As the Internet continues to morph at warp speed, more and more individuals and businesses are jumping at the opportunities that selling their products online offers. Today, launching an eCommerce website can be done with a very limited budget and in some cases just days. With quick-start tools and rent-a-site offers, the allure of throwing up an eCommerce website is not only within reach but usually quite simple.
The unfortunate truth is that many of these quick launch solutions are ineffective. Website development agencies take on eCommerce projects and a large majority of them have no idea what they are doing. Sure, your website may “work” from a functionality standpoint and the design may be beautiful but you may soon experience that you have little to no sales. Worse yet you may find that your website does not have the tools required to track, assess and grow your eCommerce business.
A common paradox I often see with new online retailers is that business owners want a low budget solution to get started but expect big results. So both you, the eCommerce merchant, and your website development agency cut corners to hit budgets, sacrificing long-term benefits for short term implementation.
At my company, SyncShow Interactive, we help eCommerce businesses with less than ten million in revenues to grow their eBusiness. Some of these companies are start-ups with less than $500,000 in revenues, some are pre-revenue, meaning they are truly a start up. We often see the results of the paradox stated above and the impact it has on a business.
(PDF) Common Pitfalls of the Startup eTailer
ABC Company is an online retailer. They hired a local agency (Agency 1) to complete the website build and the site looks pretty and functions fairly well. But after 12 months the site is getting little traffic and sales. Worse, Agency 1 does not really know much about eCommerce. So, ABC Company hires another agency (Agency 2) and that agency while great at programming and development does little to improve sales. Agency 2 goes in and makes all of these changes. Six months later ABC Company has spent tens of $$$ thousands of dollars and still has little to no sales.
This is where ABC Company hangs it up and calls it quits or determined to make it work, hires Agency 3. My company is often Agency 3 and listed below is usually what we encounter.
(DOWNLOAD) 5 Simple Ways to Boost eCommerce Sales
(PDF) Common Pitfalls of the Startup eTailer
As your website sales grow, so will your needs. My #1 recommendation is to choose a shopping cart platform that will meet your needs both now and in the future. Provided below are some things to consider:
Don’t necessarily trust the Agency you are talking to. The agency may have an interest in steering you to what they know or are incentivized to sell. Look on the Internet for testimonials, user ratings and complaints.
(PDF) Common Pitfalls of the Startup eTailer
The Internet is like a never-ending networking event. The Internet is not the problem, its your approach, your belief structure, your plan and your tactics. This is why so many companies see both success and failure online. This is why it is so important to do your research up front and choose the right agency or do-it-yourself model. You will have setbacks and you will fail on some occasions. Don’t quit after Agency 2. Keep going to find what works best for you and give it time to work. Whichever way you go, do your homework, draft a plan and stick to it.
Another post by Chris Peer on eCommerce or Lead Generation: (Quick How-to) eCommerce Pricing vs Profit Winning the Price War
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