Are you planning to set up an online store? If yes, then you must avoid the mistakes online stores make. Most of these mistakes are a result of ignorance; of a failure to recognize Internet as a different medium. These mistakes include:
1. Poor navigation:Websites should look professional and inspire confidence among customers. A website that is not easy to navigate is doing a great disservice to its customers. The customers will go away without finding the product that they had come to purchase. This happens especially on those websites that are cluttered. The aim should be to enable the customer to reach a product of his interest with the least number of clicks.
2. Low-key promotion:Many people who run online stores make the blunder of not advertising. They hope that people will find their website by accident. If you don't advertise, you are not likely to get customers. You don't have to spend much to advertise your website. Properly targeted keyword advertisements and e-newsletters are an inexpensive way of reaching customers.
3. Poor communication:Many online stores don't post their contact addresses prominently on their websites. This may give customers the impression that there is no way for them to get support and help when they need it. You must have a contact e-mail address on your website and an active customer service team.
4. Lack of freshness:You need to update your website regularly. This makes your website look fresh every time a customer returns to the site. You should also research the offers being made by your competitors, and accordingly modify your sales pitch.
5. Refusal to invest on SEO:You must spend some money on search engine optimization. This is the greatest way to get new visitors to your website. It has been estimated that 70 percent of online purchases start with a search at one of the popular search engines.
6. Absence of return policy:Make sure that you have a friendly return policy, and that it is hosted prominently on the site. This gives the customers the confidence that if they don't like the product they can return it.
7. Irritating registration policy:Don't force your customer to disclose more personal details than necessary. Some stores insist on obtaining information like monthly salary, number of children, job details etc. All these are irrelevant. Why should you expect the customer to disclose personal details that have no relevance to the aquire?