An e-commerce business should aim for an online shop that gives clients a good experience. This article will help you reach that. It is done by avoiding some of the most commonly made e-commerce mistakes.
People have so many options as to where they can spend their money. If online shops make it annoying or too difficult to use their store, the potential customer will happily go somewhere else.
If, after purchasing, they experience something negative, then wait for their negative reviews. This can scare off other potential customers, too.
Everything from interesting product imagery to sleek website design shows the significance of reducing friction in the buying experience.
Let’s look into some e-commerce mistakes you might be making and provide you with the best solutions.
Number 1: Lack of understanding
If you are unaware of your product details or target audience and think customers want it. They will not purchase it. If people don’t buy it, you have wasted not only your money but time as well.
Solution:
What you want to do is search for a market need. You may give people what they want. You can do this by researching customers and their problems. Present them with what they might like. You’ll have many new clients running into your purchasing cart.
Number 2: Not doing market research.
Ramit Sethi, a best-selling personal finance author and a creator of numerous business courses, advises you to visit the fishing holes.
Fishermen don’t just drop a line in the water they come across. Instead, they research, visit where many fish are present, and make a captivating offer.
Solution:
According to market research, these types of fishing holes can be found everywhere, such as Google searches, Facebook groups, YouTube videos, rival reviews, forums, and the list goes on and on.
Each fishing hole provides a good chunk of information, ranging from product information to client service expectations.
These places are the best to test the waters of your e-commerce business. Spend time listening to the feedback daily and use it to target customers.
Number 3: Failing to define your target audience.
Think of selling a sweater to someone in a tropical country with no winters. That person will never buy your sweater, no matter how good quality or attractive the pricing merits.
Worse, they are likely to be annoyed by your sales pitch and may even tell their friends and family to avoid you.
Solution:
Consider solving problems for your customers. As you gather more information, you can even make an entire buyer persona that can be used to reach out to more markets and people who are more likely to purchase from you.
Number 4: Wrongly pricing products
Once you’ve researched your target audience, you’ll know the worth of your products. What they want to buy, and how big of a problem you’re solving for them.
However, one of the most common ecommerce mistakes is not conducting pricing research.
This is a major problem because what if your manufacturing cost is higher than what the market will bear? What if your potential customers are willing to pay more than your price?
Solution:
Many businesses set their price exactly what their competitors are charging. This may seem good.
However, if the research shows that customers are unhappy with the present options, they may even be willing to pay a premium.
You can target potential customers willing to pay a premium price for ease, ethical or healthier components, or greater product value.
Number 5: Improper technicalities
Launching an e-commerce business with a very low barrier to entry is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, you can get started instantly with fewer expenses. This might sound amazing, right? However, not all tech is created equal. One wrong technical move can doom your e-commerce business.
Solution:
Selecting the right platforms for your online store is crucial for almost everything from user experience to security and customer retention.
By making good and sensible decisions from an early stage, you may save a lot of time and grief later on when you see other business owners needing to transition to different platforms.
Number 6: Choosing the wrong ecommerce platform.
There are big variations throughout e-commerce systems. Many just offer the bare minimum of functionality, with less or no room for advancement.
Some might seem okay at first, but you might be surprised by unknown costs, which would end up costing more than choosing a platform that charges you upfront.
A good e-commerce platform will develop alongside your business, including the features you’ll need as it grows step by step. For example, you might focus on B2C right now and move into B2B in a few years.
Solution:
If you’re just starting out, spend some time and effort researching the top e-commerce platform. Converse with other store owners, search online forums for feedback, and then decide.
Consider moving to a better platform if your current online store isn’t built on one that will allow you to expand.
Number 7: Not investing in security.
While every new online business owner should keep an eye on their spending, particularly in the early stages, security should be considered an investment rather than a cost.
Fraudsters use a variety of strategies, including financial fraud, phishing scams, and corrupted URLs.
It is a matter of “when, not if”; your online store will become their target in some form. Hence, failing to have good protection in place can be lethal.
Solution:
There are many methods to improve the security of your e-commerce business.
SSL certificates should be used to protect payments, antivirus software to protect payment information, and HTTPS to protect your users and their important data.
Number 8: Creating your own e-commerce CMS.
Designing your content management system (CMS) to meet your specific needs may initially appear enticing.
However, in reality, you’re just inviting eternal disappointments and problems. You should know that it was difficult to create and involved many complications. For instance, security becomes significantly more difficult.
Solution:
We have one piece of advice for you if you are thinking about creating your own CMS for your platform: never make it!
