10 mistakes in managing e-commerce to avoid getting your online shop off the ground

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What are the 10 mistakes in managing e-commerce? Discover with us the errors but above all the main solutions to improve your e-commerce and get your insurance business off the ground!

If you have opened e-commerce or are preparing to start it, you certainly want to make your e-shop the best possible, minimizing errors, the cart abandonment rate, and also offering an exceptional experience for your users.

Offering the right user experience and minimizing the mistakes that can be made when managing e-commerce is not as simple as it seems, even if it is certainly the goal of any entrepreneur.

We must consider, in the foreground, how there is now strong competition in almost every market in the e-commerce sector, for this reason, if you make some “serious” mistakes you may lose an important slice of customers.

But what are the main mistakes that can be made in managing your e-commerce and how not to commit them?

Or solve if you are already doing them? Let’s find out together in this guide dedicated to the 10 most common mistakes in e-commerce!

The Topic Of This Post

  • 1 Mistake 1. Not understanding your target audience
  • 2 2. Not doing the right market research
  • 3 Mistake 3 E-commerce: don’t use “social proof”
  • 4 Mistake 4: Not best displaying your products on e-commerce
  • 5 Mistake 5: Copywriting and unattractive content in descriptions
  • 6 6. Not Providing Optimal User Experience
  • 7 Mistake 7 E-commerce: don’t do analysis to improve your marketing techniques
  • 8 Error 8 E-commerce: Lack of various shipping options
  • 9 Ecommerce Mistake 9: Neglecting SEO
  • 10 Mistake 10 E-commerce: Not working on the brand identity of e-commerce
  • 11 Conclusion

Mistake 1. Not understanding your target audience

Understanding your target destination is essential. Ignoring who your target audience is is dangerous for your e-commerce and brand.

In fact, you cannot put products online and think: someone will be interested in buying them, without however knowing who your reference user personas are.

This is a mistake that is often made at the beginning or when creating an e-commerce project in a too hasty way.

That’s why the advice is to always study the target audience based on the market in which you are inserted and the product offered.

If you have not carried out a proper evaluation and study of the target, you can still solve the situation.

Solution Error 1 E-commerce: how to identify the target

Studying and identifying the target today can be done in a more in-depth and detailed way thanks to the many online profiling tools.

To be able to study the target carefully you must:

  1. Analyze the traffic that arrives on your e-commerce from Google Analytics paying attention mainly to those who click on the site or generate a conversion
  2. Analyze the traffic of people who click on your Google Ads advertisements, even in this case, you have to pay attention to the audience that performs an action rather than the one that just makes an impression
  3. Check the data traffic of interactions with posts on social networks, such as Facebook and Instagram
  4. Check the data of the people who have signed up for the newsletter (if they are already present) and check who are those who have already made a purchase on your e-commerce.

Now that you have all the audience data thanks to these digital tools you just have to export all the data to a file, for example to Excel, and understand:

  • Age range
  • More interested sex
  • Income bracket
  • Complementary interests
  • Behavior on the site

Once the target has been identified, you can significantly improve your e-commerce communication, micro-copy, and e-mail marketing strategy by better understanding the wishes of users and their needs.

  1. Don’t do the right market research

As with the identification of the target, not doing the right market research can also be a dangerous mistake for your e-commerce.

Without proper market research, it is not possible: to know the competition, to study the behavior of users towards them, to understand how other brands similar to yours behave on the market.

If, on the other hand, you carefully study which market you are entering and do the right research on the competition, you have a better chance of distinguishing yourself with your e-commerce and offering users a better or otherwise different service from others.

Solution E-commerce Error 2: how to study the online market

To carry out market research you can take advantage of all the main online tools.

As for the analysis of the target, even the study of the market, in fact, can be facilitated in the identification of the competition by the many online tracking tools.

