E-commerce tips for beginners (wholesale)

If you are looking to start an e-commerce business or make changes to an existing one, it's important not to make the following common mistakes. We can help you increase sales, decrease cart abandonment and provide a great experience for your target customers.

Make your purpose clear

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When selling online it is important to demonstrate clearly that you are a wholesaler rather than a retailer. If you are attracting the wrong customers and delivering the wrong message then you are wasting resources and losing valuable customers. Even if you sell B2C/retail as well you need to make it clear instantly that you also sell wholesale so customers understand your business straight away. You can do this by choosing the correct language in your descriptions and overall copy and making the wholesale section password-protected for approved wholesale accounts only.

Make the most of product pages

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Product pages are just as important as home pages so invest in a good copy and clear images to portray your products well. Ensure the pictures are high quality as it looks a lot more professional and attractive. The description also needs to be informative including all details so customers are well informed. It's important to make your page/website easy to navigate, customers need to be able to find your products without any hassle or they may abandon the search if it is confusing and difficult.

Do your research

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It's important to know your product and know your audience. Research the market, look at what is already available and understand your customers' wants and needs instead of guessing. Look into what your competitors are doing and see how you can offer a better service/ product than them. Researching competitors will also give you an indicator on what prices you should be charging your customers, you should not guess what prices to set as if you are wrong your target customers will not buy off you. You need to research your audience and clearly understand who you should be targeting, if you are aiming your products to the wrong group, no matter how good your product or price is, if it isn't something they need or are interested in, they won't buy it.

Reviews

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Collecting and showcasing reviews helps other potential customers see your good work and will encourage them to work with you. B2B companies have been slower to start using this method as it has been mostly used by B2C companies. This was down to some B2B companies having fewer customers as they sell large quantities to a few customers unlike B2C, and they see reviews as less important as they are dealing with other companies, not individuals. Reviews are a great way to generate business and improve credibility/ reputation and every business should use them. Ask your current customers for a testimonial on your service and products.

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