The ecommerce market is increasing, with several new businesses opening and expanding all the time. If you’re thinking of launching an ecommerce startup, you’ll be in good company. Recent research from Business Insider found that over 19 million Americans bought something online from an independent seller in 2018. Many successful ecommerce businesses are operating across the world. However, not every venture ends happily ever after. In fact, according to Statista, almost half (49%) of all E-Commerce startup companies fail before their fifth anniversary. That’s why it is essential to keep these 4 key things in mind when starting a business like this – and avoid common pitfalls that can doom your new venture from the beginning.
By Team Savant
Image: charlesdeluvio
Not Consulting Experts
Starting a new business is always challenging, so you must ensure you have the proper support. While many start their businesses because they have a great idea, know the industry well and have plenty of enthusiasm and energy, you’ll also need analytical skills, marketing know-how and financial acumen. If you’re not exactly sure how to get started and where to begin, you can hire a consultant to help you get things off the ground. Whether you’re looking for assistance with your marketing strategy, want help securing funding or need someone to lend a hand with your financial projections, some experts can help.
Using The Wrong Platform
To create an ecommerce business, you’ll need a platform to sell your products online. However, with so many options on the market, it can be challenging to know which is the right one to choose. If you select a platform that’s not a good fit for your business, you’ll have a more challenging time growing your sales and may be unable to take advantage of critical opportunities to expand your reach. If you select the wrong platform, you may not be able to scale your business to the extent you’d like, making it more challenging to turn a profit. You can reduce the likelihood of making this mistake by doing your research. Conducting online research will help you identify the top ecommerce platforms on the market and make it easier to narrow down your options.
Ignoring Analytics
Successful entrepreneurs know that data is their friend. In many cases, it can make the difference between your ecommerce company thriving or floundering. If you’re not actively tracking key metrics like your customer acquisition, retention and sales figures, it will be harder to know how your business is performing and what you need to do to improve results. You’ll want to look at metrics like customer acquisition channels, customer retention and lifetime value to determine how you can improve your business. By ignoring analytics, you risk making decisions based on guesswork rather than on cold, hard facts. This can make it more challenging to grow your business. By actively tracking the metrics that matter, you’ll be in a better position to determine what is and isn’t working for your company and make necessary adjustments.
Not Budgeting For Marketing
Starting a new business is challenging enough. Things can get even more complicated if you’re actively trying to grow your company. You need to have a budget for marketing in place. One of the best things you can do is to partner with a digital marketing agency to help you create a strategic marketing plan that meets your goals and objectives. With a marketing budget in place, you’ll be able to invest in the marketing channels that will help you grow your business and reach new customers. If you don’t have a marketing budget, you may find it challenging to grow your company at the rate you’d like.
Conclusion
When running a new ecommerce business, you’re likely to encounter many challenges. By keeping these challenges in mind, you can ensure your new business is thriving. There are many different ways to approach starting an ecommerce business, but there are also many ways that it can fail. By keeping these common pitfalls in mind, you can ensure that your ecommerce business lasts.