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E-merchants often make trivial mistakes when it comes to setting up their sites. They may seem silly but cause a lot of damage to your eCommerce site! These mistakes may not be obvious and there is a high chance that you might have missed them!
Some of these mistakes are annoying pop ups, bad quality pictures, absence of product descriptions, bad search filters, forcing your customer to register, bad customer service, mobile optimized websites and hidden checkout costs are some of the most commonly made mistakes.
Let’s dive into the details and take a look at 8 most common mistakes made by most eCommerce entrepreneurs.
1) Inadequate Product Info.
Your customers need to know what you are selling and product descriptions are the best way to do it. Inadequate products descriptions are going to leave your visitors confused. This is the best way to give your competitors business. It may seem like something negligible but it definitely is not.
Solution#1 Have a detailed product description. Do not plagiarize content. Write a nice detailed essay describing the perks of your product. The customer will feel informed which in turn will increase their faith in your brand. Check this below example at Amazon.
2) Picture Quality
Bad pictures are a complete turn off to the customers. A bad visual will cause nothing but harm to your web store. Photographs are the first thing customers use to judge your product. Make sure to put up high definition, clear pictures which gives a real idea of the product, extremely nice pictures can also cause a problem. Your customer may think very highly of the product but on receiving the package they will face nothing but disappointment.
Solution#2 In order to get pictures, all you need is a DSLR and some basic editing skills. It’s obviously better to get the shoot done by a professional, but in case that is out of your budget a simple shoot at home will work wonders. Check image quality of a watch in above example.
3) Bad Customer Service
No one likes a bad customer service. And since you cannot really meet your client in person, you have to make sure to give them efficient customer assistance. eCommerce websites face a number of trivial mishaps on daily basis. The customer might have ordered a different size, the delivery maybe late, the co-ordination may be slightly messed and what not. Making mistakes is not a problem but not correcting them on time is definitely going to cause you your reputation.
Solution#3 Hire and train employees to be profession and polite to your customer, no one likes to be treated badly, especially if they are giving you their hard earned cash.
4) Confusing Checkout Process
Scrap all the unnecessary checkout points. This only makes the customer angry. Having a complicated checkout process can cause more damage than you can imagine. The best way to help them checkout is by keeping it simple. Place all the details on one page and guide them through the payment process.
Solution#4 Keep one-page checkout process. Your customers have already gone through a zillion pages of products, they do not want to be taxed with another zillion pages just to pay for what they like.
Recommended read: eCommerce Checkout Page Strategy
5) Unavailability on Mobile Sites
In today’s time, not having a mobile friendly site can be one of the biggest digital crimes. Customers are used surfing on their phones and buying products on the go, by not having a mobile site you are shooing away more customers than you think. You do not have to create an entire mobile site, just make sure it is optimized for use on smartphones.
Solution#5 Put in some extra effort and make sure your website is mobile friendly. A good eCommerce website developer will do this for you.
6) Force to Register
Forcing your customers may backfire anytime. Of course, it is important to let them know about your products, but forcing them to fill in a long list of unnecessary details is not the way to do it. The fact that they want to buy your product should be more than enough.
Solution#6 Offer them to purchase as a guest and once they purchase, offer them discount if they register.
7) Basic Search Bar
Online shopping means, going through thousands of products before finding the right one, and there is nothing more annoying to a customer than a bad search filter. Make sure you install an efficient search bar that helps your customers choose products easily.
Solution#7 Offer advance search that gives suggestions, as well as customers, can find from SKU, Brand or Name in particular category.
8) Hidden Check-out Costs
Hidden check out costs, inevitable create distrust in the minds of your consumer. This is one of the major reasons for shopping cart abandonment. Be clear with your costs and gain your customer’s trust!
Solution#8 Do not keep any hidden charges! Be transparent about the amount your customer has to shell out!
Now that you are aware of the most common mistakes made by eCommerce store. Now, go ahead and check if you have made any of them on your site! In case you see any, make sure you correct them as soon as possible. For more suggestion on eCommerce website design or development, contact M-Connect Media.