If you already have it, your next stage in business will be determined by how well it works for you. However, you can reduce your losses and transition to an existing CMS If it’s making problems.
Number 9: Issues with product pages
Product pages are one of the most important aspects of your business website. If your product page is missing important information or fails to show the item clearly and captivatingly, potential customers are less likely to buy it.
Solution:
Make it very simple for your customers to leave reviews. You can also direct visitors to a thank-you page after they’ve bought a product and completed the checkout process.
Number 10: Bad product photography
Your product photos have the potential to make your products appear captivating, if not irresistible.
Even the best item can be made to look undesirable with bad photography. However, expert and experienced imagery can make your products stand out.
Solution:
There are various ways to take an appealing product image. However, the golden rule is to showcase the product and use a background that complements rather than detracts from the product.
Number 11: Poor product descriptions
Product photographs alone are insufficient. It’s important to include strong and convincing descriptions. How can the customers buy something they don’t understand?
Solution:
You can consider the following questions while advertising:
– what makes this product exceptional
-what features distinguish it from other comparable items?
-why should an individual purchase it?
You must ensure that your descriptions are clear and easy to comprehend. Highlight the key advantages of utilizing symbols that make it visually captivating.
Number 12: Lack of categories
Your potential customers must be able to find the things they need. Categories show your visitors the appropriate location.
It can also sometimes convince visitors to look at things they were not interested in, which can increase your sales and earnings.
They will exit your site if they have to search or scroll through unrelated items.
Solution:
See Natori for an example of how to do it correctly. Users select the primary menu item to display a sub-menu that helps them navigate exactly what they want.
This amazing feature assists visitors in finding what they are looking for.
Number 13: Lack of business and contact information
Purchasing decisions are related to various factors other than the product itself.
Clients are also interested in shipping costs, delivery times, return policies, and how to reach customer service with questions or complaints.
If these facts are missing, the potential customer is frustrated.
Solution:
Give a brief product description along with information about delivery, returns, refunds,
requirement for international clients, and a link to the lifetime guarantee details.
All of this shows clients that you genuinely understand and care about them, making the purchasing decision much easier for the client.
Number 14: Poor navigation
As discussed while talking about design and categories, good navigation is crucial.
Your website contains good products, contact information, shipping and return information – but can visitors find them?
Solution:
Take note of how the menu bar shows all of the information that visitors want to acquire.
The obvious product categories, including corporate sales, links to the contact page and buying cart.
There should be links to the About Us page, FAQs, contacts, and ways to interact with potential consumers who require more information.
With this simple navigation, you can reduce many possible friction points.
Number 15: No guest checkout
Many times, people add products to their cart and leave them there.
You already understand why including a guest checkout option in your checkout process is a mistake.
Solution:
Making the checkout process as simple as possible should be a priority to reduce cart abandonment.
Number 16: Similar content
If you don’t give potential customers a reason to purchase from you, they won’t.
What would attract people to purchase from you instead of your competition?
It’s okay to draw inspiration from your competitors, but you also need to be able to differentiate and fill the gaps in the market that your competitors have left.
Solution:
The good news is that this is a simple and easy error to correct.
With your market research and a target audience, you should have no trouble making fresh and unique content.
Number 17: Not using analytics
Marketing that is effective and efficient is made out of creativity and statistics. Customer behaviour should relate to your e-commerce store’s marketing strategy.
Solution:
Using analytics to enhance your marketing efforts can give your online store a competitive advantage.
It’s also simple because many systems will provide information on traffic sources, cart abandonments, popular products, and on-site behaviour.
Number 18: Lack of payment options
A lack of payment choices is an unneeded barrier for your clients. We live in an age of rapid technology, and everything that slows us down is a problem.
Not supporting the preferred payment option of a potential consumer may drive them away – no one will open a new account only to place an order with you.
Solution:
Numerous payment choices should already be supported if you’re using a common CMS.
However, if you’re still on the fence, add this to the list of reasons not to create your own CMS.
Conclusion
In conclusion, all the mistakes mentioned above have one common solution, and that is to prioritize customer experience. Hence, if the website is designed to be most user-friendly by removing as many obstacles as possible, it can elevate customer satisfaction. A good website can convert visitors into customers.
Hence, making an e-commerce platform that displays your products in the most attractive way is vital. All you need is a thorough study of your target audience. If you ever get stuck, just ask yourself. How will the customers feel about this? This strategy will easily create an impactful purchasing experience that will build your brand loyalty quickly.
