Paid traffic funnel
Paid traffic funnel
Paid traffic funnel

Tall Tales of Ecommerce: What NOT to Do if You Want to Increase Ecommerce Sales

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You ever ask the question. What NOT to Do if You Want to Increase Ecommerce Sales?

E-commerce is a vast field to get into – and it’s open for everyone who is interested in using it to be successful.

There’s a big community of e-commerce professionals with lots of experience in the field you can request advice or some guidance when starting to build your virtual store.

However, it is seen in multiple discussions among e-commerce business owners that a few still live by the basic “e-commerce myths” which were considered the steps you were supposed to follow to have a successful business. Today, the market is different, and people can find a wide variety of e.commerces, so you need to make your store visible, you need to work hard to settle your position.

One of the ideas was that by Investing only $5 you could see “ your money grow! ” or even “Just hook up with a supplier from China, make a website, and you’ll never have to work another day in your life!”

These concepts became obsolete due to e-commerce changing quite fast so what did work a year ago won’t work this year. Businesses vary by nature; there is no miracle recipe for success.

If you wish to build a steady business online, achieve more sales, and become profitable, you can find some exciting tips for you to navigate the ever-changing realm of e-commerce. Listed below are a few e-commerce myths and how to avoid them to succeed in the e-commerce world.

Tall Tale 1: Once your store opens, buyers will flock to your business

Um, for sure this won’t happen. The web is enormous, and if you want to attract a customer, there’s only one way to do this: make yourself noticeable.

That’s why it’s imperative to take advantage of the following platforms and sites as soon as you open your e-commerce store:

  • A Facebook/ Instagram account – you can also create a community group for extra exposure,
  • Existence on some other specialized social networking platform (i.e., Reddit, Youtube, Kaboodle, etc.)
  • Obtain an on-site SEO – potential customers should have the ability to find your store information by your location, pictures of products, the names of your products, and the prices of products.
  • A weblog with content
  • Listing on map sites, such as Google Maps, if you have a physical store

The competition for consumers’ dollars comes from all around the globe, so you have to build your unique brand presence to stand out.

Low quality or high quality

Tall Tale 2: I can sell items, whether they are high or low quality

“Which niche should I begin with? ” is my favorite question I hear from novice entrepreneurs.

My take on this is the following: Start by selling merchandise that you like, and you have some expertise in. It baffles me when salespeople believe they can sell something successfully without having any knowledge regarding what they sell.

For example, men selling reusable hygienic feminine products, or a young, childless entrepreneur in college selling clothing for infants.

I hate to break to you, but it’s required that you have a certain degree of expertise in what you’re offering, even if you don’t produce the product. Otherwise, how will your marketing become incredibly successful?

Here’s another thing to think about: There’s very little to gain from cheap buyers, plus low-quality items aren’t delightful to sell.

Why don't you offer a product that you find exciting? This can attract a fan-following, and you can draw customers that have loyalty beyond reason. You can provide a unique and exciting piece of merchandise that a large number of people are into.

There is no shortage of individuals concerned about the quality of an item and desire to spend their cash on items with clear value and exciting history.

If you have the knowledge and care deeply about your merchandise, it will be much easier for you to sell. Your customers will see that you are dedicated to the product and what you sell. This can generate success and sustainability in your business ventures.

My suggestion is to pursue niche goods in high demand. Wherever demand is founded on quality and not price, you may build an extensive and profitable relationship with your target audience. Margins are usually better, and you also won’t have to participate in the discounting madness.

facebook ads

Tall Tale 3: You'll gain success - all it will cost five dollars a day on Facebook!

This one makes me crazy. All of a sudden, a $5 Facebook miracle can save someone that isn’t getting any bites? Yeah, right.

Here are some statistics you need to consider:

  • Each Facebook click costs an average of one dollar and seventy-two cents ($1.72).
  • For apparel, the average cost is forty-five cents ($0.45).
  • For beauty, the average cost is one dollar and eighty-one cents ($1.81).

