Common Critical eCommerce Failures and Mistakes You Need to Avoid

Everyday eCommerce Businesses face different confrontations online. One of the biggest challenges you face is to get your product sold, as this is the sole purpose of starting an online shop right. However, did you know an e-commerce store is not only about sales conversion?

What your e-commerce store does is open up doors to a new world not only for your products but makes your brand known globally for all to see. To help you face the difficult challenge of getting your brand known we are here to help you avoid disappointments made by many other online businesses.

We have identified critical eCommerce failures you need to avoid, and the best procedures to follow making your online business a winner.

Avoid these mistakes and generate sales

Do you have an e-commerce online shop or are you starting out? No matter what your needs are by avoiding the following mistakes you can start generating sales in no time. The secret is to pay attention to the development and maintenance of your website by avoiding the following mistakes:

Avoid choosing the incorrect platform 

This is critical as choosing the incorrect platform leaves you vulnerable and you need to choose a platform that sells in the best possible manner. You can find many free trials available from great e-commerce platforms such as WooCommerce, Magneto, and Shopify to name a few.

Another important factor is to strategize making sure each part is outlined and in the best interest of your company online. This you can do as follows:

• Recognise your buyers and market
• Request feedback from customers
• Make sure every process is transparent
• Target your mobile audience
• Think Social-media
• Make sure policies are in place
• Ensure you provide your customers with a great service and support

These are only a few important steps to help improve your online business online. However, there is one more thing. Have you ever used an online shop only to find the images of products are misleading or you can barely make out what it is? You have!

What happens you are not interested in buying the product, as it is not aesthetically pleasing? Make sure you have clear images available for your customer to enjoy a visual shopping experience leading to sales.

Add Trust Factors

Imagine, you are buying a pair of shoes from an online shop and there are no trust factors in place. Are you going to buy with your credit card from them? No, as they have not built a trust with their clients. Make sure your clients can trust using your e-commerce platform by enhancing it with the Terms of use, Privacy Policies, SSL certificates, and Refund/exchange policies.

Ensure clients that their details kept confidentially and keep your platform design simple. Make sure product categories are easy to navigate through and align your CTA with the content. Further, you can add a section for product reviews as well.

Prevent Long Loading Times

There is nothing more frustrating than trying to view a website and it takes forever to load. If this happens, you have already decided to move on to the next available business displayed in the search engine.

Prevent this from happening with your e-commerce platform, as your customer will get as impatient as you do when waiting for pages to load.

You want instant gratification when shopping online and so does your customer. The platform needs to run at an optimal speed as this prevents you from losing potential clients.

Prevent Long Checkout Processes

Why do people use online shopping, because they can buy stuff in the comfort of their home? Further, they can avoid standing in long checkout lines at shops. So why should your online checkout process be so long? Avoid this from happening at your e-commerce shop, as clients want their purchase to happen quickly.

Keep the checkout process short and sweet, as this will ensure the customer returns. Make sure the customers billing and shipping information handled as quickly as possible and provide them with a confirmation to finalise their purchase.

Avoid displaying incorrect information

As your website reflects, your brand and business provide them with grammatical free errors. Make sure the products you are selling have the correct information as displaying incorrect information can harm your business in the end.

Make certain to display your business information, with a company logo, contact details and more. This builds a trust between your company and a client.

Provide an Excellent Customer Service

When a customer cannot reach you, they lose interest in your business and go elsewhere. Try to provide contact times and respond to customer queries as soon as possible. Set up a chat service where possible as this offers clients the best service possible.

Prevention is better than cure

Avoid spamming your customers

Have you opened your mailbox lately, only to find it is full of spam emails? What do you do with this mail you trash them? Using e-mail marketing is an effective way to advise your clients on new products and information.

However, as you do not like receiving the same mail over and again avoid doing this to your client. If you want to use e-mail, marketing personalises the email to your client. Send information based on your customers’ needs.

Avoid using too many POPUPS

Did you know you only have 15-seconds to keep a potential client mesmerised in buying your products? How does one do this with POPUPS as it allows new customers to receive important information about your product and you receive their personal details?

Nevertheless, there is a downside, as you know how frustrated you can get when these POPUPS keep popping up. Keep your customers happy and avoid overusing this feature.

Remember the free goods

Everyone likes a freebie even you. Never deprive your customer of free items such as specials, discount, and free shipping. Offering free shipping is one of the best marketing strategies as the sales from your client is most likely to happen more often in future.

Never underestimate mobile technology

Moreover, never think too little about mobile technology, as it is the future for your e-commerce business online. More people are using their mobile devices to make online purchases and you can reach a wider audience when making your website mobile friendly.

Final Thoughts

Lastly, never underestimate the power of social media, as this is the best tool to use for marketing your products online. Promoting your products on different social media platforms is a serious task. You need to be cautious not to oversell your products and services. Maintain the loyalty of your followers, customers, and fans and do it the responsible way.

Once you have used all the above tips to prevent commerce mistakes, make sure to set up a Search Engine Optimisation strategy for people to find you on Google. Have a solid SEO plan in place by using the correct keywords on your site, products, images and more.

Further, measure your performance on a regular basis by checking your key figures such as products sold, total visitors, and revenue. This is where you need to get your business on board with Google Analytics and crucial to making a success of your e-commerce business online.

Don’t forget to check out some more tools that can help you grow your business. Read our article about top tools that will help you grow