The fact that starting an e-commerce business does not require so much capital makes it very attractive to venture into. This makes many people blindly rush into it, not knowing what awaits them. It is very true that the internet has way too many opportunities for marketing and it is somewhat economically rational for entrepreneurs to want to go the e-commerce way.
Needless to say, many businesses start up without thinking through all the possible challenges that they are likely to encounter along the way. They, therefore, end up making one, two or all of these three common mistakes. Whether you are thinking of starting an e-commerce business, have a newly established one or are already experiencing some difficulties, this article will be helpful to you. After all, it is good to learn from other people’s mistakes and avoid making the same ones.
- Not establishing the niche from the start
It is very tempting to want to ‘sell it all’ to everyone. But see, this is a huge problem! The idea is to sell and for this to happen, you need to use a good e-Commerce platform that allows you to worry only about sales and nothing else. Such a platform is BigCommerce. It has everything built-in – security, accounting, product management, logistics etc. They have Certified Partners who can take care of your design, development or marketing services. Click here to check one of their trusted partners. You need to have also something that gives you an edge over other sellers. Diversification is not a good idea at all in e-commerce. One should focus on a specific category and offer the best, otherwise, with the thousands of people selling online, you might end up being “just another” store. Take your time to study your competitors and how good they are, believe me, or not, however, new your service is, there is a very high chance that you are not the first one trying to sell it or a similar one online. Most established sellers have reviews, likes, popular blogs and even press coverage. Find a gap in their services and take advantage of that to your benefit.
- Not knowing the ideal customers
Good research helps in establishing where to find customers, it is only after this that one should go ahead to build the product. Sadly, many start-up e-commerce businesses start by having the products and then start to search for customers. Knowing the customers helps you to know how to target them and make the most sales. If you take a good look, each niche has a niche within it, and the closer you look, the more you understand the needs of your customers and hence you can be able to identify with their needs and use that to sell.
- Wanting to do all the work
Any good economist will consider the opportunity cost of doing all the menial work. He or she will dedicate their time to handling the really important details. It is very true that working on your new idea by yourself feels very fulfilling but no one should forget just how time-consuming it can be to want to do it all. A lot of work is involved in e-commerce business like setting up the website, uploading products, marketing and many other details. As the business owner, one should spend their time building business networks or coming up with ways to better your business. Spending a little money to get the small jobs done will save you a lot of useful time.
