Ecommerce has been poised to explode for a long time as more and more people, especially the demographic under the age of 55, are buying online. In fact, current research has their numbers at well over 70% preferring to shop on line rather than head to their brick and mortar retail locations. However, too many small businesses are finding themselves unable to compete because they are simply doing too many things wrong.
- The major challenge is that too many companies are really not taking ecommerce seriously enough. Either they are not offering goods online or they are putting up all of the inventory that they have. Too much product online is far too many choices and tends to confuse the customer and stretch your company’s valuable resources. Start small, work your SEO and drive traffic. See what is working and what is not and make your adjustments. Once you have a formula and a system in place, then you an expand outward with your offerings.
- Since 70% of all online shoppers abandon their shopping cart and leave a site without making a purchase, it seems shocking that so many small businesses have simply not installed some ease of navigation at their ecommerce site. Sites that have poor navigation, no step by step instructions to get to the conversions, and no calls to action are finding themselves on the outside looking in. Driving traffic with your SEO and other marketing is hard enough without alienating the traffic that actually makes it to your site.
- In the SEO train of thought, too many small businesses have not deployed any form of SEO strategy at all with regard to driving traffic to their ecommere site. Too many hold off on creating their marketing strategies until after the company and the website has already been officially launched. The internal structures for the site are now in place which makes the integration of your SEO much harder to get going.
- Finally, to have real success with your ecommerce venture, you must personalize every customer experience that you can and you must know who your customers are and where they are coming from. That means you must take the time to crunch your numbers and your data. Without your data, you will be flying blind. Being organized from the very beginning is the only way you will successfully be able to beat your rivals at the ecommerce game.
-Written by Kevin Sawyer
