7 mistakes to avoid when starting an e-Commerce business
Many people dream about building an online business that has a huge income. The idea of remote working is very appealing although it has its own drawbacks. The online market has huge potential, in 2018 global e-commerce has sales grow by 18% with $2.86 trillion purchases, that is why so many people try to create their online business.
Creating your online business is a very challenging process. Many people give up half way just because they do not get enough sales. You must know that the competition for online businesses is very high and to create a trustworthy website requires a lot of hard work and persistence in order to succeed. It’s just like in football: if you want to be one of the favorites for the Superbowl, you have to start since NFL preseason, to be ready when the time comes.
In this article, we will go through some of the basic mistakes people do when starting an e-commerce business.
1. Research fail
The success or the failure of your e-commerce business lies with the research. Many people do not do detailed research for the niche products they want to sell online. Simply jumping into the process is the most devastating mistake anyone can make.
If you want to build a successful online business you must do a lot of research. By research we mean, market research, product research, target audience research, trend research and etc. You must focus on choosing the right product to sell and know what people you are going to sell that product. If you add a bunch of products with no order on your website it will definitely ruin your business.
2. Do it yourself
Building your e-commerce business is not a hard job and does not require special knowledge in order to build the baseline. It is best if you do everything yourself, from choosing the right products and suppliers, handling customer service, building your website and etc. This way you will understand what your customers want and where to find that particular product. After you have built a successful e-commerce business and you have set a baseline to work on, you can hire other people to help you, but until that time everything must pass through your hands.
3. Choose the platform for selling
Many e-commerce business starters are confused about choosing the right platform to sell. This is also a very crucial step just because it will define the e-commerce business type you want to build. There are a lot of platforms to choose from, but not every platform can be used for your strategy. You can either start dropshipping (Shopify, Woocommerce) or buy physical products and sell them through Amazon. Do the research and choose the right platform for you.
4. Not focusing on business development
Your main focus should be business development. Investing the capital you receive from your fist buyers in building a strong business strategy that will be trustworthy. If you do not reinvest your funds, you might find yourself in dead-end position once people will stop buying products. E-commerce is long term investment, so treat it like one.
5. Mindset for success
One of the most successful people that made a ton of money through e-commerce has one thing in common, never giving up. The process of e-commerce will test your nerves until you break and give up, that is why it is very important to believe in your business plan and know that you will succeed. This motive will keep you up in the hard times that must come at one point throughout the process.
6. Fail to connect with customers
Customers are your number one priority. Each customer must receive the best treatment possible. You must reach out to your audience and ask them questions about your store. Engage customers to interact with your business. Building a strong relationship with every client that visits your website will be crucial for the success of your business. Once you created your loyal customers, there will be nothing to stop you from building your e-commerce impair.
7. Underpricing products
One of the most common mistakes that are made from e-commerce starters is not setting the right margin for products. Once you start to add your products you will start to wonder if it is a good idea to lower the prices of your products from your competition. Wrong! This will drive your business to the ground.
There are a lot of things to consider when pricing your products such as transaction fees/other fees, online marketing, store maintenance, shipping costs, storage and etc. Basically, depending on the product you will have to put from 100% to 150% margin on all products. For example, if you buy an item for $15 your best selling price would be $30-$35. Lowering your profits will limit your online marketing as well which will end up very bad for your business.
These are some of the crucial mistakes that every e-commerce starter makes. You will make many mistakes but you will have to learn throughout the process and adapt. Once you are in e-commerce there is no getting out and you have to go until the end if you want to see the light.