Common e-Commerce Mistakes

There are a couple of major mistakes entrepreneurs make when they launch an e-commerce website. First, as we discussed previously, they sometimes think that simply launching a site will bring success. Again, “in the brick-and-mortar retail world, this would be analogous to simply leasing a space and paying rent – and expecting to succeed based on those factors alone.”

The second mistake is to approach e-commerce too broadly. RevenFlo CEO Jason Broadwater explains: “They might have an idea to sell ladies’ accessories. But they want to sell EVERY accessory. They want to go “full enterprise,” but nobody has the resources to do that.  The thing is, that broad “everything” niche is already being well served by giants like QVC, Wal-Mart and Target. The small web entrepreneur simply can’t compete.”

The solution is to focus and specialize – to find a niche and to capitalize on it. So, instead of every accessory, an entrepreneur might find success in e-commerce by focusing strictly on handbags, scarves or earrings.

Broadwater continues: “I know of a little website that sells mugs. Thermal mugs. They come in different sizes, different colors and patterns. They do Christmas, birthdays, graduations, and so on. They personalize them with your monogram. And that’s IT – that’s the entire business. But it works – it is a specific, simple, easy-to-grasp concept that is also easy to order and pay for. It is a textbook example of a successful e-commerce model.”

Successful e-Commerce Products

As Broadwater maintains, products and services sold successfully on the web tend to be ones that capitalize on the convenience of the internet.  Successful products are also ones that are easy – and relatively inexpensive – to send by mail or UPS, if not directly downloadable.

So, if the personalized thermal mug niche is locked up, what else is popular now? Comscore, a “global leader in measuring the digital world and the preferred source of digital marketing intelligence,” claims that the following goods and services are the showing the most robust growth:

• Jewelry/Luxury Goods/Accessories,
• Sports/Outdoor, and
• Flowers/Gifts/Greetings sites.

More specifically, auditing firm Ernst & Young reports that the popular internet purchases include:

• Computer Related Products 40%,
• Books 20%,
• Travel 16%,
• Clothing 10%,
• Recorded Music 6%,
• Subscriptions 6%,
• Gifts 5%, and
• Investments 4%

Finding Your e-Commerce Niche

Whether you already own a retail establishment, or if you merely have the notion that you might like to, you must first find a niche when going online – a purpose for being there.

Determine an e-commerce niche market in a field you know and for which you have a passion. You are likely already at this point, with an idea that has been turning over in your mind for quite some time. The Passion factor is important, because it will help sustain you during the inevitable bumps in the road.

You may already have an idea related to your area of expertise or interest, but you wonder how to target a niche and determine the needs of the consumers in that market, and how to meet those needs more effectively than your e-commerce competitors – assuming you have any.

So, you do your homework, researching the market you have in mind. Draw up a profile of your intended e-commerce market, as detailed as possible. What will be the demand for your product or service?  Are there similar products that meet, in whole or in part, that demand? Is there room for another one? How will you do it better, cheaper, or more efficiently?

Finding Your e-Commerce Consumer

Your intended consumer may hold the clues to these answers. So, find out where they live – online, that is. Let’s return to ladies’ accessories for a moment. There are dozens – if not hundreds – of consumer, parenting and entertainment sites where women hang out in the forums, chatting about what they love or hate about the latest style of you name it.

So, pay attention. Which products or retailers do they love? Which do they hate? If they dislike something, what might change their minds?  Most importantly, how could YOU solve this problem?

Technology holds another clue. A simple keyword search, available from a number of common sources, can help you see the possibilities, based on what terms people are searching. For instance, the most rudimentary form-completing function of Google will give you a variety of “Purse” options, even before you finish typing the word, such as:

• Leather purses
• Hobo purses
• Vintage purses
• Handmade purses
• Gucci purses
• Summer purses

Now, we have no idea what Hobo purses are, but SOMEBODY is interested in them!

You Have Found Your e-Commerce Niche Market – Now What?

So, you have an idea. You have determined its value to your intended consumer. You know a bit about what they like, dislike, and wish they had more of.  You have a sense of the e-commerce competition and how you can do it better, whatever “it” is. Now what?

Now is when the nuts and bolts of e-commerce begin. If you haven’t sought professional guidance up to this point, it may now be the time. Now is when you must consider the mechanics of website design, programming, hosting, shopping carts, search engine marketing, and on and on.

And that is the topic of our next installment.

As a service to retailers considering a move into the world of e-commerce, RevenFlo would like to explore different facets of this business, including:

• Entering the business by way of focused, niche marketing;
• The types of e-commerce platforms required to successfully manage ordering, billing and inventory; and
• The potential benefits to your business, in terms of cost and efficiency.

RevenFlo invites you to visit this space again in the coming weeks to learn how an effective e-Commerce website – properly designed, launched, managed and marketed – can set the stage for dynamic business growth. In the meantime, if you have any questions about web design, web marketing or web strategy, please contact Web Marketing Services at RevenFlo!