eCommerce Mistakes To Avoid When Selling Online

There are more than 100 million online shoppers in our country, let alone the world. Shocked? Imagine the numbers when international markets enter the fray. The potential is endless, to say the least. And with demand, supply always follows; perhaps the reason why we’ve been in this eCommerce void for so long. And this doesn’t seem to be going anytime soon!

Why? Because of the simple reason that people will never refuse convenience unless a more convenient method takes the lead. Moreover, what could be more convenient than thousands of products in the palm of your hand? Therefore, the margin for any kind of errors or mistakes is very thin. Every other day we see a new store springing up and another one falling down. The competition is fierce and thus there are several parameters that must be followed meticulously for a successful store. Ultimately, you can put the best foot forward and hope for the best.

Below are some of the critical eCommerce mistakes to avoid when selling online:

POORLY WRITTEN PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONS
When you run an online store, one of the major tasks is to offer customers the same experience when visiting an offline shop. The best way to achieve this is by giving the most accurate product descriptions and images.

The description should contain meaningful information about the composition or material of your product. Use rich content to tell who and why it is suitable for. This will not only create demand but allow visitors to have a better idea of your product and help them make a confident purchase.

That being said, words cannot do all the work by themselves! Make sure there are also big, beautiful and high-quality product images that do not take forever and a day to load. To achieve this, simply convert them to JPEGs files. Alternatively, you can also use GIF for images that use flat colours.

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COMPLEX NAVIGATION AND POOR UX
Your eCommerce website should be a collaboration between functionality and design. Not only should it look good but convert users into paying customers.

If your site navigation uses confusing terms, your content is hard to find or if certain features aren’t working properly, users will get frustrated and go somewhere else, perhaps to your competitors.

To avoid this, work with a UX expert to optimize your website for smooth navigation and seamless user experience. This will help users find the information they are looking for in a fast and precise way — which means more sales and conversions.

TRYING TO SELL TO EVERYONE
The moment you launch an eCommerce store, there is a dire need to identify a specific target audience. In simple words, you need to pick who you view as your perfect customer and make sure you understand their values, needs, interests and culture. By taking time to gather customer data, you can create a more focused marketing campaign that your customers can better relate to.

What’s more, market research will also help you to identify which products will perform well. At the end of the day, a product is of no use if it only remains in the carts.

Remember, you don’t have to sell to everyone out there, focus on your target audience and do everything that’s needed to make them happy.

POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE
Customer service isn’t just limited to solving queries but a lot more. It includes how you respond to user messages through your website, how you manage questions and comments on social media and how you address customers complaints over the phone or email. In simple words, it’s an interaction you have with a customer that requires your attention and support.

Poor customer support (including slow response time, showing impatience, or not offering refunds) is the surest way to lose existing customers and hinder getting new ones. You should be there when they need you.

• Be accessible to your users and customers at every step of the sales process — from acquiring information to checking out to follow-up.
• Don’t take forever to respondor rely on automated responses or send one-word answers. This will leave them unhappy and irritated.

DOING EVERYTHING YOURSELF
This is the pitfall faced by most startups. Not every startup is heavily funded but since returns are utterly essential, many owners tend to do everything themselves as they can’t afford permanent employees on board. As common as this may be, it’s a big NO!

This could result in heavy losses instead of gains because it is important to out the right people in the right places. Find experts and hire them to help you with the workload and handle his key areas while you handle yours.

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 numerous businesses experience abandoned carts. Why? The checkout process might be confusing or complicated or long for them to get through. 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. To avoid this, keep it as simple as possible.

• Don’t require customers to set up an account before buying a product.
• Offer guest checkout option
• Outline the key steps involved in buying through big and eye-catching
• Don’t hit them with any unexpected terms or fees. Define everything from the very
• Don’t give them an impression of being sneaky or spammy by adding extra costs.

AGGRESSIVE MARKETING STRATEGY
Today’s buyers are intelligent and well informed. They tend to buy goods only from well-known and trusted brands, with a good reputation and high user rating. Moreover, they do not want their money chasing everywhere – the era of direct advertising is over.

Therefore, ensure your eCommerce slogans don’t just aggressively ask customers to buy but form a desire and reflect the idea of your brand and its usefulness. Use social networks smartly and intelligently (without overdoing): talk about the product/service benefits and demonstrate its uniqueness to involve customers. This, in turn, will build you as a reputed brand and increase your sales in the coming future.

If you are making any of these mistakes, then it’s time to buckle your belts and start your eCommerce journey with some more focus for a lot more success.

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