No business is easy to start with and e-commerce is surely not one of those. Some do have the misconception but let’s debunk the myth here. E-commerce requires far more effort than any other business as it provides a different experience to the users.
Marketing Mistakes
Many people come to e-commerce with the notion that all it takes is coming up with a few products to sell and it is done. However, this approach is far from the truth. When it comes to launching an online business, there are numerous skills required to succeed. Even though you may have an excellent product, yet, it is always to your benefit to know the ins and outs of operating an online store effectively. If not, you may remain stuck in the same scenario without proceeding further for ages and may not be known to any customers except a few. Unless you track the right variable to know what’s working in your favor and what’s not, customers won’t convert.
To become successful in eCommerce, you must do the leg work in advance. Learning should never cease irrespective of the business you are in. But it’s more crucial in the initial stages, to avoid the same pitfalls others have suffered.
Whether you’ve been in eCommerce for years or are just getting started, here are 5 mistakes that we have observed marketers and product makers make which has the potential to bring down their business:
1. Not Investing in Your Brand
First impressions last for a long time if not lifelong. And a book is still judged by its cover before being read. In e-commerce industry, waiting for the book to be read might take ages. Therefore, whether you’re selling through your own custom site or platforms like Amazon and Shopify, it is imperative to invest in branding and online experience.
E-Commerce is all about visually stimulating your customers and making them buy your products by luring them with great photos and features. Poorly taken photographs not only waste your hard-earned money but also impose the image of the company as lazy and non-serious towards its business. Cheap branding techniques, poor images, and ineffective adverts can have an adverse effect on the sales of your products.
2. Not Delivering the Right Messages, At the Right Times
At the end of the day, your brand is as good as you are at its marketing. Whether you’re making the products yourself or you’re buying from wholesalers and taking a cut, your business depends upon how you reach your customers and convert it into sales.
To do that, you must find the right time and right place to connect with your customers and deliver the right message across that resonate with them. Many business owners consider this to be a cake walk and defer from hiring professionals to do the job. They do not invest in the marketing agency or a copywriter who has the potential to succeed at this task and try their own hand at it and fail miserably by the end of it.
This failure results in the ever-increasing struggle of knowing their customer and being able to speak their language. Their brand fades in between before it reaches a fair share of customers in the market to make its presence felt.
There are people out there who specialize in these marketing strategies and there is a reason why their role is truly justified. We advise you to shell out and let someone else do the heavy lifting for you, while you focus on other aspects of your business.
3. Not Measuring What’s Working and What’s Not
It’s incredible to observe how many businesses launch their online store without proper research and understanding of the e-commerce industry. They do not even know how to measure their success over a period, or simply put, they don’t measure it at all.
When we mention “measure,” we don’t just mean to see how much you made that day but tapping the market pulse and knowing which tactics are driving sales and which ones are not giving any results. This also means to analyze the customer data to get a clear view of your target customer base and then focusing on them with new strategies.
If you have no idea how your business is operating and performing from an analytical standpoint, then contact us for consultation and analysis. We will measure your success and provide you solutions on how to proceed further.
4. Not Letting Someone Else Do the Heavy Lifting
Stories portray successful business that starts from garage, store room or at home. But as they grow, they emerge out of that place and do not remain there forever. This implies success and how the owner learns to trust others with his business.
Those businesses which stay where they started, suffer from the issues of control. This problem usually stems from the owner not wanting to give up his control over the business or worrying about someone else won’t be able to deliver in the same way they can. But how long is this feasible? As the business grows, you need extra hands to manage the work and take charge of different departments.
To scale your eCommerce business across locations, you really need to utilize drop shipping resources. This simply means having someone else hold and ship your inventory so that you can focus on sales and other functions.
5. Scaling into Unknown Territories
Last but not the least, this might be the worst mistake of them all.
Having ample money isn’t going to solve all your problems. Having enough cash flow but not knowing where to invest can be fatal at times. Too many people see success in one niche or market but fail miserably in the other because they automatically assume their earlier success will replicate itself everywhere.
We suggest, unless you really understand the space you’re stepping into, do not put a huge sum of money in it.
One project’s success is not a good indicator of your next move. It only validates your current position. Understand and research the new business thoroughly before taking the decision. Do not follow the trends blindly. For example: if you’re in the business of selling pens, don’t jump to clothing or jewelry as your next product. Instead, turn to books or school bags.
Conclusion:
Keep these pointers in mind while launching your e-commerce business and take help instead of doing everything on your own to save cost. Hiring a professional will give you more returns in the long run than saving a few bucks initially. Contact WebBee for any website development and marketing consultation for an online store.
WebBee Global is 15 years old Shopify development company providing Shopify store development services like shopify api integration, flash integration with effective Shopify Development Services. Hire expert Shopify Developers to get Shopify Development in India and USA.
