Fiverr Certified opens a new marketplace for freelance tech support

Online service marketplace, Fiverr, has announced a new offering. The newly launched Fiverr Certified aims to fulfill a tech support need for companies like Amazon, Stripe, and monday.com.

Launched this week, Fiverr hopes to expand their marketplace by allowing participating brands to certify freelancers to fill the role of customer support as vetted experts.

Identifying a need within small businesses who lack support from their SaaS vendors and don’t have the budget to hire a full-time staff of professional IT support team members, Fiverr’s latest move is to fill that gap and mature their offering which started as a gig marketplace.

Small businesses will be able to find expert freelancers who are certified by the very tech companies that are connected to their SaaS vendors with Fiverr Certified.

The website monday.com explains how Fiverr Certified helps its business expand its customer base by opening up a new client segment. Monday.com says they are now able to deliver certified professional services and solutions to businesses that need a specialized marketplace to find customer experts. Furthermore, monday.com states that they will use the Fiverr Certified marketplace to better customize their business experience.

Fiverr cites another software company, Podia, who has joined the program.  Podia.com has a few pros from within their company to assist their clients but have taken the path to enlist freelancers who are experts with Podia’s services.

Freelancers in today’s gig economy are seeking more opportunities to expand their skills and earn more consistent revenue.

By entering into this space, Fiverr looks to become a training center and matchmaker. Freelancers can complete all the necessary steps to become certified with specific brands, in hopes to receive more employment matches through Fiverr’s partners. 

We interviewed Fiverr Certified General Manager, Gal Avidan, who took the time to answer our questions.

What do you think about the advantages and disadvantages for this marketplace?

“There are multiple marketplaces. Fiverr Certified builds a unique marketplace for each of its tech partners. For example, here are links to our marketplaces for Amazon Ads, monday.com, and Stripe. Any new tech partner can sign up here: https://business.fiverr.com/certified

The advantage of a unique marketplace filled with freelancers or experts ‘certified’ in a tech company’s product, is that the tech company is building trust with its customers. As we mentioned in our press release – Fiverr Certified is already helping partners, like monday.com, grow their customer base.

Ophir Penso, a monday.com VP of Channel Partnerships & Indirect Sales, is quoted in the release saying  ‘Partnering with Fiverr Certified has helped us serve a completely new client segment. We can now deliver professional services and solutions to our customers from vetted, certified professionals. We appreciate the opportunity to serve existing customers who, before Fiverr Certified, didn’t have an end-to-end dedicated marketplace where they can service or customize their experience with our product.’

On the other side of the coin, Fiverr Certified is also solving a small business need. Many small businesses don’t have full-time IT staff to install, customize and maintain the SaaS products they use. Now experts, certified by the tech company partners, will be easily accessible and available to assist.

We don’t see a disadvantage to any of the Fiverr Certified marketplaces; we believe we are filling an industry-wide need for expertise.”

Does this marketplace have the potential to change the industry?

“We believe it does. It’s a new way for companies to help their customers better and faster adoption of their technology.

On Fiverr Certified, first the talent (freelancer, expert) is found by Fiverr. We have two options. As you know, we have our internal pool of thousands of freelancers. We comb through our population, looking for high-rated sellers who are also advertising the skills that we need. The other option is to go and find this talent externally.

Then these freelancers are vetted by Fiverr. They are assessed for the quality of their deliverables, their business orientation, their communication, reviews, etc.

Then, the freelancer (or expert) needs to pass the certification of a specific vendor. If the tech partner has a certification in place, they’ll go through that process. For partners that don’t have a certification process, Fiverr will provide this as a service.

Fiverr Certified takes what the partner has, and builds a Certification. The freelancer/expert then has to pass that Certification.”

As a small business owner, would you rather hire someone who specializes in your needed software service, or will train to become a specialist, locally?

“The business world is becoming more digital every year. The reality is that a small company will have to manage dozens of software to run the business with a limited ability to set support for those softwares.

We believe Fiverr Certified will truly be a godsend for small business owners. Whereas before if they were having trouble with software, they’d have to source an expert on their own, through referrals or lengthy searches, now they can go to the Fiverr Certified marketplace, and find an expert in minutes.”

Is it possible for freelancers to become certified by multiple companies?

“Yes! If a freelancer is knowledgeable and skilled in multiple SaaS products, they can attempt to be Certified in any or all of them.”

Are business owners able to consistently hire the same freelancer or offer any form of extended contract?

“The beauty of freelancing is each freelancer can charge their own rates, and work when they want, and where they want. The freelancer’s page will specify if they are available for a subscription package.”

What is the top benefit for businesses and freelancers to use this new marketplace?

“For freelancers – Fiverr’s mission is to revolutionize how the world works together. We exist to democratize access to talent and to provide talent with access to opportunities so anyone can grow their business, brand, or dreams.

Fiverr Certified is helping Fiverr freelancers expand their skill set and revenue.

For businesses, Fiverr Certified is solving a huge need. Many small businesses don’t have full-time IT staff to install, customize and maintain the SaaS products they use. Now experts, certified by the tech company partners, will be easily accessible and available to assist.

And for our tech partners (large businesses like Stripe, Monday.com, Amazon Ads), Fiverr Certified is empowering these well-known brands to better support their customers by connecting them with a trusted expert.”

The Fiverr Certified marketplace launches Thursday, June 20, 2023. Fiverr’s stated brand mission is “to revolutionize how the world works together.”