One of the most completive things you can do in the digital space is set up an ecommerce website for selling your products online. If you want to play in this space you need to be armed with the right tools for the job.
So where do people go wrong with their ecommerce websites?
Zero or minimal research. A quick way to ensure failure with you online store is by carrying out no or very little research. Firstly you need to make sure there is enough volume of consumers who would actually be interested in your product, secondly you need to understand the price point these consumers would be willing to pay. Where will you find these consumers, are they stay at home mum’s , business executives, tradies? Obviously marketing to stay at home mum’s will entail a different tactic to business executives.
Once you have established there is a calling for you product (by using tools like Google Analytics) you need to research your competition. Failure to do this will most likely be a deciding factor to the failure of your ecommerce site. If you don’t know who your competitors are, what they offer and what the price point is your clients simply will not take you seriously and you won’t be able to effectively compete with them.
No rainy day fund. When you are staring with your online store the most important thing is cash flow. Sure you might find that when you launch your new site online you have an initial burst of sales, especially if you use smart marketing techniques, but what happens if after that the sales start to drop off. How will you continue to pay your suppliers, your web hosting and other bills associated with running the business online? Make sure you have a kitty of cash to get you through until you gain enough momentum in your business to see you through.
A bad website and lack of branding. If you want to compete with other online stores you need to be memorable – for all the right reasons!
Invest in your branding, think of the iconic, nike, coke, amazon. Just thinking about any of those brands you already have a visual of their branding in your mind. Invest the money with a graphic designer to have a professional corporate identity designed, once you have your branding established you can use it for all of your marketing collateral to gain as much exposure as possible for your brand.
Don’t let your website let you down. A cheap template website that is lacking functionality will drive customers away. Follow your branding guidelines and having a custom website developed that is tailored to the functionality you know your customers will want will reap you the rewards.
Impatience. We all want success over night but the reality is it takes time to establish yourself online, gain some traction on the search engines and to build a strong selection of repeat clientele. Allow yourself time to get there, once you have a well-tuned machine you will be making sales while you sleep!
Lack of a marketing budget. If you are going to have an online store be prepared to have a healthy marketing budget. Competition is high and the costs to compete aren’t cheap. Make sure you invest in the services of a professional digital marketing company to work on establishing your organic ranking on the search engines – this won’t happen overnight but when it does you will see the benefits!
For more information about getting started with your ecommerce website, call today on 1300 858 495
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