Marcus Richards
Global e-commerce is expected to touch $6.07 trillion by 2024. Launching an e-commerce store is a long-tiring process. With the success of many e-commerce brands, it’s evident that the efforts you put in do pay off well but not in all cases. A full-proof business plan is necessary for successfully taking your business online. With fast-changing trends and dynamics in the e-commerce world, it’s essential to be alert to all the possible things that can go wrong. In this article, we have listed common mistakes that you should avoid before starting your online shop. Let’s begin!
What Is E-commerce?
Electronic commerce is the trading of goods and services through the internet. E-commerce has developed a lot in recent years, making purchasing and selling easier just by a few clicks. Electronic commerce can be accessed over computers, smartphones, tablets, etc.
Transacting online saves human efforts and time, thereby increasing the productivity of both business professionals and buyers. Everything can be sold and bought on the internet, from tangible goods (clothes, food, groceries) to intangible assets (software, cleaning services, delivery services).
E-commerce operates in different market segments. There are different models of business that cater to various sections of buyers. Here are the six major types of e-commerce business models:
- Business to Consumer
- Business to Business
- Business to Government
- Business to Business to Consumer
- Consumer to Consumer
- Consumer to Business
Some top e-commerce platforms are Shopify, Bigcommerce, Zyro, Woocommerce, etc. Now that we have understood the concept of online commerce, we need to understand the possible points that can go wrong while starting your e-commerce shop. If you want to build such a website then a WooCommerce development service can help you more.
Mistakes to Avoid When Starting a Business Online
While it’s exciting to launch your e-commerce shop, it’s also challenging at the same time. For a perfect and successful launch, you should avoid mistakes that your competitors must have made that could hamper your ongoing and future business.
Here are the common mistakes that you should avoid when planning to launch your e-commerce shop:
1. Not Consulting or Hiring an Expert
E-commerce is a vast subject. Since you are a beginner in this business, you are unfamiliar with its technicalities and problems. Doing everything without the help of a consultant can be challenging and time-consuming.
E-commerce consultants help you analyze the market, solve your business problems, and provide the best advice with cost-effective and time-saving methods. These experts provide services like providing the best customer strategy, improving digital user experience, identifying problems, researching specific markets. Looking out and getting help from these consultants will help you manage things properly and prepare you for future contingencies that might arise during the business.
These experts provide services like providing the best customer strategy, improving digital user experience, identifying problems, researching specific markets. You can take help from individual experts as well as e-commerce consulting agencies. Top e-commerce consulting agencies are Smart Sites, Lounge Lizard, Victorious, Outer Work, Exaud, etc.
2. Overlooking Statistics and Analytics
Data and numbers drive businesses. As a business professional, you must be aware that decision-making depends on statistics and analysis. Monitoring your company’s performance closely will help you master the new arena of your business, i.e., e-commerce. Ignoring business statistics of ongoing business can be a huge mistake when starting a new venture, as it might lead to ineffective decision-making. To save yourself from making these mistakes and grow a profitable business, you can take the help of various analytical tools that will help you understand your current business position.
SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunities, threats) Analysis, PEST( political, economic, social, technological) Analysis, MOST (mission, objectives, strategies, tactics) Analysis, Heptalysis are some of the marketing audits by which your existing business performance can be evaluated.
You can take the help of online software to help in solving company analysis problems quickly. Examples of such tools are Sisense, Tableau, SAP Business Intelligence, Quickbooks, Koan, etc.
3. Selecting the Wrong Platform to Sell
Failure to choose the apt selling platform for your products and services will not only cost your time and money, but also it can prove to be a failure for your business. Selecting platforms based on others’ success can be a massive blunder for your business. Certain factors might have worked in favor of others, but it’s a possibility that it might not work in your favor.
A popular platform does not always guarantee success for your business. Choosing your selling platform based on your requirements and what kind of audience you are dealing with is crucial. Before selecting an e-commerce platform, you need to check if that agency is offering you the following services:
- Good quality web solutions
- User-friendly interface
- Well-planned inventory management system
- Easy payment processes
- Appealing marketing strategies
- SEO friendly layout
- Content management capabilities
- Efficient customer support
4. Not Focusing on Customer Needs and Service
The customer is the key asset of any business. Disappointing or ignoring your customer satisfaction and feedback will not help you run your business in the long run. You cannot ignore customers’ needs and expect profits. To gain profits, customer retention is a crucial factor. The higher the customer retention rate, the higher are chances of your profits and sales generation.
If you are unable to connect and build relationships with your customers through the proper channels, your customer retention rate will be low, and the churn rate will be high, which ultimately results in the fall of any business.
All businesses need to connect with buyers and solve their queries in the smoothest way possible.
Before starting an online business, you should ask yourself a few questions, i.e., whether you will be able to serve them with good quality products and services. Do you have enough channels to connect with your audience? Can you provide your customers with assistance and solve their queries? Are you able to trust your customers? If you can answer all the above questions positively, you are on the right track. But if any of the above questions are answered negatively, you must rectify your practices and tactics.
To know your customers better and evaluate the buyer satisfaction index, you can take the help of web analytics software like Finteza. The tool helps prepare organized reports based on your company’s performance. The customer retention report is one such report that Finteza prepares based on your customer engagement data. Here is an example of a customer retention report, that shows how many of your customers are retained after the end of a marketing campaign.
If the customer retention rate is higher, it is a sign that you are serving your customers well.
5. Ignoring Competitors
It’s essential to focus on your business, but it’s also important to keep an eye on what your rival companies are doing to be on top of the game. You might be good at your work, but there are chances that your competitors are applying additional tactics that you can use to be the best in the industry.
Competitors’ products, marketing style, pricing, new product and store launch, etc., are the factors you need to analyze closely to stay in the industry. It does not necessarily mean that you should copy others’ strategies. Instead, you can take inspiration from their working style and imply it to your business. One thing to keep in mind before analyzing is you should look up to established and profitable rivals. Also, specific tools are available to keep you updated with your rivals’ strategies. Some top tools to analyze your competitors are Quick Search, Wappalyzer, BuiltWith, WooRank, etc.
6. Not Keeping Up with the Trends
You cannot expect a high business rise and limelight with silent and traditional marketing. To gain an audience and profit, it is essential to be updated with the ongoing market trends that you can adopt in your business practices.
Ignoring these trends and working with the same old approach will not take your business ahead for long, as your competitors might move ahead of yours by grabbing the opportunities at the right time. Internet dynamics change every day and every minute. You can stay updated with the e-commerce dynamics by actively your online presence on social media platforms. You can also search for the current trends within your industry on search engines and follow your industry influencers and experts.
Influencer marketing, personalizing the customer experience, adopting sustainability, etc., are some of the recent trends for e-commerce business professionals.
Conclusion
Before starting an e-commerce shop, you expect fruitful outcomes in return for your efforts, time, and money. To make sure that this happens, you should try to avoid all the possible mistakes that can lead to the downfall of your new venture. It is essential to take all the precautionary measures at the start of the business rather than repenting in the middle. We have listed the common mistakes you should take care of beforehand and put your business on the safe side. Taking these precautions will help your business grow and gain profits.