Facebook has already 5 million businesses currently advertising on their platform. Do you think $5 is going to get you up there with the big boys of e-commerce?

The issue here is that it’s not just a price feud between you and direct competitors to land your target consumer base.

On the contrary, it’s a range of e-commerce businesses that want to land the sale of the average female in her mid-twenties that “has interests in fad diets, extreme sports and dance fitness.” All of these businesses essentially have millions of products for just this mold of a person!

If this tall tale were true, then our strategic marketing needs would be put to rest throughout the e-commerce world. However, that’s ridiculous – there are far more approaches to attract your customer base.

You can even gain store traffic using free services, such as the following:

  •    Marketing your store/product through emails
  •    Contributing to business publications and community sites
  •    Placing your products on review sites, along with an article
  •    Business sites along with publications

After this, now what? Evaluate specific budgets and see which one is optimal for you on your platform. Then try other paid and unpaid methods and apply the techniques needed until you finally get that desired customer traffic. And remember that in e-commerce longevity is the name of the game – it’s perfectly normal to work harder at the beginning of your consumer attracting journey to find just the right customers.

Tall Tale 4:  click on the ad, come to the site and buy.

This is not exactly the case. It is known that only a 4% of the people who visit your site will buy as soon as they enter, especially if they have not heard your story before. The majority just visit the website, have a look at the content and then leave.

This is the main reason why you should design conversion funnels to guide them and help them to purchase sooner. They would show off your best things, reviews and content to make people know your work, a brand better, to get to trust you and later on, remember you when they need your service.

You can find three different conversion funnels that you can bear in mind to keep your visitors engaged with your brand

Paid traffic funnel

  • Paid traffic funnel

Inbound Marketing funnel

  • Inbound Marketing Funnel

Organic social media funnel

  • Organic social media funnel

Do not leave things by change, lead and help your visitors to explore and get to know your products and ideas. You might invest a lot of money on ads, but if people do not trust you, you might never get proper sales after all.

Tall Tale 5. A sale is a sale.

At the very beginning, every dollar that comes to you feels like you are making significant progress but soon, this situation changes and you will start thinking about profitability, and so the number of products you are selling will matter.

You need to consider that you will have to spend on cost of goods, acquisition costs, shipping and handling costs, the rate of returns, among many other things.

Since each additional item added to the order earns additional margin as well, it’s much more profitable to increase average order value (AOV) than to work for separate orders.

That is why not all the sales are equal. You should find different forms to optimize your returns to make your efforts valuable.

Sales imporvement

Tall Tale 6. Just making the sale.

If you are planning to make a living out of this business, then you should care about repeat sales and customer retention.

I would be better to get several orders from existing customers and even more often. If so you will save on marketing costs and will earn trust and positive reviews. Your brand might become stable, and you will be able to fulfill customers´needs.

Try focusing on your client’s retention, build stable and reliable relationships with those who appreciate your products and stay firm to develop your brand.

Tall Tale 7. Payment is all that matters.

It might be said that it is easier not to pay attention to the person behind the purchase. However, you should know them if you want to sell more and again to these customers.

When you know people you can find them quicker solutions to their problems, help them better and efficiently.  It would be essential to start with a few buyer personas in mind as guidance for your marketing.

After a while, you should be monitoring how the different customer cohorts perform and adjust your sales strategy from there.

Tip: avoid trying to sell your products to everyone. Instead, make an effort to find people who care about your products and understand them.

If you loved this post, it is a must that you check out: Online Shopping Vs. Offline Shopping. Trends and Future Development Predictions

Conclusion

At Bright Vessel, we have the timeless professional experience and knowledge to aid your e-commerce business, helping to create a highly successful and thriving content plan. Visit us at Bright Vessel today, and let us lead you to a content marketing strategy that will maximize your bottom line!

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