Today anyone can set up an online store: for less than $ 350 a year, a lot of time and much desire, you can have an online store.It’s not that the idea is bad, but I think like in every venture project, you must have realistic expectations and know that although the vision is promising, the road will be long and hard.
If you have already been scared by these 100 words, thank me, because I have saved you many months of work and a few worries. Now you can dedicate yourself to something else, like looking for the next ball.
If instead, after reading this brief introduction, you are more than convinced than ever that to build an online store is the solution for your future professional and/or need to reactivate the sales of your proximity trade Offline, we are together.
I will present 7 barriers that you will have to overcome before you can enjoy your online sales. Let’s go.
Suspect # 1: I do not have traditional offline activity (referring to a physical store)
It is much easier to launch an online store when you have a traditional business already mounted because, on the one hand, you are sure that the products you want to sell online are being sold for years in your store, you are every day in front of customers and you know Correctly express the benefits of the products or services you sell to your target.
And on the other hand, you have, even rudimentary, a client base that can allow you to start your online activity with the biggest asset you can have.
The biggest asset of a business is a list of customers and is not a list of “possible” customers, which is why one of the reasons that may explain that your store does not sell is that you are not setting up an online store, but you are Setting up a business and this, for the entrepreneur, requires walking a path that costs time.
Suspect # 2: I do not have an audience to sell online
There are a lot of people right now who are unemployed and who think that setting up an overnight business on the internet is the solution.
The initial investment is very low and the truth is that it can be an option, as long as one is prepared to do this and here the preparation is twofold: it is a preparation for business management and also a preparation to correctly understand the characteristics of A digital channel.
One of the important issues to keep in mind before trying to sell online is to reach the Viable Minimum Audience and this is the minimum number of people you need to have, for example behind a blog, before you consider launching products Which can meet the needs of this group that you have identified.
If you do not have an online or digital asset when launching your online store, somehow you are assuming that you are setting up a business from scratch and that here the price to be paid, I would quantify it at least in 24 months Of your time.
Suspect # 3: I have no prior experience in retail online sales
There are a lot of solutions and software packages that allow you to set up an online store but, deep down, this is only the visible part of the iceberg.
An online store business is a business that is based on inventory management and logistics and there is an important cost section here that directly impacts your cash budget.
Why do small businesses die?
Most small businesses often die from cash problems because stock management is poor; You will have to buy your products sooner and often, if you take too long to sell them, there is a circulating financial management here that is key to the success of your business.
A different deal
We are talking about online retail sales, which means that customer contact is essential and if you set up an online store you should also be clear that, normally, you will work in a very small structure, maybe you work alone and in Some cases from your own home.
All this raises doubts about your ability to carry out the fundamentals of the business and as you see, the fundamentals of the business are not just the online store.
Suspect # 4: My online store is poorly mounted
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The decision you are going to make about which platform or which online store system you are going to build is crucial:
If you sell products, the product tab, how these products are taught and the purchase process itself (which must be linear and with clear stages), is fundamental to your ability to convert visits to sales.
Your accommodation does not have to be a luxury accommodation but it does have to work properly.
Your store has to have a number of features so that Google can index it well.
All these elements that, as long as you choose the right platform, you will not have problems but many people are choosing solutions that are generating problems, which means that the technology in an online store is not a minor detail.
Suspect # 5: no one visits my store
Here, first, I think you have to have reasonable expectations: you can not expect sales in two weeks. If you already have a list of customers that you can contact to inform them that you have just launched an online store, in this case, you can expect sales in the very short term, but in digital channels, the positioning of your store will take at least a few months.
If you only bet on a store and no other tactics to generate traffic to the store, it will be difficult to close your first sales.
Contents that support your online store
Within the tactics that usually work very well it is important to have an email marketing activity that is fundamental in online sales in online stores, so you will have to launch a newsletter in which you will not only talk about your promotions and your products But you have to write content to support better positioning your products, which means that your store must go hand in hand with a blog to provide content to your store.
A little publicity would not hurt
If you have a budget, it is convenient to do an online advertising campaign, but the problem is that if it is a new thing for you, you will not know what are the correct keywords, those that not only generate visits but also generate sales.
As you see, having the online store is only part of the equation but it is like someone who spends all his money on buying a luxury car and then has no money to buy gasoline, which makes the car very little use.
Something similar happens to the online stores where the biggest investment of the entrepreneur is concentrated but then in the traffic generation tactics there is no solution given and I think it is a fundamental error.
Suspect # 6: I have visitors but nobody buys me
There are many aspects that can impact the fact that people do not end up making a purchase in your store and all are related to your ability to build trust and develop a relationship with your leads, with your pre-customers before closing a sale.
You should try to offer a secure purchase process, you should make a phone number visible, if there are better than better customer testimonials, if there are opinions and reviews about your products and services, also better than better, if you can offer a series of guarantees or Have a very clear product return policy very well.
Seduce and loyalty with special promotions
You must try to learn how to play with promotions to attract new customers with products “hook”, you must encourage people to repeat in your store with discounts of loyalty, you can play with incentive recommendations (the typical promotions of “bring a friend “).
As you see, the store itself will require that you are encouraging them; Sales do not fall from the sky as if they were a miracle.
Above all, it generates confidence
In the event that you try to sell unbranded products online, for example, I think of handicraft products, in this case, your ability to build a previous relationship with people through the blog explaining what you are doing, giving face, presenting yourself As a person is fundamental for the subsequent sales of your products.
Suspect # 7: My customers do not repeat purchases
In this case, you have to ask yourself if home delivery services are working well, if you have a customer service problem or if in some way, you should have advanced sales strategies such as a newsletter with monthly discounts, upselling strategies (When buying a product offer 10% or 15% plus a second product) or cross selling : if someone buys a product you should also be interested in other products and offer a strong discount for these products.
It costs 6 or 7 times more to attract a new customer than to retain a current customer, so you should dedicate time to your current customers to buy more in your store because it is your smartest strategy to increase your online sales in the short term