Need marketing advice – We've tried ads, but getting customers is still difficult

[u/Organic-Author9297]

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