To study the market it is possible to do:

  • Google searches to identify competitors that are best positioned for the keywords of your interest
  • Use of online SEO tools like Sem Rush or Seo Zoom to identify competitors
  • Research on Facebook of competitors, analysis of interactions and comments left by users
  • Research on the main social networks or forums in the sector
  • Checking the Google My Business cards of competitors (if any)
  • Check the Google Shopping cards present for certain keywords
  • Verification of the structuring of their e-commerce, desktop, and mobile operation, services offered, customer service offered by competitors, shipping and packaging times, application, etc …
  • Competitors’ social media marketing and content marketing strategy

This complete analysis allows you to carefully understand how to improve your e-commerce and above all offer a better service than that of the main players in your reference asset.

Mistake 3 E-commerce: don’t use “social proof”

Social proof is a very important tool, not use that could “diminish” the ability to acquire new customers and to maintain high profits.

Today, most consumers, before making a purchase, want to be sure that they are relying on e-commerce that will not disappoint their expectations.

To do this, he reads the reviews of other customers, and if he doesn’t find any reviews, then he is much more likely to choose not to complete the purchase.

 

That’s why better managing the collection of user reviews, inserting the best in your e-commerce, displaying customer comments without problems is an important weapon to induce social proof and increase the chances of converting a lead into a customer.

Solution Error 3 E-commerce: How to collect more reviews

Social proof and collecting more reviews and feedback for your e-commerce is essential to be able to convince the “undecided” to make a purchase.

To collect more reviews you can use different strategies such as:

  • Ask for reviews in exchange for a future voucher or discount
  • Request a comment or review with the right email after submitting the product
  • Offer loyalty points in exchange for a review to earn a reward or other recognition
  • Show with the right e-mail (a few days after sending the product) the possibilities that the customer has to leave a review such as Facebook, Google My Business, TrustPilot

Mistake 4: Not best displaying your products on e-commerce

Today the visual element is also essential. You cannot have e-commerce on which the photos load slowly, or they are not seen well from mobile, not very bright, and not very optimized.

We must carefully invest in product photos and in some sectors, such as clothing, luxury, fashion, real estate, we must think about the use of peculiar photographic techniques and technological innovations in the sector.

Unclear images, without the right brightness, which do not allow us to understand the real value of the product, risk not enticing the customer to purchase.

Professionalism in photos is really essential to get the right results.

Solution Error 4 E-commerce: photos and videos, the importance of visual marketing

E-commerce, also based on the market in which it operates, must create photos and visual content of the highest aesthetic quality.

Today there are many graphic contents that are able to enhance and improve the real perception of the product and more easily accompany the user in the purchase phase.

Among the main graphic contents, which work very well in the e-commerce sector we find:

  • 360 ° photo
  • 180 ° photo
  • Three-dimensional photos
  • Use of virtual reality (increasingly used in real estate)

Finally, in addition to images, you can also use other visual elements such as video.

Today, in fact, video marketing is a useful conversion tool that works very well in the e-commerce sector.

Videos are very useful when you have to illustrate how a product works or in any case you want to create a more immersive experience for the user.

Mistake 5: Copywriting and unattractive content in descriptions

Images and visual content are a characterizing element of e-commerce and serve to attract the user’s attention, but by themselves, they are not enough!

In fact, photos or videos are not enough to convince a user to complete the purchase on e-commerce.

The contents and descriptions of the product are also of great importance, which must be: original, created from an SEO perspective, captivating for the user.

It happens that on different e-commerce, especially when selling products of known brands, to find the same descriptions as they take back the texts that have been written for the sales catalogs by the brand itself.

This solution, of course, is wrong. Not only because copying the contents written by the original brand risks having a text equal to that proposed by other e-commerce and online stores, but also because in this way you are unable to convert your user in the best possible way.

Solution E-commerce Error 5: How to create the right copy for descriptions

For the creation of the right copy also studied from an SEO perspective for the product descriptions of your e-commerce, the advice is to overcome this error by following simple steps:

  • Research the best keywords used by users to find that product
  • Create text that is original
  • Make a text that is engaging and customized according to its target reference
  • Make sure that the description explains the product but at the same time leads the user to buy it
  1. Not providing an optimal user experience

The sixth mistake many e-commerce companies make is not offering the right user experience.

