Connect with us

Business

5 Reasons Why eCommerce Businesses Fail

Published

on

5 Reasons Why eCommerce Businesses Fail

Sale photo created by rawpixel.com – www.freepik.com

Top 5 Mistakes eCommerce Businesses Make

Starting eCommerce businesses is easy but making them successful is a whole different story. To help you create profitable eCommerce businesses, we came up with the 5 most common mistakes to avoid. Check them out below!

1. Picking the Wrong Niche

The reason why eCommerce businesses fail comes down to simply selecting the wrong niche. Of all the things you could possibly sell online, most eCommerce businesses choose niches that are too competitive or where the margins are too low. eCommerce businesses also make the mistake of trying to sell things that they personally enjoy rather than what customers want. It doesn’t matter if you think inflatable scooters are the greatest invention ever. If there is no demand, you are going to make zero revenue!

In contrast to failing eCommerce businesses, the most successful and major eCommerce businesses have done an exceptional job at selecting and dominating profitable niches. If you want to follow in their footsteps, you need to perform extensive market research before you pick a niche. Your market research should include the following:

  • What is my target demographic?
  • How big is my total addressable market?
  • What products do my customers need?
  • Why do they need those products?
  • How can I offer superior products or improve their lives with my products?

If you can answer these questions in-depth and back up with data, your chances of choosing a profitable eCommerce business niche will improve dramatically.

Reasons Why eCommerce Businesses Fail

Photo by PhotoMIX Company from Pexels

2. Having a Poor eCommerce Business Site

Most eCommerce transactions occur through a business’ website. Despite this fact, you would be surprised at how many businesses have poorly designed, slow, and sometimes malfunctioning websites. A poor eCommerce business website is a great way to lose potential customers who, after being greeted with a lackluster site, will often close the tab and try out a competitor.

An easy way to help eCommerce businesses is to get them to revamp their website by following these simple tips:

  • Mobile optimization – 70% of purchases are completed via mobile. You can’t afford not to have your site mobile optimized.
  • Simple buying process – The best eCommerce businesses websites have an easy 2-step buying process and require as few details as possible.
  • Aesthetic design – Your website should be a joy to visit. You need to include professional pictures of all your products, videos, your logo, and easy to use design.
  • Well-thought-out navigation – Your website needs to be easy to use. Customers should have no problems browsing your range of products and quickly making a purchase.

3. Inefficient Customer Support

If you want to grow an eCommerce business, you need to provide exceptional customer support. Too many eCommerce businesses fail because they take too long to reply to customers, can’t ensure orders are processed on time and don’t make an effort to ensure customers are happy. To provide first-class customer support and improve your eCommerce businesses, take these actions:

  • 24/7 live chat – Customers want to talk to support any time of the day to solve problems quickly and get more info on your products.
  • Reply to emails within 24 hours.
  • Set deadlines for when orders must be processed and shipped – Customers expect their products within a few days. This is not 2005 anymore, so businesses must adjust!
  • Offer discounts and deals if things go wrong – Customers appreciate businesses that go the extra step!
Why eCommerce Businesses Fail

Photo by Mikhail Nilov from Pexels

4. Lack of Digital Marketing Strategy

How do eCommerce businesses make money? A lot of it comes down to their digital marketing strategy. You could sell the best products in the world, but if nobody knows about them, your eCommerce businesses will fail! To help your businesses succeed, include these aspects in your digital marketing strategy:

  • Create a blog – Win Google traffic!
  • Build up your Instagram following – More and more eCommerce businesses are selling through Instagram!
  • Collab with influencers – Achieve an ROI of up to $18!
  • Use Facebook Ads – Achieve a 10% conversion rate!

5. Lack of Finances

While the idea of having a professionally designed business website and creating a tech-savvy digital marketing strategy sounds great, these things cost money. Many eCommerce businesses fail because they do not have sufficient funds to invest in their venture. It is better to wait and save extra cash before trying to start profitable eCommerce businesses on a shoestring budget. You should wait until you have the finances for a well-functioning site, customer support staff, and a professional digital marketing campaign.

Conclusion

It has never been easier to start eCommerce businesses. And with so many guides out there, thinking of eCommerce business ideas is not difficult. You could sell high-end fashion, create an app or develop your own jewelry line. Unfortunately, eCommerce businesses still have a high failure rate. Hopefully, after reading through our article, you can increase your chance of success by avoiding the most common problems that cause businesses to fail. We would love to hear your opinions! Please comment below on what you wish you knew before you started your eCommerce businesses.

Christine J. Shepard has built 3 successful eCommerce businesses and also has advised over 20 different eCommerce stores. In her free time, when she is not selling online, she enjoys scuba diving, playing real money slots app, and going to art exhibitions.

Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Trending