But whilst running your own eCommerce business is certainly exciting, there are a number of BIG challenges that can cause even the hardiest aspiring entrepreneur to run a mile.
Naturally, all challenges can be overcome. And it’s always much easier to overcome them when you have prior knowledge of any possible issues that lie ahead.
In this article, I’m going to go through the biggest challenges facing eCommerce businesses, and I’ll also show you a few ways to get around them.
A rookie mistake is to sell the products you want to sell, and which you think/hope will sell – but which there isn’t actually any genuine demand for.
Running a successful eCommerce business often means that we have to sell products we personally have no real interest in, but which are going to generate huge profits.
But how do we know what to sell, especially in 2020 when product markets are already overcrowded? Here are some tips:
Decide whether you want to go with commoditized products or niche products
What is a lead?
A lead is a potential customer who has given you their basic information (such as an email address and their name).
What’s a qualified lead?
A qualified lead is a potential customer who’s definitely interested in what you’re selling, as opposed to someone who’s given you their basic info in exchange for a free gift.
See, to capture leads, eCommerce businesses typically have to give something away for free (such as a discount) in exchange for a leads email address (so that we can add them to our email list). And sometimes, “leads” just want the free gift. After they’ve got it, they’ll probably unsubscribe from your email list.
To generate qualified leads, here are some tips:
There are now 1,800,000 eCommerce stores in the world, which of course means that whoever opens a new one will have to fight off a lot of competition.
It’s tricky – but it can be done. And who doesn’t love a good challenge like this, huh?
One of the best ways to outdo your competition is to create an online store that looks the part. You can use an online eCommerce platform like Shopify, as these platforms come with pre-built templates that make it easier than ever to create an attractive, professional-looking store.
If, on the other hand, you decide to self-host your store and create a website from scratch, make sure to use an experienced web designer.
You should also work on your SEO campaign (consider working with an SEO agency) because a good SEO campaign will boost your position in the Google rankings. This means that, when a customer searches for a product you sell, your store will be near the top. It lends your store more credibility.
Also, make sure to create an awesome social media marketing campaign that helps your eCommerce business build a long-lasting, strong relationship with your audience.
One of the most frustrating things about running an online store is cart abandonment.
Here’s the thing with cart abandonment: A customer walks into your store, puts a few items in their cart and you think to yourself, “great! Everything is going well, I’ve got a new customer.”
Then, after they’ve filled up their cart – they abandon it, never to return.
Say, whaaaaat?
And the thing is, this happens often. In fact, research has shown that four out of five customers abandon their carts. Damn.
The good news is that you can flip this by turning those cart abandoners into paying customers. After all, if they’ve placed your products in their cart, they’re clearly interested in what you have to offer. It’s just that – sometimes – you need to sweeten the deal somewhat. Here are some tips:
And let’s say you do manage to convert those cart abandoners into paying customers. What next?
Well, customer retention is actually a big problem in the eCommerce world.
It’s important, however, that you work on enticing customers back because even just a 5% boost in customer retention can boost your profits by as much as 95%.
Here are some tips:
Running an online store is both exciting and challenging. It’s important that you nip challenges in the bud as soon as possible so that your store is able to grow, sales go up – and challenges actually become rather enjoyable.
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