E-commerce has not just revolutionized the way people shop, but it has also opened up a whole new world of opportunities for retailers and service providers. With the right strategies and dedication, the potential for success in this field is not just immense but also within your reach.
And while it has never been easier to set up an ecommerce store, there is more that goes into this venture than listing items for sale on a website. The statistics show that there are over 30 million eCommerce stores worldwide, but 7 in 10 fail in their first year, according to SME News. This indicates there is a higher risk that you will be on the failure side of statistics rather than the success story.
But how can you ensure that you’re one of the 3 in 10 that thrive and not one of the 7 out of 10 businesses that fold fast?
Focus on Marketing
You need to be focused on marketing with an e-commerce store. As soon as a customer is looking for something you sell, your site needs to pop up in the result with an image and link directly to that product. We’ve all seen it when looking for something online that all-important clickable links direct to products can yield massive results and position you above others.
Poor online visibility and marketing are significant reasons why businesses fail, and while you rely on free visibly from Google (this isn’t achievable within the first 120 days but is possible thereafter), If you can engage with people’s direct needs and searches, you can make an effort put this n place ready to help you drive more people to your site. While the rules on SEO and Google’s ever-changing algorithms are confusing, taking the time to understand or work with those who know what to do can pay dividends in terms of increasing visibility online.
Cash Flow is Vital
A survey of failed e-commerce businesses found that 32% said they simply ran out of cash. Poor cash flow is the leading cause of all business failures, and it isn’t restricted to online-only ventures. You need to be strategic with your spending, be ready to pivot, and not keep pouring money into poor decisions and things that don’t work, i.e., poor marketing choices or ineffective products or services.
Create a viable and realistic budget for all your activities. Be mindful of competitors’ price points, and know what people are willing to pay for what you offer. Avoid intentionally overspending on things that aren’t integral to your offerings. For instance, investing in expensive but ineffective advertising campaigns or stocking products that have low demand or high return rates can be considered poor marketing choices or ineffective products or services.
Customer Service is King
While they might not always be right, as the old saying goes, they are king, and you cannot do what you want to do without them. This means your customer journey needs to be smooth and efficient from beginning to end. It’s not about how easy they checkout as a standalone point or how fast you ship; if you fall at the first hurdle, then you won’t even get this far.
There are many customer service best practices you can follow to help you improve what you do and boost retention; after all, retention is much cheaper and more profitable than acquisition. These best practices include offering personalized customer service, providing quick and effective solutions to customer issues, and actively seeking and implementing customer feedback. You need profitable ecommerce customer service options to help you make the right improvements to benefit the customer and the business.
Niche Down
To quote the same failure survey again conducted by Forbes, Huffington Post, and Marketing Signals, 34% of failed e-commerce businesses cited no market for their demise.
Now, you would imagine that if you are bringing something to the market, you’ve done your research correctly to ascertain demand. But if you find yourself struggling with this, there could be a reason, and it is likely in this post.
Niche works online. The more specific you are with what you offer, the more people will flock to it. If you’re focusing all of your efforts on one item or type of product developed specifically for a certain section of people, you can enhance how you market and deliver your products and ensure you’re geared up for a specialized sector. The reason this works is you have a smaller section of people to target, making it easier to tailor your message to attract them. So, if you’re looking for improved results, niching down as much as possible could be exactly what you need to do. Avoid generalization and get specific.
