The Secret of Success: A Few Rules and Steel Will for a Profitable Online Store

In addition to the fact that the coronavirus pandemic has pushed us a decade ahead with forced digitalization, it has fundamentally changed our patterns of work, learning, and even shopping. Online sales have flourished. Even the most stubborn brands have succumbed to competitive pressure and stepped into the previously unknown world of e-commerce, and experts in creating and maintaining these carefully designed online stores had to roll up their sleeves to get all the work done.

Its legacy has not disappeared – consumers continue to scroll endlessly in search of their favorite clothes, gadgets, and food, becoming increasingly spoiled over time. However, talking to experts, to satisfy even the most demanding customer, one must follow a few simple rules, but also have the steel will for the online store to become profitable. Quality service and a good customer experience open all doors for customers (and their wallets), but why is it sometimes difficult for merchants to adhere to this?

Customers Want Attention

Sometimes they cannot see the forest for the trees, so it is not surprising that they often fall for seemingly easy tests of consumer loyalty, such as a non-functional online store, which then, of course, affects overall revenue. However, the biggest mistake is expecting that with the creation of a new online store, all work is done and that sales will start on their own, emphasizes Davor Španić, CEO of the company for the development and implementation of online stores Shipshape.

A new web-store is just the beginning, adds Španić, and for it to generate revenue, or for customers to even come to it and make a purchase, it is necessary to engage in digital marketing. This is especially agreed upon by Marcel Majsan, president of the eCommerce Association of Croatia, because ‘it doesn’t matter how good your webshop is if no one knows about it.’ Many do not work enough on acquiring new customers, investing too little or incorrectly in marketing, believes Ivica Kruhek, director of the company Marker, specialized in creating web-stores.

After the visibility and branding problem, the next issue, experts agree, is that too little attention is paid to building trust with existing and new customers. Positive reviews and trust marks are very important, says Majsan, and as research results from the eCommerce Association of Croatia have shown, negative reviews are the most common reason customers abandon their purchases.

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Marcel Majsan, predsjednik Udruge eCommerce Hrvatska

foto Ratko Mavar

—– The most common mistake of merchants is that they pay too little attention to building trust and differentiating themselves from competitors who are just two clicks away. Trust is easiest to gain by collecting and displaying customer reviews and showing trust marks, while differentiation is something that every webshop must define for itself. Some offer free returns, others extend the return period to thirty days or more, some have lower prices, and others offer extended warranties. There are many ways to present benefits, but they must certainly be clearly highlighted – explains Majsan.

Slippery Price Terrain

The search for a better price and inadequate or hidden information about delivery and returns are the next reasons for abandoning purchases.

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Ivica Kruhek, direktor tvrtke Marker

—– Even if you bring enough potential customers to the webshop, if that webshop is non-functional and does not convert them into buyers, you have a problem and are missing out on revenue. If you also do not perform packaging, delivery, complaints, and communication with customers adequately, customers will have an overall bad shopping experience in your web-store, and with the huge competition you have, the chances of them returning or recommending your online store to others are slim – believes Kruhek.

So what is the secret of a good and successful online store? There is a lot of work to make customers feel comfortable and safe in virtual shopping, and to achieve that they leave their card number at the end of that experience, it is worth considering three things:

– An interesting and competitive offer in the webshop, a good customer experience during the purchase, i.e., ease of use of the webshop, payment and delivery options, and trust in the webshop and security in the return of goods and funds – suggests Španić.

After Purchase

This is supported by the results of research from the eCommerce Association, which reveal that the most important thing for customers is a positive experience during their first purchase. Interestingly, the experience is even more important to them than the products they buy. Therefore, if the desired product does not meet expectations upon arrival at the customer’s address, that positive feeling during the purchase compensates for the dissatisfaction. On the other hand, free delivery is the main factor for purchase for even a quarter of customers.

– A good customer experience does not only mean a well-set webshop but also quality support after the purchase, which includes the experience with delivery or picking up goods, as well as any questions and returns after the purchase. Transparent communication, as well as quality delivery, preferably with free returns in case of dissatisfaction, play a significant role in that process – believes Majsan.

In case there is also a physical store alongside the online one, Majsan advises applying an omnichannel approach, ‘because customers are not interested in your logistical problems.’ Likewise, Kruhek emphasizes that in the omnichannel understanding of today’s customer and their needs and preferences, ‘there is no offline and online sales and communication, but only one common, digital-sales-communication process.’

– According to today’s criteria, a successful web-store can become one where the online channel is placed at a high priority and importance within the organization. If a company defines online sales as strategically important for its business and existence, such a web-store has a chance to achieve good results – explains Kruhek, concluding that a successful web-store is one that is just one part of a unique sales process and one that not only follows but also sets trends.

Comparisons with Those Abroad

– You must understand that your web-store is compared by customers with foreign web-stores that have millions, and in some cases billions, invested in them. Customer expectations in the context of a quality web-store, simplicity, and intuitiveness are extremely high. Also, customers do not have much patience for your mistakes. If things on the web-store do not work or work in an unexpected way, customers will go where it is easier and simpler for them. If returns and complaints with you are complicated, while with your foreign competitors they are intuitive in a few clicks with a pickup option, it is clear what customers will choose – emphasizes Kruhek, citing Marker’s client BigBang.si as an example of a successful online store, whose web-store has been declared the best in the Adriatic region.

Majsan’s eCommerce Association of Croatia has been conducting the ‘eCommAwards’ competition for three years, where Mobis.hr is one of the most awarded online stores among more than 500 members of the Association.

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In addition to all the aforementioned, Majsan adds that a successful web-store should also have quality support and delivery, because ‘customers will most often blame the merchant in case of any problems during the delivery of goods.’ Every such mistake will quickly be reflected in reviews, warns Majsan, and those reviews are becoming an increasingly important factor in making purchasing decisions on an online store.

Although success is hard to define, Španić believes that any web-store that adapts its offer and communication, but also internally dedicates a person or team to deal with online sales and digital marketing can achieve it.

Do Not Give Up

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—– On the other hand, it happens that companies invest in a new webshop, but do not adapt internal processes and marketing activities, so results are lacking. Just as successful examples did not happen overnight, those less successful should not give up either, as everything mentioned can be corrected and good results can be achieved – emphasizes Španić, whose company Shipshape provides tools for automating email marketing, dynamic pricing, and loyalty programs.

However, he notes that daily customer engagement is also necessary for a successful web-store, and after creating a new web-store, the largest part of the work is precisely on the shoulders of its owner. Too many companies view the introduction of online sales as opening another store and fail to dig deeper into the existing organization and processes, agrees Kruhek.

– If you want to do well online, you must change your way of thinking, you must gather a new team of people who have the competencies needed to set up and manage online sales correctly – concludes Kruhek.

Most Common Mistakes When Starting an E-commerce

• expectation that with the creation of a new online store all work is done and that sales will start on their own
• too little and incorrectly invested in marketing
• too little attention is paid to building trust with existing and new customers and positive reviews are neglected
• insufficient differentiation from competitors who are just two clicks away
• inadequate packaging, delivery, complaints, and communication service with customers