Running a business is like climbing a mountain.
With so many economical, accessible and customizable platforms, it’s never been easier to create an online store or even sell through established marketplaces like eBay and Amazon that provide their own steady supply of vendors and traffic. Still, it’s just as easy to overlook important details that can hold your online business back.
“Anyone that starts a business has huge dreams, desires, and excitement,” said Terry Lin – The founder of Baller Leather, an online fashion accessories retailer. “But the growth of your ecommerce business depends on the ability to acquire new customers and increase sales from existing ones. Every marketing channel has a cost in time, money or energy — it’s up to you to find the right balance.”
If you’ve got big dreams to grow your ecommerce business, check out these 6 critical ecommerce mistakes to avoid when selling online.
1. Choosing the Wrong Ecommerce Platform
Whether you’re just starting your ecommerce business or you’ve been running an online store for some time, your ecommerce platform can truly make (or break) your business.
Not only does your ecommerce platform determine how you showcase your products and sell to customers, but it also plays a role in how you attract users, and how you scale your business over time. Once you have a business plan in place, you’ll need to consider a variety of factors while choosing an ecommerce platform, such as:
- What products you plan to offer
- How you plan to scale your business
- How much control you need to have over your site
- What tools your platform needs to integrate with Your budget
- Whether you want a templated design or a custom design
- What kind of experience your customers are looking for
Avoid Costly Mistakes
- The last thing you want is to choose a platform that limits your business growth, one that doesn’t integrate with your existing systems, or offer the level of control and customization that you want.
- Choosing the wrong ecommerce platform can lead to a range of issues like revenue loss, lower conversions, traffic reduction, security issues, poor design, and much more.
- This critical mistake could mean having to invest even more time, money, and energy into updating your platform or migrating to a different one altogether.
- Make sure you take your time while choosing the right ecommerce platform for your online business.
2. Website Content isn’t CRO or Seo-friendly
If your ecommerce business depends on organic traffic in order to drive customers, then your website content ought to be written with both the user and SEO in mind.
So many businesses make the mistake of treating their content as an afterthought — not understanding that each piece of content is a chance to drive more traffic and convert customers. From your Homepage to your Product descriptions, you have to offer content that is on point for your target audience, is well-optimized for search engine traffic, and convince users to buy your products.
Regardless of whether you work with an SEO agency or are adopting the DIY route, it’s worth investing in content that’s SEO and CRO-friendly. That implies utilizing the right high-quality keywords for your niche and writing content that’s made to sell.
3. Complex Navigation and Poor UX
Your ecommerce website should be a collaboration between functionality and design. Not only do you want your website to look good, but you want it to convert users into paying customers.
If your site navigation uses confusing terms, or your content is hard to find, or if certain features aren’t working properly, users will get frustrated and go somewhere else.
To avoid this, work with a UX expert to optimize your website for smooth navigation and enjoyable user experience for your customers. This will help users find the information they are looking for faster — which means more sales for you.
4. Complicated Checkout Process
Once users have made it through the initial steps of your sales funnel, it’s time to close the deal. Unfortunately, this is a time where a lot of ecommerce businesses see abandoned carts. This can occur for so many reasons — mainly the checkout process is only simple confusing.
If your customers are left to fumble through the checkout process they are likely to get frustrated and give up before ever making a purchase.
Keep it Simple
- To increase conversions, make the checkout process as simple as possible.
- Don’t require that customers set up an account before buying a product. Get their money first, then add them to your email list. Eliminate any obstacles in their way.
- The website copy should be clear, detailed, and concise. This is not a place for quirky language like “Ready to get popping” or “Pay up, buddy!” Outline the precise steps they have to take in order to buy a product. Buttons should be big and eye-catching.
- Finally, make sure you aren’t hitting them with any unexpected terms or fees. Everything should be defined from the beginning. Making a purchase involves a degree of trust and you don’t want to give customers any reason to think that you are being sneaky or spammy.
5. Poor Customer Service
Customer service includes a lot of different things. It includes how you respond to user messages through your website. It’s how you respond to questions and comments on social media. It’s how you address customers complaints over the phone and via email. It’s an interaction you have with a customer that requires your attention and support.
Poor customer support (including slow response time, showing impatience, not offering refunds, etc.) is the surest way to lose existing customers and hinder getting new ones.
Be There When They Need You
- You should be accessible to your users and customers at every step of your sales process — from acquiring information to checking out, to follow-up. This ensures that they don’t have any issues, or if they do, you are able to resolve them quickly and professionally.
- If you take forever to respond, rely on automated responses, only send one-word answers, or have a “tough luck” attitude, you will create a long trail of unhappy customers.
- Your customers are the lifeblood of your business. Not only is it easier to and more profitable to keep an existing customer, but the likelihood of them sending more business to you is increased when you offer amazing customer service.
6. Avoid these Common Ecommerce Mistakes to Sell more and Grow Online
You want to climb above your competitors and reach the top of your industry. To do that you need to learn from others’ mistakes while keeping your eye on the prize. By being aware of the most common pitfalls that other entrepreneurs experience in ecommerce, you can avoid unexpected costs and time-sucks in your business.
Not only will you be sure that your ecommerce website is optimized for success, but you will create a following of happy, loyal customers that are excited to buy your products time and time again.
So what are you think of? Get started with Builderfly’s 14-days free trial and start building your online store without any technical knowledge. This best ecommerce platform allows you to give exceptional commerce experience to your customers with the most useful features.
