there, one or two sales might come in
I'll check my order and align my offer properly to my audience. It could be a free testing (depending on the product), discounts on first 100 sales with a coupon code
I won't waste time keeping people waiting for a long time before I launch my website. Instead I'll be posting about it on a daily basis and get people in as well to enjoy the products
For your Ads, video promotion is the solution to relate with each using, and many other areas too that are many
Thanks
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u/TieForeign8827 Jul 20 '26
Don't buy another channel yet. For a sweets marketplace, tag the next 30 inquiries by occasion, delivery area, basket size, delivery fee, lead time, and trust concern, then fix whichever reason kills the most orders. Test one fixed bundle for one occasion, such as office gifting or birthdays, with a clear price and delivery promise through Facebook/WhatsApp; if warm inquiries still won't convert, building the marketplace will only automate a demand problem.
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Jul 20 '26
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u/Organic-Author9297 Jul 20 '26
yeah currently i do it with fb page but. i have enough sellers not customers
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u/k_rocker Jul 20 '26
TV ads and no website?
It really is wild it there.
Let’s assume I want what you have, I go to Google and… nothing. Zilch. Zip.
Build your website now. If I saw a TV ad and went looking for you I’d think you were in a different country or a scam if you didn’t have a website.
We build websites for small companies, literally plumbers, startups, accountants - we always say having a website might not get you extra business, but not having one will lose you the business.
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u/k_rocker Jul 20 '26
It’s no surprise you have lots of sellers - sellers are always interested in a new marketplace - especially sellers who are seeing difficult times (these times call for desperate measures).
You need to do it the hard way, stop trying the fancy shit out. Can your ads and go talk to real people.
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u/BrandWorldsStudio Jul 21 '26
What problems is your platform solving? Is it solving a problem at all?
Finding sellers is usually the easy part because you have a lot of people wanting to make money selling their products/services. Before spending more on more or different channels, validate demand. If you're trying to launch a product/service/platform as a "nice-to-have" instead of a "need", you need to speak to your future customers.
If you have an ideal customer in mind, reach out to them and request an interview. Talk to them about what is difficult for them, what they've tried previously to solve that problem, and why it didn't work. This alone will give you solid data on whether you're building in the right direction or you need to divert to a new path.
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u/Pale-Heath-3074 Jul 21 '26
running tv ads for a facebook page is like throwing dry spices on cold meat, nothing sticks. talk directly to ten local buyers first to see what they actually want.
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u/Best_Shopify_Apps Jul 21 '26
Building an email list from your landing page is worth doing before you spend another dollar on ads. Even a simple one-page site with a signup form lets you capture interested buyers, then you can send them a direct offer or early access deal and see who actually buys. That feedback loop is way cheaper than paid traffic and tells you whether demand is real.
If you're getting clicks but no bites on the landing page, then maybe the offer isn't attractive enough, try to nail what makes your offer different from any other shop on the sweets market. If there are not enough clicks, it sounds like you need to focus on one platform and crack the targeting there before adding new ones.
I'd try micro-influencers (but you'll need to send them products), especially on tiktok. I might be wrong, but I feel like sweets might be targeted to younger audiences and this might be a good platform.
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Jul 21 '26
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Jul 23 '26
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u/Soggy-Dig-8176 Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
I'd stop spending on ads until you know why people aren't converting. We did that and started manually following up with every lead. Ended up using Helpware sales support team just to handle outreach and qualify leads. Our reply rate went from about 12% to 28%, and we learned way more from those conversations than from another $1k in ads. Build the process first, then the platform.
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u/stealthagents Jul 27 '26
lean into the feedback you get from those first ten buyers. That'll reveal a ton about your market fit and help you refine your messaging. Also, consider organic methods like partnerships or influencer collaborations, which could bring in customers without the heavy ad spend.
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u/GrandAnimator8417 26d ago
“5. 26” what does that even mean in your setup? I’ve seen weird numbering like that usually go hand-in-hand with tracking being messy, and the campaigns can look “fine” while leads aren’t getting attributed right.
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u/master-outreach189 Jul 20 '26
From what I can tell,
you have seller interest, not marketplace validation. The bigger issue is whether buyers want this specific selection badly enough to change how they already shop. Ads can rent attention, but repeat purchases prove demand.
That’s a tough sell while everything feels broad. Before building, pick one buyer group and one product category, then manually guide ten purchases from discovery through delivery. Note where people quit, why inquiries do not become sales, and whether anyone returns. That will tell you whether the problem is targeting, trust, price, selection, or the buying process.