4 Issues Your E-Commerce Business Needs to Address
E-commerce has eliminated a lot of barriers for aspiring business owners. Whether you sell on Etsy, Amazon or your own self-hosted website, it's easier than ever to set up an online shop and market your goods to shoppers across the globe. But just because it's easy to get into the e-commerce game, doesn't mean it's easy to stay on top.
Based on recently released surveys and reports, here are a few common issues plaguing online retailers right now, and what to do about them. Pay-per-click advertisers lose money on fraudulent trafficDespite the popularity of the pay-per-click (PPC) online advertising model, it's not always cost-effective. Fraudulent clicks by people or bots don't translate into real sales, and thus cost PPC marketers billions of wasted dollars each year. Research by the University of Texas at Dallas found that the current process of identifying click fraud —which involves each party using its own separate technology — is not very transparent, and often causes conflict between the two parties. The researchers advised looking into independent third-party services to investigate and flag fraudulent clicks for both parties simultaneously to improve PPC results. Online shoppers abandon their carts for numerous tech-related reasonsOne of the biggest obstacles e-commerce businesses face is the dreaded abandoned shopping cart. Visual Website Optimizer (VWO) estimates that an average of 68 percent of online shoppers leave e-commerce sites without completing their intended purchases. Although a VWO report found that unexpected checkout costs was the most common reason for abandonment (56 percent), a variety of tech-related reasons also topped the list, including website navigation or loading issues, payment security concerns, and the overall length or difficulty of the checkout process. To recoup some of these abandoned purchases, VWO recommended removing barriers like checkout registration and complicated cart editing, and giving customers the ability to save their carts for later. Shoppers avoid merchants that have had security breachesData breaches are becoming all too common in the modern world of retail, and it's having a negative effect on customer perception of hacked merchants. A report by Interactions found that 40 percent of shoppers avoid retailers that have been affected by security breaches. Additionally, some shoppers will steer clear of online shopping (34 percent) or shopping on mobile devices (50 percent) due to fear of a breach. According to the report, nearly half of all shoppers believe retailers could avoid breaches by investing in better technologies, such as EMV chip card readers. U.S. retailers are missing out on global expansion opportunitiesA key advantage of e-commerce over brick-and-mortar retail is the ability to easily expand your business's geographical borders. But according to a PayPal report, U.S.-based small businesses could be doing a lot more to reach global online shoppers. In particular, American e-commerce merchants aren't tailoring the shopping experience to local customers outside their home country: Only 19 percent translate their website copy from English, and less than half list foreign currency options on their sites. Global customers are much more likely to make purchases when product descriptions and prices are available in their native language/currency, PayPal found. For more help making your small online business a success, check out our guide to overcoming some big e-commerce challenges. POWERED BY:- http://www.businessnewsdaily.com |
Rebranding? 5 Essential Marketing Tips to Ensure SuccessThe decision to rebrand your company can have a profound effect on your existing customer base. Newer startups that make their pivot early on likely don't have much of a "legacy" to hold on to, but for an established company with a strong following, changing a key element of your brand may come as a shock to your core audience.
Therefore, it's critical to consider the way your past and current customers will react to such a shift when changing something as big as your product offerings, logo or name. Failure to do so could lead to a drop in your brand's recognition, reputation and trust among the people who know and love your company. "One of the challenges [of rebranding] is maintaining value," said Tom Kanewske, senior director of business development at vehicle software company Derive Systems. "[It may] leave customers feeling as if their loyalty has been trampled on." Whether your rebranding is already underway or you're still in the planning stages, you'll need to have a solid marketing strategy to address this challenge. Marketing experts shared some tips for announcing and promoting your brand transition without alienating your loyal customer base. [See Related Story: Time to Rebrand? Follow These 3 Steps] Keep customers in the loopOngoing dialogue and engagement are the most important factors in inspiring customers and protecting your brand's reputation during a rebrand, said Steve Rockman, chief marketing officer of TruFusion fitness franchise. Your customer base should be informed of the changes and, if possible, be included in the process, he said. "It's always helpful to ask for feedback when making such a big change to your company's brand," Rockman said. "Keep [customers] involved." Jennifer Jackson, vice president of development at Hungry Howie's pizza franchise, added that customers also deserve to know why your rebranding is important. "It might be valuable to send out a press release making note of the difference and whythe change is significant to the growth and revitalization of the brand," Jackson said. "This could also be a fun opportunity to promote the branding by offering new company 'swag' to your customers." Highlight the benefits of the rebranding effortOnce you've informed your customers that you'll be rebranding and why it's happening, you'll want to let them know why it's a good thing. If you're rebranding due to an acquisition or merger, your small company may need to do a little bit of work to assure its customers (and employees) that they won't lose out on what they love about your existing brand, said Kim Connors, director of strategy at Blue Fountain Media. Connors noted that you should downplay any potential risks of the rebrand and highlight the potential benefits. For instance, in the case of an acquisition by a larger