Online Coaching Marketplaces: Growth, Types, and Features

Online Coaching

In today’s digital era, online coaching is one of the online business markets that is growing significantly. As per a report, the online coaching platforms’ market size was valued at USD 1938.39 Million in 2020 and is projected to reach USD 4567.42 Million by 2028, growing at a 13.03% CAGR from 2021 to 2028.

In this post, we discuss online coaching marketplaces – the market evolution, types, and features.

The Evolution of the Online Coaching Market

Tectonic shifts in the market occur when unexpected events force widespread experimentation around a new idea. The coronavirus pandemic forced global experimentation with remote coaching. Further, the increase in the number of daily internet users provided various opportunities for entrepreneurs to grow their online coaching businesses with ease. All they have to do is choose a particular niche and start their online coaching business.

Lucrative Private Coaching Niches

The online coaching market has increased competition as many online platforms have been introduced worldwide and they are providing various types of coaching services with just a click. Listed below are the various types of coaching niches:

  • Life Coaching- Life coaching entails a life coach who is dedicated to helping clients by providing motivation and guidance to overcome everyday challenges in their lives. For example, a client might want to control their anger or deal with a stressful situation calmly. Then a professional life coach who is adept at helping tackle the situation is connected through the coaching platform. This type of coaching should be differentiated from counseling as both are exceedingly similar.
  • Relationship coaching- Relationship coaching supports individuals and couples in learning vital skills for relating, especially in marriages and romantic partnerships. Relationship coaches such as love and dating coaches teach you to develop conflict resolution skills and offer tools to deepen intimacy and pleasure. “
  • Leadership Coaching-  This is closely associated with life coaching but in leadership coaching the client is assisted with becoming more confident and reaching their career goals. Here, the coach encourages the client to become a leader. 
  • Career Coaching- Individuals who are looking to enhance or transform their careers may turn to career coaches for advice. They can assist individuals in becoming more self-assured and finding an ideal job or even getting a raise or a promotion.
  • Health and Wellness Coaching-  The terms wellness coach or health coach are used to describe any coach that handles personal training, diet plans, nutrition, or any health-related issues. There are a plethora of sub-niches to this community, with each commonly focused on one or two problems.
  • Financial Coaching- A financial coach educates clients on financial matters and motivates them to improve their income and become financially stable. They can assist clients with anything from investment strategies to creating more avenues for income toward financial well-being and even handling a household budget. 
  • Business Coaching- There are certain similarities between business coaching and financial coaching. However, business coaching focuses on a business rather than an individual. A business coach assists business owners in clarifying business goals. They can help you establish your business, plan it, improve it, and will provide advice on any business-related problem that you require guidance with. 

What does a Coaching Marketplace offer Coaches and Business Owners?

For Coaches

  • Time and Cost Efficiency- The coaching center cost and commute time are eliminated making online coaching lighter on resources (there is no wasted time in traffic or moving from one place to another). 
  • Flexibility and Accessibility- Physical location is no longer a limiting factor as coaches can connect and meet with their clients online no matter where they are.
  • Diversity-  The coaches will be able to work with potential clients from all over the world. There are no geographical barriers.
  • Multiple Ways to Connect with Clients- There are multiple ways to connect with clients such as video calls, audio calls, text messages, and more.
  • Easier Content Delivery- With an online coaching platform, there are alot of opportunities to share your knowledge and experience easily.

For Business Owners

Global Presence- Technology has made it possible to connect with clients/learners anywhere in the world.

Higher ROI- A well-integrated online coaching platform will bring in higher ROI as it will empower the clients, boost their confidence and enable their success which as a result will eventually have an impact on profits.

Automation- The primary source of revenue for admin is the commission it receives from coaching. This requires automation as there is no need to do any major paperworkas everything is done automatically within the platform.

Must-Have Features In an Online Coaching Platform (Marketplace)

To reach potential clients it is important to have an online coaching platform with all the required features. Listed below are the most crucial ones:

  • Video Conferencing- Someone with a preference for visual learning will prefer a coaching platform with a video conferencing feature. While emails and chats can cover most of the learning needs, collaborating visually can help in retaining information and learning at a higher level. As per a study too, 90% of the people find it easier to learn through an online video conferencing platform. Other tools like text chat, screen sharing, whiteboard, and more can add up to the interaction and engagement among clients and coaches.
  • Multilingual- Coaching platforms that support multiple languages, become highly engaging for their users as they help in optimizing the user experience by localizing the process and putting an end to geographical barriers. Multilanguage support also enables users from all over the globe to achieve their elearning goals. 
  • Multicurrency- Like the support for multiple languages, multicurrency support also makes it convenient for users from different world regions to make or receive payments. This also helps in increasing conversion and sales.
  • Review/Rating- Review/rating allows you to build trust and transparency on the platform. Clients can get a sense of what to expect before selecting a coach based on reviews and ratings.
  • GDPR Compliant- To help entrepreneurs to deliver private coaching seamlessly, online coaching platforms must comply with GDPR. This helps in mitigating any legal or financial exposure as you are already mindful about how to collect and store the personal and sensitive information of clients and coaches. 
  • PWA Powered- Design is one of the most pivotal elements of online coaching programs. That said, a coaching platform should be recognized for its user experience. The design should be clean, simple, and intuitive and most importantly it should be viewable on any mobile device. Web platforms which are PWA-powered are now available as applications on mobile devices which are responsive to adapt to the screen size of other devices.

Building an Online Coaching Platform

An online coaching platform can be built by following two approaches –

  • Ready-made software- This is a pre-built software that aids entrepreneurs in launching their online coaching marketplace with ease. It is a good choice for entrepreneurs who are looking to launch their online coaching marketplace in less time without any customizations. It is an even better option for those who are testing the viability of their idea.  
  • Custom-developed solution- Custom-developed solution on the other hand will take a lot of development time and will be more expensive. It will have features and functionality that are customized as per business requirements. On the bright side, custom-developed solutions are scalable. 

How Yo!Coach Can Aid in Launching Your Online Coaching Marketplace?

Yo!Coach is a white-label online coaching software that is built with state-of-the-art technologies. It is a fully customizable, ready-made solution that encapsulates a plethora of features and functionalities to manage coaches, and clients. By using Yo!Coach one-to-one and group learning sessions can be scheduled. Furthermore, Yo!Coach online coaching marketplace solution comes with 12 months of free technical support, there are no recurring charges, just a one-time fee. It also offers lifetime ownership.

Key Highlights of the software

  • Self-hosted and Whitelabel
  • Separate dashboards for coaches and learners
  • Fully Customizable & Scalable
  • Conduct unlimited sessions
  • Ready-made apps for clients/learners
  • Pre-integrated Video Conferencing APIs (Zoom, LessonSpace, etc.)
  • Multilingual and Multiple Payment Gateways
  • GDPR Compliant
  • Own License and Source Code

Final Thoughts

Now that you are aware of the various types of niches and the features that should be incorporated into an online coaching marketplace, it is time to make your own choice. Choose a niche and build your online coaching marketplace with a readymade solution like Yo!Coach in less time.

About Carson Derrow

My name is Carson Derrow I'm an entrepreneur, professional blogger, and marketer from Arkansas. I've been writing for startups and small businesses since 2012. I share the latest business news, tools, resources, and marketing tips to help startups and small businesses to grow their business.