7 of the biggest mistakes online stores make

The times we live in provide endless opportunities for small business development, but sometimes the plethora of options can be confusing.

It all starts with an idea. But the road from realization to success is often thorny and narrow, and it's easy to fall into the abyss. If you're an online store owner, you may be well aware of how easy it sounds on paper, and how difficult it often turns out to be in reality.

Unless you manage to avoid some common mistakes that online stores make. Here are seven of the most important ones that could potentially become a trap for your business, and ideas on how to avoid them, whether you have an in-house team or work with a digital agency.

Lack of strategy at initial launch

Before it can become successful, your idea must evolve into the overall strategy for your online store. It includes everything from the nature of the product, design and communication, to promotional campaigns, traffic channels and new website features.

The strategy is your action plan. It's the path to targeted growth for your online store. If you're wondering how to shape it, your best bet is to start writing out small goals and, attached to them, the steps and actions you plan to take to achieve those goals.

If you are having difficulty, answer the following questions in writing:

• What do I suggest?
• To whom do I offer it?
• How am I better or different than my competitors?
• What are my business strengths?
• Why would potential customers choose my business?
• What are my potential customers? (Build an image of your perfect customer. How to do it, you can learn here.)
• Where can I find my leads?

Of course, these questions could be expanded on in much more detail, but we leave that task to your imagination. Once you've built the image of your perfect customer and answered these questions, it's time for strategy. It will "emerge" before your eyes when you answer the following questions:

• Which advertising channels should I use? - The answer is the same as the question, "Where do I find my leads?"
• How do I introduce my brand to consumers? How do I present it to them as if we were on a first date?
• What would make them visit my online store?
• What would make them order from my online?
• If users have viewed the site but not placed an order, how do I get their attention again?
• How do I turn my current customers into loyal ones?

Again, the questions here don't pretend to be exhaustive, but they will give you a clear direction on how to build your user funnel. If you do experience difficulty, don't hesitate to contact the experts at ADvantage Digital Agency to assist you with this task.

They compare themselves with their competitors

Often online store owners look too much into the success of their competitors. Without an in-depth analysis of the model and activities a competing online store invests in, you can't expect the same results.

To "look into someone else's bowl" is useful in this case in order to seek inspiration. The idea that will make you take the first step. From there on, your path should rely on a clear business model and strategy specific to the products you offer and the audience you will target.

Focus on one traffic source

SEO, social media, email campaigns, ads, offline activities - if you get a headache just thinking about them, you're not alone.

Many online store owners feel this way and make another big mistake - they put all their eggs in one basket. Or more accurately - they focus on one traffic channel. The truth is that each of the following represents a valuable source of traffic to your website.

Yes, we know how hard it is to think about so many things at once. Campaigns, channels, audiences. These are all pieces of the puzzle called the customer journey. From the moment a consumer is introduced to your product to the cherished moment of checkout, the strategy for the different channels must be adequately executed. It should bring the consumer closer to purchase without annoying them.

Different traffic channels are parts of a bigger picture, so a holistic strategy is needed to develop them.

They don't know their audience well

To reach the right customers, you first need to know who they are. How old they are, what they like, what they don't like, what problems they are looking for solutions to and how your online store can meet their needs. This is where building a buyer persona or an image of your ideal customer comes in. Someone with a name and a story to address with your ads.

A successful advertising campaign targets the right people with the right messages and creative so that your product hits them right in the heart like Cupid's arrows. From there, the road to checkout is short.

The good thing is that digital ads allow for much more detailed targeting than was possible with traditional advertising decades ago. Buyer persona, however, has always been and will continue to be an important part of a successful campaign. If you want to be heard and noticed, first figure out who you need to speak to and what he/she wants to hear.

Fail to retain customers

After the first purchase, the strategy moves to the retention stage. Often, acquiring new customers proves more expensive than retaining existing ones, so the two activities must be carried out in parallel. And satisfied customers bring with them opportunities for feedback and reviews, which are powerful weapons for your brand's growth.

How to retain your customers? With a good product, good UX, competitive price and last but not least - great service and a dash of personal touch.

Have no development plan

You've launched, you've survived the pressures of fierce competition for, say, a year - that's great! But now what? Now comes the time to grow your online store, but for that again it's important to have a plan.

It will be very helpful to create a roadmap that your entire team can work on. In it, you can describe in detail your goals, e.g. 100,000 orders, and the initiatives you plan to reach them, e.g. adding new products, new features, a loyalty program, etc. The roadmap can be divided by department so that each employee clearly knows what is expected of them and can mark their progress on certain tasks.

This detailed development plan can be created for a short time span or for a longer one. You can even make two - one that includes your goals for the foreseeable future (half to one year) and one that covers a longer period, say, 10 years.

They haven't thought about their business model, pricing and margins

Your product may be the greatest on the market, but if the price isn't competitive, you have a problem. This is also the most common mistake online store owners make.

The pricing of a product depends on many factors such as its uniqueness, the saturation of the relevant market and the target audience.

The lowest price in the market doesn't always sell more, but prices that are too high are likely to turn off some of your potential customers, so it's important to look at this part of your business model from different angles.

All of the decisions that need to be made around setting up and developing an online store can be overwhelming if you don't know the processes well or have a small team. A successful digital advertising campaign requires equal amounts of professional knowledge, skill and creativity, and it often suffers the most when we're under stress.

That's why we at ADvantage Digital Agency are always here to help you deal with the mistakes online stores often make.