So, you’ve set up your online store but no one’s buying? Every business owner’s biggest nightmare. Especially if you’re a Mom Inventor who lovingly crafted and created this product yourself.
So let’s delve into this subject and see if we can help you find some solutions.
Find 8 possible reasons your products and services are not selling in the contributed post below.
8 Reasons You’re Not Selling Online
The Internet presents an excellent opportunity for businesses all over the world to reach a monumental number of customers.
However, if you have established an e-store and you are not seeing the sales levels you had hoped for, you may be wondering where you are going wrong. Why aren’t your products selling online?
Read on to discover some of the reasons why this could be the case so that you can get to the bottom of the problem and rectify it as soon as possible.
1. Your website is difficult to use / slow to load
The reason why you are not making the sales you had hoped for could boil down to your website and the design of it. First of all, when someone lands on your website, they should know what to do without even having to think about. Navigation should be intuitive.
If users feel like they have to go searching, they will simply exit your website and fall straight into the arms of the competition. You also need to make sure that your website is not too slow to load.
The Internet is all about convenience in the current day and age. If you do not provide this, users are going to look elsewhere for a company that does. You can most definitely improve your online sales by improving your website and the experience that it provides. You can use the likes of Google’s PageSpeed Insights to test the speed of your website. If your site is too slow, removing big media files will make a huge difference.
2. The checkout process is too lengthy
This is one of the most common reasons for shopping cart abandonment. Assess your website data and find out where customers are leaving your website. If it is during the checkout process, then you need to discover where you are going wrong in this regard.
Most eCommerce store owners will quickly discover that they have made the checkout process too lengthy and time-consuming. No one wants to fill in a million different boxes in order to purchase a certain product, especially when they are using their mobile phone.
You need to make sure that you only ask customers for the necessary information when they are purchasing something. Not only this but allowing customers to check out as guests rather than forcing them to become a member of your company is advised too.
3. Your e-store is not responsive
There is no excuse for not having a responsive website in the current day and age. When you consider the dominance of mobile Internet usage, you see why this is quite simply a necessity.
You need to make sure that your website can be viewed and used to an optimal level irrespective of the device that is being used. Not only is this important in terms of making your website easy and enjoyable for prospective customers, but it also plays a critical role when it comes to your search engine ranking too.
4. You are targeting the wrong market
A lot of people will read this and think well, we’re not stupid enough to target the wrong set of people! We know who our customers are! Well, while this may be the case, a lot of people end up targeting the wrong market without realising it because their marketing strategy is off.
This is especially relevant to businesses that are using black hat and outdated SEO practices, as well as those that have left their marketing plan in the hands of an amateur or inexperienced business. Why is this so?
Well, old SEO techniques were all about quantity over quality. Keyword stuffing and link spamming were the norm, irrespective of the quality or relevance.
This led to companies ranking for keywords that were not relevant to their target consumer base. Yes, this can cause you to experience a lot of traffic, but these viewers will leave your website just as quickly as they entered it when they discover that it is not what they were expecting.
5. You’re using social media marketing ineffectively
The power of social media should not be underestimated in the current day and age. Nevertheless, there are so many business owners that have still failed to grasp how to use the likes of Twitter and Instagram effectively.
The first thing you need to do is make sure you do not spread yourself too thin. It is not about being on as many social media channels as possible – it is about being on the right ones.
You need to research the social media networks that your target consumer base is using, and you need to make sure that you are active on these platforms. In addition to this, you should not use social media as an opportunity to post an endless array of promotional tweets.
Social media enables consumers to get closer to brands than ever before. It is all about engagement and building loyal relationships, which will naturally lead to a greater number of sales.
Do not try to push your products down people’s throats. Moreover, make sure that you take the time to answer your customers’ queries and use competitions as a great way to get your name out there.
Furthermore, no matter the circumstances, you should never argue with people via the likes of Facebook and Twitter. This will result in your reputation tumbling.
6. Your website does not appear secure
Trust signals are vital for the modern-day online shopper. They need to know that your website is safe and secure.
They need to know that you prioritise data safety and that you make a distinct and extensive effort to secure all of the personal and payment data your business processes.
Start by converting to HTTPS:// by acquiring SSL certificates.
You should also make sure that you look for some sort of industry accreditation and security badges that will act as visual indicators in terms of trust.
7. You are not showing off your product in the best light
Another reason why you may be failing to sell your products online is that you are not showcasing them to best effect on your website.
Firstly, you need to make sure your photographs are professional and that they convey a true reflection of your product from a number of different angles.
For some items, product videos can be especially beneficial, enabling potential customers to see the product in action. In addition to this, you need to make sure you nail your product descriptions.
Of course, you will want to naturally incorporate keywords so you can rank well on the search engine result pages.
However, you also need to make sure that the description you put together is compelling and engaging, and that it contains all of the necessary information about the product features.
You can use bullet points so that viewers can read this in a format that is easy to digest.
8. Your shipping and payment options are too limited
Last but not least, as mentioned earlier, the Internet is all about convenience. Customers do not want to compromise, and they won’t, as there is always going to be a business that will cater to their every need. You must be one of these businesses.
Firstly, make sure you have a number of different payment options for people to choose from. Not providing PayPal as a payment option is a big mistake, as this is the preferred choice for many online shoppers today. You will miss out on a large number of potential customers if you do not give people the option to pay in a manner that suits them.
Its is also a good idea to have a number of different delivery options available, ranging from economy and saver deliveries, which take longer but are cheap or free, to next day delivery for those who are in a rush.
As you can see, there are many different reasons why you may be struggling to sell products online today.
Hopefully, you have been able to pinpoint the one or numerous ways in which you are going wrong when it comes to your online sales.
Take the advice that has been provided above and make the necessary improvements to your website and your online presence, and you should notice that improved sales levels naturally come with this. Good luck!
How are your online sales going?
Can you do with some of this advice or are your products and services already being snapped up by all and sundry?
PIease feel free to leave a comment or tip below.
