The Vendasta Marketplace includes over 250+ curated solutions for partners to resell, all matched to the world’s most common needs of small businesses. However, Vendasta also makes it easy for Partners to market, sell, bill, and fulfill their products and services by providing robust product creation and integration capabilities.
Why is Creating Product important?
Partners can add their products and services to the Marketplace and take advantage of all the features already offered, including:
- Setting specific categories for the products
- Invoicing capabilities for the products
- Custom Marketing Pages; including the use of HTML
- Order Forms
- An unlimited number of add-ons for the products.
- Advanced integration options including webhooks and SSO.
How to Use the Create Product functionality:
Quickstart Product Creation
You can start creating a product by going to Marketplace > Products. Select the Create Product button in the upper right corner. This will take Partners through a Modal, with 4 easy steps to create a Product;
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Basic Info
- Product Name - The name of the product or service. This will be displayed to Partner Center admins, salespeople, and customers.
- Product Type - Whether it is best classified as a product or service.
- Icon Image - The product's icon is one of the first impressions that customers will have of the product. Keep it simple, refrain from using text in the image, and ensure it fits well in a circle.
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Pricing
- Recurring Subscription or One-Time Fee - When a product is billed as a subscription, the customer will be required to make a monthly payment to continue using the product. If a customer discontinues their subscription, the product will continue to be active until the end of the billing period, at which point the product can be canceled. If the product requires a recurring payment, select Subscription to set the frequency (monthly or yearly) with which the customer is billed.
- Cost and Retail Pricing - Cost should be the sum of all direct costs associated with making the product - adding in this field will determine margins in the Platform. Retail is the price that will be charged to customers for the product. If the product is set to be billed as a subscription, the amount set as a Retail Price will be charged regularly at the frequency specified.
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Marketing
- Marketing description - Provide a concise and captivating paragraph or two that communicates what the product is, why it’s unique, and why users will love it.
- Key selling points - Provide 3-6 unique value propositions about the product.
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Confirmation
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Choose whether to save the product as a draft and continue editing in Vendor Center or to Publish and Enable the product.
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Continue editing in Vendor Center - The product will be saved as a draft and can continue to be edited in Vendor Center where additional features including order forms, advanced integrations, and HTML for marketing are available.
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Publish and Enable - The product is published and enabled, it can now be packaged and added to the Store.
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Advanced Product Creation
You can start creating a product by going to Vendor Center > Products. Select the Add Product button in the upper right corner. This will take Partners through a Modal to start creating a Product;
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Name & Type
- Product Name - The name of the product or service. This will be displayed to Partner Center admins, salespeople, and customers.
- Product Type - Whether it is best classified as a product or service.
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Icon
- Icon Image - The product's icon is one of the first impressions that customers will have of the product. Keep it simple, refrain from using text in the image, and ensure it fits well in a circle.
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Short Description
- Short Description - The "tagline", 200 characters or less, that appears in previews of the product in the Store and marketing material
The following tabs will now become available for you to edit:
- Product Info
- Marketing
- Integration
- Add-ons
Product info
The basics
These settings form the basic identity of the product in the Marketplace and Store;
- Product Name - The name of the product or service. This will be displayed to Partner Center admins, salespeople, and customers.
- Product Type - Whether it is best classified as a product or service.
- Icon: The product's icon is one of the first impressions that customers will have of the product. Keep it simple, refrain from using text in the image, and ensure it fits well in a circle.
- Short description: The "tagline", 200 characters or less, that appears in previews of the product in the Store and marketing material
Pricing
Here you can set the pricing model that your product follows, including defining the billing period, subscription terms, retail price, and trial availability.
Note that the price fields in Vendor Center are currently always set in USD. For partners operating in currencies other than USD, Retail Prices can be set for enabled products in the currency you select for your store in Partner Center > Marketplace > Manage Store.
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Pricing Model - Choose between Fixed Price, Variable Price, or Contact Sales, depending on the pricing model selected different settings will be available
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Fixed Price - Customers will be billed a fixed price for the product one time or each billing period.
- Wholesale Price - This is the sum of all direct costs associated with making the product - adding in this field will determine margins in the Platform
- Retail Price - Retail is the default price that will be charged to customers for the product. Note: This can be adjusted in the Store on a Product basis, but this will remain the default.
- Setup Fee - Adds a one-time charge when a customer purchases the product.
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Fixed Price - Customers will be billed a fixed price for the product one time or each billing period.
- Billing Period - This will set how often a customer is billing for the Product; One-Time, Monthly or Yearly
- Subscription Terms - predetermine an initial and renewal commitment period for the product’s subscription. For the duration of a subscription term, the customer must remain subscribed to, and billed for, the product. The initial subscription term becomes effective from the date of purchase. A recurring subscription term becomes effective (and recurs) at the end of the initial commitment period.
- Trials - Enable trials to specify the number of days in which customers can use the product at no cost.
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Editions - Editions are different versions of the product that represent levels of service, functionality, or pricing plans. Customers can purchase an edition of the product and upgrade or downgrade to a different edition as required. Editions of a product share marketing material and add-ons, but each edition has its price settings.
- Toggle the section and click Add edition to set pricing information and a title (which will appear after the product’s title when viewing the edition) for each edition of the product that you offer.
- Advanced Setting - Allow multiple purchases per account (disables add-on support) - By default, only a single instance of a product can be active on an account at any time. Enable this setting will allow customers to purchase this product multiple times on a single account. Note that add-ons cannot be used with products that can be purchased multiple times.
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Variable Price - Using this pricing model, you can set a minimum price and allow your customers to choose how much they want to spend when ordering or buying your product. Partner Center users can also request to change the subscription price an account pays for a custom price product, making this pricing model useful for tailoring ongoing services to suit a customer’s changing needs.
