---
title: "Launch: merchants first, then customers"
description: "A marketplace has two sides. Customers will not come to an empty marketplace, and merchants will not stay without orders."
canonical: https://docs.ordering.co/docs/discovery-ordering/launch-your-marketplace/part-6-go-live/launch/
---

# Launch: merchants first, then customers

A marketplace has two sides. Customers will not come to an empty marketplace, and merchants will not stay without orders. Launch in that order: supply, a soft launch, then demand.

## Step 1 · A strong first set of merchants

Start in one area with enough choice to be useful: a mix of the categories people order most, and two or three well-known local names. Five to fifteen good stores in one neighborhood beat fifty scattered across a city.

## Step 2 · Soft launch for a few days

Turn stores on but stay quiet. Invite friends, staff, and the merchants' regulars to order. Watch every order, call merchants after each one, and fix what you learn. A friendly audience forgives a slow first order; a stranger does not.

## Step 3 · Launch day

- [ ] Update your Google Business Profile with your website and an order link
- [ ] Put your website link in every social bio and your WhatsApp status
- [ ] Give every merchant a QR code to your marketplace for their counter, bags, and receipts
- [ ] Announce on social media and to any email or WhatsApp list you already have
- [ ] Offer a clear first-order incentive with an end date ([Chapter 34](https://docs.ordering.co/docs/discovery-ordering/launch-your-marketplace/part-7-grow/marketing-tools/))
- [ ] Be online all day to watch orders and help merchants

## Step 4 · The first two weeks

- Reply to every review, good or bad.
- Check prep and delivery times every day; adjust store estimates.
- Expand zones only when drivers and merchants keep up.
- Share the first wins with merchants: orders, new customers, reviews.
- Announce the apps the day they go live.

> **More launch ideas**
>
> For step-by-step marketing plans, see the free Ordering.co Growth Playbooks, especially "Your first 100 orders", "The chicken-and-egg problem", and "Recruiting merchants", at [ordering.co/resources](https://www.ordering.co/resources).