What are the most common mistakes start-up decorators make when selling online?

Here are the top five mistakes I’ve noticed start-up decorators are making over and over again when they start to sell online…

• Failing to target a market niche in their local area. Some businesses think that all they need to do is put up an eCommerce site with a ton of products, and consumers will find it on their own and buy – this is false. You must drive traffic to your site by marketing to a specific group of people within proximity of your shop.
• Offering too many products. By far the most common mistake new decorators make is thinking they must offer hundreds of products online to make more sales. By trying to be a shopping mall and compete with Amazon, the aspiring decorator is just setting themselves up to spend huge amounts of time and effort describing, pricing, producing, and storing products they might not even sell. Not only that, consumers facing too many choices become overwhelmed and confused. In my opinion, the best sites are those that focus on just a handful of products.
• Not understanding that content is what consumers want. Too many sites launch products featuring the same thumbnail placeholder artwork provided by the blank product supplier. Consumers buy quality content, e.g. imagery designed by the decorator, art licensed from a local artist, or even a company logo used for a promotional item for a special event or fundraiser.
• Expecting sales without social media marketing. Like a hammer, an eCommerce site is a tool that needs to be worked in order to drive a nail. Studies have shown that consumers actually need to see online product seven to 20 times before they purchase. This means patience, and at least six months of consistent marketing, before you might see any effects.

The bottom line for decorators is that they must clearly define a target market, offer fewer products with greater content, and then consistently and patiently spend marketing dollars for several months in order to drive consistent traffic to their site.

-Victor Awtry, iPersonalyze