The aesthetics of a site but above all the UX and UI design strongly influence the conversion rate and positioning on search engines.

This is why it is necessary to work carefully on this aspect by creating an e-commerce path for the user that is accessible, well structured, and able to provide him with the right experience while viewing the products and subsequently at the time of purchase.

Solution Error 6 E-commerce: how to create the right user experience

To offer the right user experience to the user, you must pay attention mainly to some details:

  • Create a well-structured menu with categories and sub-categories useful for product research
  • Have a keyword research section (especially if you are selling hundreds or thousands of products on the site)
  • Present the menu in a clean, concise and style suited to your brand
  • Have an “About Us” page
  • Provide all information on how to contact the company
  • Make it clear: shipping costs, delivery times, return options, and publish an FAQ with the answer to the main questions
  • Offer good navigation on the site between the various pages and categories on both desktop and mobile
  • Allow users to check out as “guests”, ie without having to create an account ( in this way the cart abandonment rate is lowered)
  • Create the right micro-copy on e-commerce in order to give the customer all the information necessary to improve their purchasing process

Mistake 7 E-commerce: don’t do analysis to improve your marketing techniques

Another mistake that is often made with your e-commerce, especially if you are new to the sector, is not making the necessary and careful analysis to improve your marketing tactics.

The marketing strategy you implemented when opening your e-commerce cannot and must not be the same as a year after the start of your business.

Always keeping the same approach in managing your digital marketing plan will, unfortunately, lead you to no longer obtain any results.

To avoid making this mistake in managing your e-commerce!

But how can you improve your marketing techniques and strategies? Simple through data analysis.

Solution Error 7 E-commerce: Analyzing e-commerce data to improve the digital marketing strategy

Analyzing all the data that can be collected from your e-commerce is essential to study the best strategy to adopt and consequently also improve the results in terms of conversion.

You can analyze the data to be able to improve the digital marketing strategy:

  • Reading the data of the e-mail open rate
  • Verify user journey in your email marketing automation
  • Analysis of email conversion rate data
  • Analysis of conversions and leads obtained through a landing page
  • Verification of user behavior in relation to posts on social networks and promotions on Facebook, Instagram, and all the platforms used
  • Google Ads data analysis in terms of ad display, clicks, and conversions obtained
  • Verification of the target users who make the most purchases by studying all the analysis reports that we have illustrated
  • Verification of e-commerce data: sales, cart abandonment, heat maps, user journey, etc …

Through data analysis, it will become increasingly clear how to personalize your offer, how to make the most of the contents, and how to optimally structure the entire digital marketing strategy.

Error 8 E-commerce: Lack of various shipping options

Today users, accustomed to increasingly better services in the field of shipping, want to have more options at their disposal to choose from. 

In fact, having a single shipping method could lead to an increase in the cart abandonment rate.

The reason is that the user gets scared when he is faced with a single cost, perhaps even very high, of shipping and has no other choice or solutions to refer to.

Making this mistake could cause the cart abandonment rate to increase dramatically!

Solution Error 7 E-commerce: The right shipping options

The best solution is to meet the user’s needs by providing him with different options with various price ranges based on that choice.

The fast delivery must present an option in order to compete with major competitors.

Customers who want a product right away and are unwilling to wait will be inclined to select this option even if they will have to pay more than the traditional one.

The same is true on the contrary, in fact, there are cases where customers want to save or find a way to have free shipping.

That is why there should be options on e-commerce such as:

  • Fast shipping: for the most demanding users who need a product right away
  • Traditional shipping, therefore with a longer waiting period but at a lower price
  • Free shipping for purchases over a certain amount

Thanks to the various shipping options it will be possible to decrease the cart abandonment rate and consequently conclude more sales by meeting the needs of users in the best possible way.

