Starting an Online Biz Soon? Here Are Some Common Mistakes All Ecommerce Entrepreneurs Should Avoid

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In the last ten years or so, eCommerce has boomed, and there has been exponential growth in the sale of all sorts of products online. In particular, since the global pandemic began and more people than ever not only wanted to but had to shop for goods remotely, this type of digital commerce has soared. 

You may want to get in on the action yourself by launching or buying your own venture this year or next. However, before you do, it’s helpful to know some of the most common mistakes many eCommerce entrepreneurs make, which you should avoid. 

Not Understanding the Market or Competitors Properly

For starters, you don’t want to be like many other people and launch an online venture without doing enough research. In particular, scope out your potential target market(s) and learn everything you can about the people you hope will buy from your eCommerce site. You need to understand the price points they prefer, when and how they shop, their lifestyle, jobs, family status, hobbies, and other interests, the types of products or services they’re after, and more.

Plus, find out about your primary competitors. You need to be clear about what is already on offer and how it is sold and where, the type of marketing used, the level of customer service provided, prices charged, platforms used, and customers targeted, among other things. The more you learn about these elements, the better you’ll be able to develop your online store to be successful. 

To make shoppers more likely to fall in love with what you sell and how you go about selling and shipping items, and thus more likely to buy from you repeatedly and to rave about your brand to others, you need a point of difference that has an impact. You won’t be able to determine one, though, if you don’t do enough or do the right research. 

SEE ALSO: A Few Smart Tools Every Remote Entrepreneur Needs

Failing to Set Up a Proper Sales Portal

Of course, you can have the best products or services in the world, but if you don’t have a good sales portal through which to offer them, you won’t get very far. It’s imperative to set up an eCommerce website or sell via a marketplace or other platform that is appealing to shoppers. 

It needs to look professional, grab interest, and be easy to use at every step, especially when browsers find products, add things to the shopping cart, and check out. Plus, your sales portal should work well on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets since so many people make purchases on these portable devices nowadays.

When browsing online, consumers can’t pick up, touch, and thoroughly inspect items as they can when they’re in brick-and-mortar stores. This means you need to make them feel comfortable that they know what they’re going to get. Ensure you post plenty of videos and photographs of all your wares online. Provide extensive product or service descriptions, too, so people know what is and isn’t included and what they’ll be paying for if they place an order. 

Plus, make information about shipping, refunds, warranties, and your contact details readily available so people can learn all the details they need to about buying with you and can get in touch if they have more questions or problems arise. Before you launch your eCommerce site, get other people, such as friends or family members, to test the platform. They should inform you of links that don’t work, issues with navigation, or other problems they notice as they go. 

SEE ALSO: What Are Some Profitable Ecommerce Business Ideas?

Not Paying Close Attention to Packaging and Shipping Choices

Another critical component of running a successful online store is getting packages to customers on time and in good order. People won’t be impressed and aren’t likely to recommend your site or buy from you again if parcels take forever to arrive, get damaged or lost in transit, or otherwise make life stressful for buyers. 

As such, enable people to choose one or more expedited shipping options to get wares sooner if they want, and install up-to-date tracking systems so clients always have a good idea of when items will likely arrive. Take care with packaging to protect the goods you ship out. You may need various packaging options for different types of goods, to keep them safe en route, as well as use plenty of bubble wrap, packing peanuts, or other shock-absorbing materials. 

Do you sell any fragile, hazardous, or temperature-sensitive goods at all? If so, you’ll need to take extra care with these items, so they don’t cause problems in transit for shippers or arrive spoiled or otherwise past their prime. For example, you could invest in cold chain technologies, impact recorder tools, and other tech options. 

Take your time planning and executing your venture so you have more chances of success, both in the short and long term. Avoiding the above-mentioned errors will help you get the results you seek.