3 ecommerce mistakes that could hurt your business

Competing in an increasingly crowded ecommerce landscape comes with a variety of challenges. Every organization strives to capture the interest of consumers and deliver the best possible experience on a regular basis. However, leaders encounter numerous pitfalls along the way, potentially damaging relationships and slowing growth.

Taking the wrong approach to addressing customer service and logistics issues has damaging consequences. If decision-makers are aware of the mistakes that other companies have made in ecommerce strategy, they can take steps to protect their businesses and stay on track toward their goals. For ecommerce organizations, it's vital to ward off common errors with strategic partnerships and technology solutions.

1. Cutting corners in customer service

Ecommerce businesses rely on happy customers who continue to make regular purchases and spread positive word-of-mouth. Being prepared to connect with the public through multiple channels, including phone, chat, email and social media goes a long way toward building lasting relationships. With an agile, accommodating approach, an organization demonstrates it cares about helping people.

Convenience is an important part of the appeal of an ecommerce business, and that should extend to customer service offerings. It's vital to have representatives immediately available to answer questions and address problems. Working with a customer service partner is effective for putting customers in touch with experienced personnel at all hours of the day through multiple channels.

2. Poorly designed checkout processes

When consumers are interested in purchasing your organization's products, you want to make it as simple as possible for them to check out. Gather the necessary payment and shipping information by requiring a minimal number of steps. While collecting further data about consumers and adding them to an email list can be a major advantage in the long term, it's also wise to allow them to skip any lengthy registration process.

With a quality online payment processing solution, an ecommerce page efficiently and securely manages each purchase. Build a better overall experience for customers by incorporating an order management system that maintains current inventory and allocation information. That way you can provide updates on whether a product is available and warn them when supplies run low, spurring them to buy now, rather than later.

3. Offering limited shipping options

Fulfillment from major ecommerce retailers continues to get faster and more personalized. To keep up, organizations need to consider how they will get the right products to people's doors as quickly as possible. Offering an array of shipping options lets customers pick the time frame and price that's best for them.

However, when companies grow, leaders may find they simply do not have the resources to send out orders in a timely manner. Working with logistics experts on warehousing, packaging and shipping products allows an organization to get items out the door right away with more cost-effective fulfillment services.

SFG brings ecommerce businesses the customized solutions they need to overcome the most frequently made mistakes. Organizations gain access to warehouses, robust logistics, expert contact center staff and powerful order management and payment processing software. With the right support, ecommerce companies are equipped to achieve lasting success.