corporation, existing customers may be concerned about losing personalized attention, and employees may worry about losing their jobs. Connors advised positioning the new parent company as an "umbrella company," with the benefits of an expanded national network, multiplied resources and agility, and an HR program of a well-established organization. "Leverage the relationships, trust and legacy of open communication previously built, to share the company's long-term vision and align the market with its branding direction," Kanewske added. Make your messaging consistentA rebranding effort often accompanies a period of change, growth and evolution within your business. Your marketing decisions from this point on should accurately represent your new vision for the company, Jackson said. "You want to make sure everyone is on the same page, so it's imperative you stay on-message," she added. Connors noted that once the company has rebranded, you'll want to make sure that your entire brand presence — online and offline — is aligned. "There is a lot involved in rebranding, including naming, logo, color/imagery guidelines, URLs, social channels, print collateral and much more," Connors said. "Consistency is key." Be authenticAlthough you may be excited about marketing your new brand identity, Kanewske noted that anything you do should remain true to your core values, to stay connected to your existing stakeholders. Similarly, Rockman said that companies that are rebranding must think about the entire customer experience, and how customers currently perceive the brand. "You must choose a design that represents that customer experience to the fullest," Rockman said. "Be mindful of what you hope the brand will represent about your business." Pamela Webber, chief marketing officer of 99designs, an online graphic design marketplace, said rebranding is all about balancing who you were and who you want to be. You're taking a step forward, but you don't want to go so far that your new brand doesn't resonate with the people who made you who you are today, she said. "You don't want to lose sight of that," Webber said. "Embrace the newness and evolution that comes with a new type of customer base or product, [but also] keep your core fundamentals. Make sure that whatever you do as part of your rebrand is authentic to you, your employees and your customers." Make sure your team is on boardAlthough it's very important to focus on external stakeholders while you're rebranding, don't lose sight of the internal team that's helping to make it happen. A successful rebranding requires that everyone connected to your company, including your employees, be on board with the effort. Webber reminded business leaders that they're not rebranding the company alone. It may not be possible to incorporate everyone's feedback and ideas, but you should give your employees the chance to be heard, she said. "People do have different beliefs about the direction of [your] business," Webber said. "Everyone has an opinion, [and may] be very emotionally invested in the rebrand." Finally, make sure to get your entire team on board by creating and presenting a clear plan for the rebranding effort. "Be clear on what you're trying to achieve and what a successful outcome would look like," Webber said. |
5 Ways the Stand Up India Scheme Could Benefit Aspiring Women and SC/ST Entrepreneurs
The Stand Up India scheme, launched on April 5, ensures that women and SC/ST entrepreneurs have a fair chance at setting up their own businesses. The scheme facilitates loans from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 1 crore for these sectors of the population.
In January 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the Start-Up India scheme, which gave new entrepreneurs a chance at making it big. Under the scheme, entrepreneurs could get loans from banks to kick start their businesses. Now, a new scheme, launching on April 5, will shift the focus to SC/ST and women entrepreneurs, to promote inclusivity. The Stand Up India scheme provides loans to entrepreneurs of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes, as well as women. The loans range from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 1 crore. According to the government, these are sectors of the population that are often underprivileged or under-served. Both these sectors are upcoming, and fast. The scheme helps them out by facilitating loans for non-farm sector entrepreneurship. Loans for Women Entrepreneurs Women entrepreneurs in India find it difficult to get funding for their startups. Global Entrepreneurship and Development Institute (GEDI) published a global ranking that looked at how female entrepreneurs fare in the world. India was placed in the last five among the 30 countries that were analysed. It stated that about 73% women entrepreneurs failed to get funding from Venture Capitalists (VC). A study based in Karnataka found that about 90% women had only their own funding to rely on, while 68% found it tougher to get bank loans. All that is set to change once the Stand Up India scheme comes into action. Refinancing OptionsThe scheme helps not just those who are in the initial stages of their entrepreneurial plans, but also those who have already set up their company but still fall under the startup category. Under the scheme, the government has opened refinancing options through Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), at an initial amount of Rs 10,000 crore. Along with that, a corpus (principal amount) of Rs 5000 crore would be created, to ensure credit guarantee through the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company. Along with the composite loan, they will also be provided with a debit card. Support and KnowledgeA research done by YourStory in 2014 indicates that about 54% women have no idea what a startup should work like or how to work on problem solving. About 58% women need to be educated about entrepreneurial resources and techniques. However, provisions under the scheme also includes support for both women and SC/ST borrowers, all the way from pre-loan stage to operating stage. Besides familiarising them with bank guidelines and terminology, they will also know about registering online and how to use e-markets, and entrepreneurial practices. To bring together all the information related to the scheme, the government will be setting up a website for Stand Up India. |