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Two-sided Market 52#

A two-sided market facilitates interactions between multiple interdependent groups of customers. The value of the platform increases as more groups or as more individual members of each group are using it. The two sides usually come from disparate groups, e.g., businesses and private interest groups.


Apply this pattern to your own business and create your next innovative business model!

Examples: Iconic Cases

How they do it: Spotify maintains close relationships not only with it’s customers (paying and free users of the Spotify platform), but also with a set of crucial stakeholders, the rights holders of the content. It distributes approximately 70% of total revenue to rights holders, who then pay artists based on their individual agreements.
Learn more about Spotify →

How they do it: JCDecaux is working with public transport authorities or government entities to furnish a city’s streets and public spaces with furnishings (e.g. public benches) in return for obtaining advertising rights at these locations. These advertising spaces are then marketed to advertisers who are willing to pay for prime locations and transit media opportunities, while the respective city benefits from advertising design innovations and free or reduced-cost public services.
Learn more about JCDecaux →

How they do it: Humble Bundle doesn’t develop the games offered on its website itself but rather acts as a marketplace operator. On the one side, there are developers, which provide their games to be included in the offering and on the other side are the customers. Developer’s revenue is directly linked to the success of their game on the website.
Learn more about Humble Bundle →

How they do it: American Express facilitates interactions between two groups of clients, namely the vendors (businesses accepting credit card payments) as well as the end customers (customers purchasing goods and services with their credit card).
Learn more about American Express →

How they do it: In Payback’s case the two groups of customers in the two-sided market a the private consumers and members of the loyalty program and the vendors who reward their customers purchases. Payback itself has access to the individual customer data and can earn money from the businesses participating in their program.
Learn more about Payback →



Apply this pattern to your own business and create your next innovative business model!