Ecommerce Mistake 9: Neglecting SEO

No e-commerce can be able to achieve the right success if it does not apply the correct SEO strategies to better position the online store.

To be able to find any product or service, especially if they have to buy it online, they use Google and certain keywords to search for what they need.

Not following an accurate SEO strategy over time, therefore, can be dangerous and make your e-commerce end up in the “oblivion” that is in the remote pages of the search engine, those that no user consults.

Solution E-commerce Error 9: Create an SEO Strategy

To implement a good SEO strategy it is necessary to pay attention to some specific factors such as:

  • Study of the most relevant keywords for your sector
  • Study of the competition and its positioning for certain queries and keywords of your interest
  • Creation of a functional, professional website that offers the right user experience to the user
  • Excellent use and viewing of the site also from mobile and tablet
  • Create a clear and easy-to-read category structure
  • Correct use of texts and images to better position yourself on the search engine
  • A blog for e-commerce both to improve your inbound marketing strategy and to position yourself more easily on certain queries
  • Create a link building campaign to improve your positioning and strengthen your brand authority

Mistake 10 E-commerce: Not working on the brand identity of e-commerce

Finally, among the latest mistakes that can influence the failure of e-commerce is a lack of strategy for structuring a correct Brand Identity.

The identity of a brand and its awareness in the market is as important as any other digital marketing strategy, which is the SEO or creating a good campaign of advertising or social media marketing.

The structuring of a corporate identity, the construction in users of the perception of the brand as professional, an expert in offering certain products or services, and what conveys the hard work overtime, allowing you to establish yourself in the sector and obtain accordingly loyal audience and ready to shop over time.

The brand identity should be the first step behind the opening of e-commerce but often this is not the case and only when you are already in the running do you choose to differentiate yourself and create a recognizable brand.

But how to create a strong and recognizable brand, which can stand out from the competition, thus increasing your penetration in the online market? Let’s see it!

Solution Error 10 E-commerce: Create a Brand Identity

Today there are many strategies that you can use to create a recognizable brand, among the main ones we find:

  • Creation of a logo that best identifies the brand
  • Creation of a visual design from e-commerce to social pages that fully reflects the brand (logo, choice of colors, naming, use of a specific tone of voice )
  • A blog for e-commerce, to be able to create the right aura of professionalism and competence in the sector around your brand
  • Editorial plan for social media carefully studied on the target audience and based on the identity you have decided to give to your brand
  • Creation of a personalized e-mail marketing strategy built on user personas, which always makes your brand recognizable
  • Digital PR for press releases, articles about the brand, and communications that reflect the company and the brand

In a nutshell, to be able to create the right brand identity you have to work carefully on the overall management of the brand in relation to the sector to which it belongs and to the corporate identity that you want to convey to your target users.

Conclusion

In conclusion, opening e-commerce is not easy and even before starting it should be studied very carefully how to avoid all those mistakes that can prevent it from taking off.

Today the competition is wider and wider and “ruthless” it is not possible to stay behind nor to try without a correct strategy at the base, otherwise the only result is the failure over time.

If you have already opened e-commerce, you must of course not be afraid if you have made one or more of these mistakes! One of the advantages offered by the online world is the possibility of making up for it while running.

Whatever mistakes you have made, you can solve them by adopting the right advice and strategies, or by relying on industry experts to help you shape the right project.

E-commerce is the future and somehow already the present of both B2B and B2C commerce, investing carefully and with the right strategies is, therefore, essential to get the right results from your brand and your online business.

 


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Tony Lanzap, a distinguished astrologer, possesses a profound understanding of celestial patterns. With years of experience, he has honed his skills in interpreting the cosmos to provide insightful guidance. Tony's unique approach blends traditional wisdom with modern insights, making him a sought-after expert in the realm of astrology. His commitment to helping individuals navigate life's journey has earned him acclaim and trust among those seeking cosmic clarity.