[Online Store Opening Guide] 95% of Online Store Startups Fail - 3 Steps to Help Your Online Store Succeed

[Online Store Opening Guide] 95% of Online Store Startups Fail - 3 Steps to Help Your Online Store Succeed

In recent years, opening an online store has become a trending entrepreneurial choice. Many aspiring entrepreneurs choose to open an online store as their first attempt. Unfortunately, entrepreneurship is not easy. According to rough estimates, 95% of online store startups fail, and only 5% achieve success. Below, we introduce the 3-step guide to successful online store success to help you become part of that successful 5%.

[Online Store Opening Guide] 3 Steps to Successful Entrepreneurship:

Step 1: Confirm Your Marketing Goals

– Focus on One Product or Service First to Build Your Brand

Many new store owners believe that selling more products and having a wider variety will attract more customers and generate more profits. This is a reasonable assumption, but the actual results are often disappointing.

Think about it - as a startup entrepreneur, your resources are definitely limited. The more products you need to promote, the wider your target customer base, and your marketing budget and other resources will inevitably be spread thinner, making it impossible to focus. In this situation, your product's appeal and promotion level will be lower than specialized stores, making it difficult to attract customers.

Therefore, at the early stage of entrepreneurship, it's better to focus on one product or service first. Focus allows you to make the most of your resources, including promotional staff and funding, to provide good products or services and leave a good impression on your target customers, making them remember you. Then gradually build your own brand and demonstrate your brand value, so you can stand out among the many online stores.

– Confirm Your Marketing Goals

In addition to providing good products, you also need to find the right customers. Most companies derive 80% of their profits from just 20% of their customers. Therefore, what you need to do is confirm your marketing goals, then precisely allocate your marketing resources to that 20% of target customers, providing them with better pre-sales and after-sales services, such as sending birthday discounts or free shipping, to increase customer loyalty and return rate.

Conversely, for customers who take up a lot of your time and resources but spend less, you need to learn to let go. You can build an ideal customer database, recording the characteristics of ideal customers. When you encounter new customers, you can easily determine how likely they are to become part of your 20% marketing target and adopt appropriate reception techniques.

Step 2: Interact with Customers

– Build Good Relationships with Target Customers

Many new store owners have encountered this problem: Why does my online store have plenty of traffic, but customers browsing the store don't buy any products? The fastest way to answer this question is to ask the customers directly, but very few people do this.

95% of bosses are only focused on making money themselves, without thinking that the online store is opened for customers, neglecting to communicate with customers. During the early stage of opening an online store, even if you're not making profits, you should deeply build good relationships with target customers.

You should communicate with customers at different stages, such as customers who have browsed the store but didn't purchase, or customers who haven't shopped for a while, to understand their actual purchasing experience and the problems they encounter. During the process, don't rush to sell - because the purpose of this conversation is to listen to the customer's opinions and thoughts. Only after building good relationships and improving problems should you explain how your products meet their needs and break through their psychological barriers to purchasing.

– Communication Techniques for Different Types of Customers

Different types of customers require different communication techniques and response methods, for example:

For the indecisive type, you should treat them friendly, making them feel respected and comfortable;

For the suspicious type, you should present facts to dispel their doubts, such as explaining the product's brand, efficacy, trademarks, certifications, after-sales service guarantees, etc.;

For the argumentative type, you should avoid arguing with them and honestly introduce products based on their needs;

For the decisive type, concisely and naturally explain the product to close the sale.

Step 3: Solve Problems Calmly and Actively Learn and Improve

– Analyze Calmly and Solve Problems

All entrepreneurs encounter problems, some big and some small - some big enough to make people consider giving up on their online store. At this time, you shouldn't give up easily. Instead, you must calmly analyze and find the fundamental cause of the problem, because a boss's real job is to solve problems.

For example, store owners often encounter the problem of not receiving orders - please don't immediately blame it on a sluggish market. Instead, you should investigate from the source, such as whether the store's traffic is normal and whether the contact with target customers is ongoing.

– Seek Help, Actively Learn and Improve

Entrepreneurship has risks and doesn't guarantee absolute success. If you're determined to become an entrepreneur, you need to learn to calculate the risks you can bear, invest boldly, and actively solve problems. However, everyone has their own limitations. It's impossible to understand all areas and solve all problems. At this time, you can seek help - for professional matters, consult professionals, which not only saves time but also allows you to focus on developing your own strengths and staying goal-oriented.

During the process of seeking help, you can also learn different areas of knowledge from professionals to help you improve.

How to Choose an Online Store Platform?

A good online store platform can help you promote products, highlight your product's advantages, and provide comprehensive tools, allowing you to rationally analyze customer data from data, discover marketing targets, and filter ideal customers. Additionally, the online store platform provides various templates for you to follow, and when you encounter problems, there are specialists you can consult.

There are different online store platforms available. You must be wondering: which platform is more suitable for me? Below is a brief introduction of several platforms for your reference.

– Comparison of Popular Hong Kong Online Store Platforms: ThinkShops / SHOPIFY / SHOPLINE / BOUTIR

Each platform for developing online business has its own advantages. The emerging online store platform ThinkShops stands out with the best value for money. It provides all the essential functions needed to open an online store, such as: unique webpage creation and design, product, order, event, and customer management, marketing and promotion, data analysis, support for multiple logistics and payment methods, and more.

Additionally, ThinkShops is safe and reliable. The platform uses SSL security certificates to protect transaction data and customer information, fully safeguarding customers and business secrets.

ThinkShops also offers an ticketing/booking platform feature for online sales events/classes, allowing customers to use expensive custom features at low cost and develop greater market space. Whether you're a small and medium-sized enterprise or a startup entrepreneur, ThinkShops can help you.

We hope the above 3-step guide to successful entrepreneurship and online store platform information can help you with opening your online store and become part of the successful 5% of entrepreneurs.