Exchange Expertise

One way to tempt buyers to return to a B2B marketplace is to offer information they can't get anywhere else. <P> Ariba and Ironside are among the B2B specialists offering finance, shipping or buying-pattern analysis services to flesh out the buying and selling components of exchanges. Newer players such as MindCrossing sell their services to any marketplace, regardless of the software on which it runs. "Buyers will come back &#91;to an exchange&#93; if they feel they have access to the best expertise," says Marc Owen, president and CEO of MindCrossing, based here. <P> Using MindCrossing's services, a marketplace matching buyers and sellers of IT services could make experts available on virtually any software package or specific technology, Owen says, adding that buyers could consult the experts before committing to the purchase of a full-scale implementation. <P> Customers can also provide their own experts. BizProLink.com is a conglomeration of B2B sites covering topics from accounting to winter sports. Rachel Pace, director of products and community development, says the company is using MindCrossing on its sites, in some cases even plumbing its own staff to make their expertise available online. A marketplace can expect to pay between $10,000 and $20,000 per month for the basic service, Owen says.