With as many as 24.3% of all retail sales taking place online this year, online sales are not only a logical business move but are quickly becoming a prerequisite for success. Yet, the fact that as many as 22% of eCommerce businesses fail in their first year means that success here isn’t a given even now.
This can be especially worrying for new and existing companies who can see how well their competitors thrive, leaving businesses at a very real risk of falling behind if proactive improvements aren’t made in this area. Unfortunately, improvement isn’t possible until you first work out why your attempts here feel so much like knocking on a closed door. Luckily, despite the different landscape of the online world, the reasons for this are often cemented in a few familiar problems that also keep physical sales in a rut, the most obvious of which we’re going to discuss here.
#1 – You aren’t making the right connections
Networking has long been a prerequisite of in-person sales, and making the right connections is equally important online. Google is perhaps the most obvious of these, with high listings achieved through SEO imperative for attracting leads. Though it might seem like a large task, this is surprisingly simple to achieve and includes dedicating team members to content production, investing in something like a cheap vps to ensure website functionality and speed, and even just keeping on top with clearly outlined Google updates. Becoming a partner on sites like Amazon can also be a huge help with getting your name known, allowing you to tap into an existing audience just as you would if your physical products were stocked in the biggest superstore in town.
# 2 – You’re overlooking your competitors
Keeping a close eye on the shop next door is common fare in physical business, but competition heats up even more in an online landscape that sees you literally listed alongside competitors worldwide. Luckily, SEO can help here, too, by providing you with a much-needed edge, but you’ll struggle to retain top spots in online business if you don’t also keep an eye on what even far-reaching competitors are up to. Following social media accounts, blog posts and general web design/product offerings especially ensures that you can track your competitor’s progress, and hopefully develop ideas of your own that always keep you one step ahead.
# 3 – Your store layout is all wrong
A poor layout in a physical store will see consumers walking right out again, and online sales are no different. From fast click-offs to cart abandonment, convoluted or confusing online processes are never going to help you secure conversions. To avoid this, it’s worth either hiring in-house web design experts or, more affordably, outsourcing this service for high-quality layouts that keep sales rolling, all overseen by people in the know at a fixed monthly cost.
Online setbacks aren’t unusual, but avoidance is crucial to modern success, highlighting the need to factor for issues like these and their solutions sooner rather than later.