- Minimum Price - When customers choose the amount to spend on your product, and when Partner Center users request to change an account’s subscription price for this product they’ll be prevented from choosing an amount lower than the minimum price you’ve set.
- Management Fee - Charge an additional fee, either set dollar or percentage of variable price, each renewal on top of the variable price
- Setup Fee - Adds a one-time charge when a customer purchases the product.
- Billing Period - This will set how often a customer is billing for the Product; One-Time, Monthly or Yearly
- Subscription Terms - predetermine an initial and renewal commitment period for the product’s subscription. For the duration of a subscription term, the customer must remain subscribed to, and billed for, the product. The initial subscription term becomes effective from the date of purchase. A recurring subscription term becomes effective (and recurs) at the end of the initial commitment period.
- Advanced Setting - Allow multiple purchases per account (disables add-on support) - By default, only a single instance of a product can be active on an account at any time. Enable this setting will allow customers to purchase this product multiple times on a single account. Note that add-ons cannot be used with products that can be purchased multiple times.
- Contact Sales - Selecting this option will hide the price of your product from customers, requiring them to contact a salesperson for pricing information. Use this option if your product requires more detailed or case-based pricing options. Note that your customers won’t be able to purchase Contact Sales products from your Store using the Shopping Cart because these products have no price attached to them. Checking a Contact Sales product out through the Shopping Cart will instead submit a sales order for you to approve before the product can be activated.
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- Advanced Setting - Allow multiple purchases per account (disables add-on support) - By default, only a single instance of a product can be active on an account at any time. Enable this setting will allow customers to purchase this product multiple times on a single account. Note that add-ons cannot be used with products that can be purchased multiple times.
Product Activation
These settings affect what happens when your product is activated, canceled, or deactivated for an account, including messaging, notifications, and order forms.
- Activation message - The message you enter here will be displayed to Partner Center admins, salespeople, and customers when they submit an order for the product. Use this message to outline service timelines, provide supplementary information or instructions about the order process, or simply thank the customer for their order.
- Notifications - A notification will be sent to the email addresses entered here when the product is activated, canceled, or deactivated. To add more than one email address, click the + Add recipient button.
- Required Products - Choose one or more products that customers must purchase before they can purchase or use the product.
- Order Form – One of the key benefits of integrating your product through the Vendor Center is the ability to create custom order forms to request specific information from your customers when they purchase your product. Toggle the Use a custom order form setting On and click Build form to begin creating your order form.
- Work Orders - With Vendor-Task Integration and system-generated tasks, fulfillment teams can integrate tasks and projects for customers, while providing Admins and Salespeople with the capability to track and manage the work generated and associated with the products or services sold in your store.
Country Availability
Select the regions where the product is available for purchase and use. Customers whose business addresses are outside the regions selected won’t be able to purchase or use the product.
Note: If the product can be purchased and used regardless of the customer’s location, leave this field blank.
Marketing
Each product created in Vendor Center has associated End User and Partner marketing pages. These pages appear in the Store and Marketplace, respectively, and display key information about the product.
- Banner Image - Admins, Salespeople, and customers will see the product in a tile format when exploring all products. This is the default view when exploring Marketplace so your banner image is very important—it should make a striking first impression.
- Categories - Use this section to select the primary and secondary Local Marketing Index (LMI) categories that the product will appear under in the Marketplace and Store
- Marketing description - Provide a concise and captivating paragraph or two that communicates what the product is, why it’s unique, and why users will love it.
- Key selling points - Provide 3-6 unique value propositions about the product.
- FAQs - FAQs are the final section on the product page. This is the opportunity to provide customers, admins, or salespeople with the details they may need to know in order to make a buying decision.
- Screenshots - Screenshots can play a big role in the success of the product. Use professional screenshots of the product to showcase the user experience.
- Files - the Files section can be used to store more in-depth resources like case studies, brochures, and documentation.
Click the Preview toggle to view the page as it will appear to users in the Store or Marketplace. To resume editing, simply toggle Preview off again.
Integration
Integration settings can be used to enhance your product’s functionality within the platform, including activating webhooks, redirection to specific URLs, and integration with Vendasta's Marketplace API. For more information, consult our Vendasta Marketplace documentation.
Add-ons
Add-ons are used to support purchasing optional features or services related to the product. This will take Partners through a Modal to start creating an Add-on;
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Name & Type
- Product Name - The name of the product or service. This will be displayed to Partner Center admins, salespeople, and customers.
- Product Type - Whether it is best classified as a product or service.
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Icon
- Icon Image - The product's icon is one of the first impressions that customers will have of the product. Keep it simple, refrain from using text in the image, and ensure it fits well in a circle.
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Short Description
- Short Description - The "tagline", 200 characters or less, that appears in previews of the product in the Store and marketing material
The settings available for an add-on once created are similar to those available for a product in the Product Info tab. Likewise, you can edit your add-on’s marketing pages in the Marketing tab the same way you would edit it for a product.
Publish the Product
Once you have finished editing the product and are ready to start selling it, click Publish product. When a product is published, it becomes available to manage in the Partner Center, where you can do any of the following:
- Manage the product’s retail price in the store
- Add the product to the store
- Add the product to a package in the store
- Activate the product for a customer
- Invoice for the product using Vendasta Payments
Product Deletion
Products can be deleted through Vendor Center by following these steps:
- Partner Center > Vendor Center
- From Vendor Center, use the Products tab to find the product to be removed.
- Click the ⋮ Options menu for the product, and select Delete.
- Confirm by selecting Delete on the pop-up.
Please note that only products that are not currently active on any accounts or packages can be removed. Once a product is deleted, the product is irreversibly removed from the system.