While all e-commerce businesses will be inherently different, they also share a great many similarities. One example would be the common areas in which online stores struggle, which regardless of size, purpose or target audience tend to follow the very same lines.
Opportunities for success with e-commerce have never been greater, but there will always be obstacles to overcome and the occasional all-out roadblock.
Here’s a quick overview of the three most common areas in which thousands of e-commerce businesses struggle:
1 – Security
Over and above everything else, security must be your number-one concern. Not only will your customers have no faith in you if you’re not seen as safe, but having a target on your back is never a good idea.
Security isn’t usually ignored entirely, but it’s rarely given the kind of attention it deserves. There are various facets to bolstering safety and security, which include:
- Not simply assuming you will never face a cyber-attack and instead being proactive in the prevention thereof. Incredibly, more than 50% of small businesses expect to be targeted by cyber-criminals, yet less than 20% make all possible efforts to protect themselves.
- Take the opportunity to test the security of your site as frequently as possible, stepping in the shoes of the hacker and seeing how easy your business is to exploit.
- For a comprehensive overview of your site’s security, ask the pros to carry out a penetration test on your behalf.
- Let all customers know from the moment they arrive that safety is something you take very seriously – and what you do to ensure it.
2 – Customer Loyalty
Building loyalty and trust is difficult for one simple reason – there are already hundreds of brands and businesses your customers have trusted for some time. If you’re not a household name or a large-scale brand with a strong following, building loyalty will always prove difficult.
But not impossible, as by ensuring you inject the human element into everything you do, chances are it’ll pay off in the end.
- Let your customers see the people behind the brand, learn their stories and generally get to know who they are dealing with.
- Tell your brand’s story from your own voice and communicate your passion, honesty and precisely why it is they should trust you.
- Produce inspiring and engaging content that gives them a reason to build respect and a sense of loyalty.
- Interact and engage with your customers by way of social media, your business blog and so on.
- Above all else, break down the customer-business barrier with quality content and communication.
3 – Mobile Shopping
Last but not least, getting it right when it comes to offering the ideal mobile shopping experience isn’t easy – nothing of the sort. Along with presenting your site in a manner that’s appealing, you need to tick several more critically important boxes:
- Buying by way of mobile should be exceptionally easy, even with much smaller screens.
- The site must be optimised to work flawlessly with less powerful devices and limited-speed connections.
- Checkouts should be sped up and ideally offer one-click ordering.
- Under no circumstances force customers to sign up or open accounts, before being able to make purchases.
Pay close attention to these three key areas and you may find your e-commerce fortunes improving.
