Common Mistakes To Avoid While Setting Up Your Ecommerce Business
Most entrepreneurs seem to think that starting up an online business simply involves going online and selling. While that may be the case, it is far from the only thing that makes a business successful. Setting up your Ecommerce business is only the beginning of the process, but there are countless steps that follow suit. If your goal is to create a business that is thriving, successful, and resonates with your customers, you are going to have to put in a lot more work to achieve that. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the common mistakes in starting an Ecommerce business, in hopes you can avoid them too.
1. Not optimizing mobile experience
This cannot be overstated enough. Please optimize your e-store for the mobile experience. Shopping on your computer vs. shopping on your mobile device are two entirely different experiences. Unfortunately, despite countless cautionings, many e-stores still fail to heed the advice and fall short of the department of mobile optimization.
Mobile shopping is the future of online shopping, and you either get with the times or fall behind. Why? Because it’s quick, convenient, and right within your hands. When designing an e-store, adopt a mobile usage mindset so you’ll inherently place mobile optimization at the forefront of your priorities for the e-store.
Another thing to consider and one that we have decided to lump under mobile experience is to diversify your payment options. TnG Wallet, Alipay, and Maybank2U are all prime examples of how diversified payment channels go hand in hand with mobile experiences.
2. Making data your enemy
There is certain intimidation to data. It’s complex and can sometimes seem larger than what it is, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be that way. In fact, data is your most valuable asset in driving business growth and conversion. There are countless analytics tools out there that help you make sense of the abundance of data that you have in hand and water down the difficulty that comes along with it. GoogleAnalytics and FacebookAnalytics are two that already come to mind.
Many businesses make the error of looking at the daily sales and throwing in the towel, but if you’re serious and committed to making the business work, you will have to look into avenues such as customer conversion to drive further sales. Even if you’re new and just starting out, data will prove invaluable in ascertaining your business direction, which will allow you to make informed choices that translate to higher profitability.
3. Neglecting maintenance, security, and development
There’s mobile optimization, then there’s user experience (UX). The above three fall under UX. Your online store needs to be able to handle the bulk of traffic that comes in, especially during a promotional sales period. And no one fancies a website that crashes too often due to a traffic overload, or an e-store with sluggish load speed. On top of that, you will have to take care of source codes and backups.
Ensuring your customers’ confidentiality and safekeeping their privacy data is also a priority with e-stores. All these require a lot of time and resources to implement. But it is a priority from the get-go.
4. Poor content quality
Another recurring point that we’ve talked about in the past. From the website layout, and cataloging to pictures, online purchases are all about the visual elements and how they appeal to your customers. A low-quality photo of your product will do little in enticing them to pick it up. Meanwhile, poor cataloging i.e.: having duplicate posts will give people the impression that you’re selling something dubious in your e-store.
Seeing is believing, or in this case, reading. Having actual customer testimonials or reviews also goes a long way to increasing the appeal of your product. Bear in mind that the way you present and arrange this information will determine the impression you create and leave on your customers, so be sure to spend time ensuring quality content.
5. Invest in a WMS
If your e-store is in its infant stage, a warehouse management system (WMS) might be a luxury at this point, although that doesn’t mean you should ever dismiss the thought of getting one. For businesses that are growing by leaps and bounds, and expect themselves to see a surge in purchase volumes long term, having a WMS can help manage your stocks more efficiently and effectively.
A WMS is essentially a consolidated software that offers warehousing, stock and inventory management functions. This allows you to track all things related to your stocks ranging from production all the way up to delivery.
6. Seek warehousing/storage services
Stocks or inventory management can be a hassle to manage at times. With how volatile and ever-fluctuating the Ecommerce scene is today, it can be difficult to gauge the right amount of stocks to replenish. Overstock and you end up with deadstock, understock and your potential customers may turn away in disappointment. As a part of the supply chain management, warehouses are there to help you gauge the right amount of stocks to replenish.
More importantly, entrusting your stocks to a warehouse or storage service alleviates you from the need of focusing on menial tasks such as storing and stocking.
7. Outsource your fulfillment
Much like WMS and storage services, outsourcing fulfillment should be on your to-do list at some point. Getting a third-party logistics (3PL) to handle your shipment and delivery will save you the hassle of needing to focus on the delivery itself. In fact, small-time businesses worldwide are already using 3PLs to complete deliveries on their behalf, and there shouldn’t be any reason for you to not use them either.
Wrapping Up
Setting up your Ecommerce business can be a very exciting process. While it takes quite a while to grasp the nuances and the technical aspects of it, proper outsourcing of work and smart use of your resources at hand should allow your store to be up and running in no time.
If you want to grow your Ecommerce business globally, it is time to work with the right fulfillment partners. With that being said, Hisuperpanda has the exact-right solution for you. Our Ecommerce Fulfillment solution is designed to provide a seamless logistics solution for business owners. To learn more about our services, visit our website today.
