How to Spot Good Marketplace Service – Before You’ve Signed Anything

“Our key account management is not a closed circle for large sellers”

Every marketplace claims to offer good service for their sellers. The real test comes when a country launch is looming, the Christmas rush hits, or a new legal requirement needs to go live overnight – and your account manager either shows up, or they don’t.

There’s a faster way to find out which one you’re dealing with, though: pay attention to what gets asked in the very first meeting. Hendrik Jansen, Head of Key Account Management at Kaufland Global Marketplace, told us exactly what to listen for – plus what differentiates a standard support service from an excellent one, where the limits of account management lie, and what criteria actually decide who gets a dedicated contact person at all.

Hendrik, every marketplace promises brands “good service”. What does that mean in your day-to-day work?

Hendrik Jansen: For me, good service starts with attitude: we work with our partners personally and as equals. That sounds obvious, but according to our sellers it makes all the difference in everyday business. We want to understand where a seller wants to go, derive a joint strategy from that and then implement it together in key account management.

That includes a reliable rhythm. Our goal is at least one business review per quarter, complemented by annual meetings. With some partners, we also align weekly or every two weeks. What matters to me is this: we don’t hold meetings for the sake of meetings. Support can become more intensive in certain phases, for example before a country launch or peak season, and then return to a calmer pace.

Which brands does your key account management look after – and what do brands without a dedicated key account manager get?

Measuring Service Quality

Hendrik: Our key account management is not a closed circle for large sellers. We base our support on revenue, assortment and advertising budget, among other things, but not exclusively. Growth potential is at least as important to us. That’s why lesser-known brands and sellers can also become part of key account management.

Sellers without a dedicated key account manager aren’t left on their own either. They can find many relevant data points in the Seller Portal, and tools like our AI assistant Ailora help them evaluate that data. The difference in key account management: we take a large part of the analysis work off our key accounts’ hands and translate the potential we see directly into their existing strategy.

How do you measure whether your support is working?

Hendrik: Ideally, we see the effect directly in our partners’ revenue growth. But revenue alone falls short. That’s why we work with a holistic framework that also takes into account assortment coverage, price competitiveness, service quality and internationalisation. A recent example shows how much is possible: since we started supporting one seller in key account management, they have almost increased their mid-five-figure revenue sevenfold year on year. Together, we listed their entire assortment in a very short time and expanded them to three additional storefronts.

a marketplace “From Europe – for Europe”

What most clearly sets account management at Kaufland apart in everyday work?

Hendrik: As a marketplace “From Europe – for Europe”, we offer the top alternative to the global marketplace giants. With just one registration, sellers can sell in nine countries. What our partners name as the Kaufland advantage: they have one dedicated contact for their entire business. Instead of looking for a new point of contact for every topic, there is one person who knows the full picture. In concrete terms, we jointly analyse sales figures, visibility and assortment and identify opportunities from that, including in retail media. When a seller goes live with a new storefront, we support them along the way. Something else we hear again and again is how quickly we respond.

Podcast tip: Where brand building happens on a marketplace that is often perceived primarily through price is what Ingrid and Valerie discuss in episode 147 of “Let’s talk Marketplace”. Their guests are Markus Anstotz from Kaufland Global Marketplace and Jan Weiß from Sleeping.

The Diverse Clientele Is Often Underestimated

What do brands most often underestimate when starting on Kaufland?

Hendrik: What is most often underestimated is that Kaufland reaches a different customer base than other marketplaces. Many sellers transfer their experience one-to-one and initially only list what works well elsewhere. Yet we quite often hear that assortments that barely sell on other marketplaces sometimes turn into real bestsellers on Kaufland.

One example is Werkzeugstore24, a retailer of tools and construction machinery. Until mid-2024, it sold through its own online shop as well as on eBay and Amazon, and only locally. Today it works closely with a key account manager who gives it tips on performance. After launching on Kaufland.de, further countries were added step by step, and it now sells in five Kaufland countries. High-priced items perform particularly well with us: it regularly sells premium equipment from around €750 and construction machinery worth more than €4,000.

The second example shows that it also works without a key account manager. TB Furniture, a manufacturer of mattresses, blankets and sofa furniture, used our Performance Coach from the start. Among other things, the coach explained how the search algorithm works, so that the seller could adjust titles and descriptions in a targeted way. The result: revenue on the Kaufland marketplaces rose by 970 per cent. In the meantime, we also support the seller in key account management.

Address problems before they escalate

When do things get really tight for a brand?

Hendrik: Especially in high season and during the Christmas business, a great deal is happening for our partners. A seller might, for example, want to submit additional deals or top deals at short notice. We are prepared for cases like this and speed up the process directly. A second area is legal changes such as the WEEE requirements. We took on board our partners’ needs and fed them directly into the technical solutions. This allowed sellers to implement the new requirements quickly.

When do you get in touch before a brand has noticed a problem itself?

Hendrik: A seller shouldn’t only realise something is wrong when revenue drops. Our internal alerts signal early on when relevant revenue is at risk for a partner, for example when important parts of the assortment are in danger of being hidden. Then we approach them directly, ideally with a concrete recommendation. We also get in touch when Sponsored Product Ads, SBA or voucher campaigns with high revenue are about to expire, or when revenue is at risk due to a lack of stock availability.

The ultimate Question

Where are the limits, and what does a brand need to bring to the table?

Hendrik: As key account management, our role in day-to-day business is mainly advisory: we analyse, point out potential and make recommendations. What a seller should bring, therefore, is above all the will to make progress together and the resources to actually implement the measures agreed on. Good collaboration is based on commitment from both sides.

Which questions should a marketplace manager ask in the first meeting to assess the account management on a marketplace?

Hendrik: I’d like to turn the question around: what is particularly revealing in the first meeting is which questions the marketplace’s account manager asks. Do they really want to understand the seller’s strategy and goals? Or is it all about standard solutions from the very first minute? After all, one size fits all rarely works in our business. If you’re barely asked about your goals in the first meeting, you should be on your guard.

There is one question I would still always bring: “What did the collaboration with a comparable seller look like in practice, and what did it achieve?” The answer quickly shows whether partnership is actually lived or merely promised.

Key Learnings

• Besides revenue and advertising budget, growth potential also counts when it comes to key account management.
• Don’t transfer assortments one-to-one: what barely sells elsewhere can work on Kaufland.
• Account management is advisory – implementation is up to the brand.
• Support can become more intensive before a country launch or peak season, and brands should plan for that early.
• The quality of account management shows in the first meeting by whether the brand is asked about its goals.

Kaufland Global Marketplace is the online marketplace of the Schwarz Group, where sellers can sell in nine European countries with a single registration. Learn more at Kaufland Global Marketplace 

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