5 Common E-commerce Business Mistakes (and How to Fix Them)

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More and more people today are taking the plunge and starting their own business. While it’s great to have a generation full of entrepreneurs, the reality is that many of these people simply won’t be successful. That may sound harsh, but it’s true. Particularly in the ecommerce world, there are millions of websites that go unnoticed, making for brands that go under almost immediately.

If you are starting your own business, or already have one and are looking to improve, make sure you aren’t making one of these five mistakes. As a bonus tip, check out this guide to ecommerce platforms to make sure you’re making the best choice for your brand.



1. You don’t market your brand
When you are in the process of creating your products and building your brand you (hopefully) are incredibly excited and believe that your product will be a success. While it’s great to believe in your products, it takes a lot more than that to build up a customer base. Don’t make the common mistake of developing a great product and building a great website without also developing a marketing plan.

At the moment of writing this, Internet Live Stats is reporting there are over 1 billion websites out there. Without solid marketing efforts, the only people who will be viewing your website are your close friends and family.

Instead, devote some of your time to how you can best market your brand. For many of you, social media will be key to your success. However, don’t get bogged down with setting up pages on each and every channel. Focus on the 1 or 2 platforms that will best serve your brand. Consider what your marketing budget will be and do some research as to where to use that money.

For example, Pinterest has recently become a popular destination not just for brands to market their products, but to also sell their products. Pinterest doesn’t take a cut of the sales you make, making it a great option if you norway telemarketing data have a visual brand. Pinterest has integrated with Shopify (as well as 4 other ecommerce platforms) so be sure to consider this when setting up your social media, as it is still fairly new and is a great way to sell your products in a way that few other stores are.

buy on pinterest Common E-commerce Business Mistakes
Image Credit(s): Pinterest
2. You don’t do a good job showing off your products
If you are shooting your product images on your iPhone in your living room, you need to stop. While the cameras on smart phones are pretty impressive, they won’t cut it when it comes to your actual product photography. These images are the only reference material a customer has when deciding to purchase or not, so they need to be high quality.

Something else to keep in mind is the rise of video popularity for product descriptions. While you shouldn’t ditch all your images and product descriptions and replace them with a video, you should consider integrating video into your approach. This is particularly helpful if you sell something that isn’t your typical physical product (clothing, furniture, etc.). You may, for example, sell a new software tool that you want to show in action. Or, you have a new app to show off.

A unique way to combine both photo and video is through 360-degree photography. 360-degree video has become the latest hit on social media, so why not make that trend work in your store? Companies like Snap36 shoot high quality 360-degree and 3D images that you can use on your website.

Common E-commerce Business Mistakes
Example of 360-degree product capture stills. Image Credit(s): Snap36


Whatever you choose to do, make sure you do it well. Professional images, videos, and useful product descriptions will all make a huge difference when it comes to the success of your store.

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3. You make your customers jump through too many hoops
It’s great to have a system in place where users can make an account through your website, don’t get me wrong. Accounts are useful for tracking orders, storing payment info, and for logging points or rewards if you have a loyalty program. However, when someone is in the process of checking out, that is not the time to ask him or her to sign up and input a bunch on information.