Starting an E-commerce business is much more challenging than starting a new business because people are still susceptible about buying products online. Despite all the measures to facilitate users, there is still a lot of room for improvement in E-commerce domain. To make their job even more difficult, many businesses commit unpardonable blunders while creating their E-commerce websites, which cost them heavily in the end. To save your E-commerce business from disaster, here are five blunders you should never commit when developing your E-commerce website.
-
Underestimating the Work Involved
There is nothing worse for a business than to make wrong estimates. Unfortunately, most businesses think that creating an E-commerce website is as easy as one, two and three. There is no denying that creating an E-commerce website has become significantly easier, thanks to tools and E-commerce design services. Still, it requires a lot of hard work as you will have to create separate pages for every product. Even when you are outsourcing your work to an eCommerce website developer, you should stay involved throughout the project.
-
Going In Without a Business Plan
Another mistake most businesses make is that they jump directly into development process instead of making a business plan. A business plan helps you in identifying your products, target market, and competition. Moreover, an effective business plan also considers the problems of your target market identify their needs and help you resolve their issues with products and services. More importantly, it focuses on how you will distinguish your E-commerce business from the competitors and gain a competitive advantage over them. Going in without a business plan is like jumping off a cliff without a parachute.
-
Choosing the Wrong Platform
The choice of E-commerce platform is critical because it could either make or break your business as it could prove to be your greatest ally or a nuisance for your customers. If it is a tormenting experience for your customers, they would never return to buy products from your online store. Access your needs and identify which functionality you want in your E-commerce store before choosing a platform. You can either go for a hosted E-commerce solution or get your online store website designed around any popular E-commerce platform such as Magneto, Cs-Cart and open cart. Make sure that the platform you choose is updated frequently and offer prompt support when needed.
-
Poorly Showcasing Your Products
One of the neglected aspects of E-commerce website development is showcasing your products. Most businesses tend to ignore the importance of how their products are being presented to customer, which is key especially when the customers are not unable to touch and see the products manually. Put yourself in customer shoes and analyze your website. You will come across many aspects that need work. High quality photos and well-written product description can make a huge difference to the overall user experience of your website, which in turn, will lead to increase sales. Make sure the check out process is as straightforward as possible to facilitate the users.
-
Poor Marketing
Have you ever stumbled upon an online store that looks and works better than established names in the market? Irrespective of how good your E-commerce store might be, if people do not know that it actually exists, it is useless. Spread the word and create a buzz about your E-commerce store on different marketing channels such as social media, SEO and PPC to create and increase awareness among the masses. You can also look for affiliate marketing and selling options for your online store. Find influencer to market your E-commerce stores. Track the effectiveness of your marketing efforts and take corrective actions to make further improvements in the future.
If you know about any other common blunder committed by E-commerce businesses, then feel free to share it with us in the comments section below.
Leave a Reply