Entrepreneurs who advertise in a targeted way are more visible and more successful'

In short

• Advertising means more visitors and therefore more sales
• There are different tools for the different goals you want to achieve
• Sponsored products is the perfect tool to start with
• You can target advertising on certain customer profiles
• You can reach potential customers just before they make a purchase
  
  Justin Sandee has worked for bol.com since 2017 and is Head of Retail Media Management.
  
  Justin, when is advertising the next logical step in your growth journey?
  
  'To start with, you need to have your basics in order. That you have complete product information, customer reviews and good product photos. It is also important that your inventory and logistical processes are well organized. When all this is in place, advertising is the logical next step.
  
  What does advertising offer? What are the benefits?
  
  It provides you with extra traffic to your product page. That, in turn, puts you higher up in the organic search results. The result: more visibility among the right target groups.
  
  What tools are there? And are they equally relevant for all partners, types of entrepreneurs and product categories?
  
  We work from advertisers' objectives. As an entrepreneur, you often want to realize more sales, be visible to a new buying audience or provide more explanation about an article. Our tools are aimed at these objectives and are therefore interesting for every partner.
  
  Which tool is relevant at which exact moment depends on the type of objective. Its usefulness is also closely related to the maturity of the brand and the type of article. For example, if your brand is not well known yet, it may be a good idea to first invest in visibility using display.'
  
  When visitors are already searching for your article and there is a lot of competition, it is important to be present close to the moment of purchase. You can do this, for example, by investing in higher click prices in Sponsored Products. You can compare it with a mixing board in a music studio: you have to constantly turn the knobs to find the right balance.
  
  Do you have these 5 basics in order?

1. Full product information
2. Good reviews
3. Beautiful product photos
4. Stock management
5. Logistics management
   
   Five times check? Then advertising is the next growth opportunity for you!
   
   What tooling for entrepreneurs is at the top of your wish list?
   
   'Currently we work with different advertising systems. I would like us to be able to offer all possible forms of advertising within one tool. So sponsored products, display, but also forms of content marketing - for example own brand pages - within one environment. Of course, this environment must also be easy to reach, like the current sponsored products within the sales account.
   
   How does bol.com distinguish itself from other platforms and providers?
   
   Certainly in advertising, we distinguish ourselves with our data from visitors to bol.com. We also have a reach of no less than 13 million customers, combined with a wide variety of product groups. That makes us interesting to a large group of advertisers. And because we offer so many different types of articles, we can create an extensive profile of potential buyers and advertise accordingly.'
   
   'We know exactly what visitors buy via the platform. So you reach exactly the customers you want.'
   
   What is your golden tip for a partner who wants to stand out more from bol.com?
   
   You have to be where the consumer is. Advertising helps with this. So make use of the possibilities offered by advertising via bol.com. Start with sponsored products to limit the risks. You are always in control and can immediately see the results. After all, advertising is and remains an investment.
   
   The number of platform entrepreneurs at bol.com has increased enormously. As an entrepreneur, how do you ensure that you achieve good reach and traffic?
   
   As a platform we bring supply and demand together. If you have a good and unique article, you will quickly attract attention, provided your article is known to consumers. You have to make sure that your article is in the mind of the potential buyer.
   
   Once you have achieved that? Then it is important that you also give the searching customer a chance to see your article. You then focus on certain keywords on the one hand and on banners or displays in the right locations on the other. On the basis of data we can see what people are looking for. So that you can advertise in a targeted way.
   
   Last question: what are the advantages and disadvantages of the tooling we offer our partners in terms of visibility?
   
   The biggest advantage is in sponsored products: this is the tool that makes it possible to score high in the search results. You as an entrepreneur decide how much you spend on it. In addition, the tool provides direct insight into the effect of the advertisement. You can therefore easily see whether it pays to advertise via sponsored products. The disadvantage is that the tool is still in development; it is not as advanced as, for example, Google AdWords.