8 Ways Wholesale Ecommerce Websites Fail and How to Optimize for Success

eCommerce has undoubtedly taken over the business world. Consequently, it would be unwise for any business to ignore the possibilities that are available online today. B2B (Business-to-Business) businesses need eCommerce to grow their customer base and scale their operations. 

Have you ever wondered why although many B2B eCommerce brands have websites today, their overall success is below average?

When businesses search for a wholesaler online, they look for a different set of information than the average consumer. 

A report on global retail eCommerce sales shows that eCommerce sales amounted to 4.28 trillion US dollars in 2020. The report also projects a growth of e-retail revenues to 5.4 trillion US dollars by 2022. The above statistics undeniably confirm that shopping is among the most popular online activities. Despite such a high number of people relying on the internet to make purchasing decisions, many wholesale eCommerce sites end up failing.

Here are eight reasons why that happens and how you can improve your site to maximize profit.  

Bad Website Design

When people are shopping and looking for information online, they’re searching for convenience.  Imagine clicking on a website only to find it unresponsive. That’s not only an inconvenience but a huge turn-off. As you design your website, keep in mind that you have only 50 milliseconds to make a first impression. Those first 50 milliseconds are all it takes for customers to decide whether or not they love your site. 

Your first impression matters where your website is concerned. At least 57% of website users will not recommend a business with a poorly designed website to friends and family.  That could mean potentially losing future business deals and lower brand appreciation from your customers.  The colors, fonts, and pictures you choose all play a critical role in your customers’ interaction with your website. Every aspect of your site is vital to the bottom line. 

How to Optimize

You can guarantee a good first impression by engaging the services of a qualified website designer. Alternatively, you can hire an agency and dictate what you would like to appear on your site. 

It’s also of paramount importance that your website is responsive and loads quickly. A faster-loading website ensures that visitors do not exit before they ever see your content.

Expert Tip: When designing your website, work with creative graphic designers and use clear photography and videography throughout. 

You Are Not Marketing Your Website

A website is of no use if no one ever sees it. 

Marketing is the backbone of the success of your eCommerce website. Simply sitting and expecting clients to discover your business is both a great illusion and a sure way to fail.

Marketing draws people to your website and allows them to get in touch with you. 

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Ensure that your site acts as the final destination for all your other online marketing efforts. Failing to tell people will result in a site that barely gets any traffic and has zero conversion rate. 

Part of marketing is creating a community surrounding your industry. Whether you choose LinkedIn or Tiktok to bring like-minded people together, you must send everyone to your website and into your sales pipeline. 

How to Fix It 

Start by coming up with a digital marketing plan to draw more people to your site. Social media sites like LinkedIn and Facebook can be a great source of new business. 

Creating profiles and regularly posting new content with links to your site will make it easier for people to find you. 

Take advantage of email marketing to keep people informed through newsletters, and always direct them back to your site for more information. As your audience grows, so will your revenue. 

Your Site Is Not Showing up in Search Results

Failing to optimize your website for search engines is a sure way to fail. 

Millions of people log on to the internet to use search engines. Failure to optimize on this denies you numerous conversion opportunities.

When your website is visible on search results, you’re more likely to attract visitors looking precisely for the services and products you offer. 

“Pivofy delivered a product with features that improved visibility to capture an increased amount of traffic and establish a sales record...”
Brain Regan, president, Hard Core Waterfowl 

What’s more, you can also easily optimize to target new cities and regions. The majority of people today look through the internet first when conducting business research. The first results they find will determine the direction they eventually take when making decisions. 

How to Optimize

Like web design, SEO can be outsourced to an expert. Ensure all your web pages have the right keywords and work on improving your search engine ranking. 

Think about this for a minute: at least 60% of marketers say they get their highest quality leads from SEO. 

Not only will SEO bring you more traffic, but it will also bring you the right kind of clients.

Poor Content Quality

Content is the backbone of the internet. Without quality content, your website is no different than a traditional poster. 

Content allows you to educate and answer common customer questions. 

Wholesalers are faced with the challenge of serving a wide variety of businesses depending on their niche. With new businesses budding every day, information is one of the most important things you can provide on your website. 

There are several types of content that you can use to engage readers and build a community. They include:

• Blog posts 
• Whitepapers 
• Storytimes 
• Guest posts 

How to optimize 

On-page copy alone is rarely enough to cover all the FAQs that clients have. 

Start a blog and offer insights into your business and industry as a whole to help customers who are researching find you more easily. 

Write quality content that answers people's questions. Avoid being too focused on self-promotion as it reduces trust from potential clients. 

Focus on bringing value, offer analysis and research, and aim to be the industry's source of helpful information. 

Buyers Can’t Access the Information They Are Looking For

A good website designer has the customer’s perspective in mind.

The mistake many businesses make is to post basic information about their products and services, slap on their contact details, and sit and wait. 

Many people prefer to do their research without talking to a sales rep, so making helpful information accessible is essential to a successful website. 

Provide essential information regarding all your services/products. Likewise, open multiple lines of communication between you and your customers.

How to Improve 

Start by becoming aware of what buyers are looking for when it comes to your product or service. 

Provide all the information a company might need, including production capacity, items available, and shipment details. Find out what your buyers are focused on and offer adequate information about it on your website. 

This table summarizes different content needs and examples of what each customer needs from your content. 

Lack of Access to a Direct Contact Person 

Adding an email address alone might be insufficient in some cases. 

However, business people and entrepreneurs enjoy the convenience and immediacy of phone calls. As such, don’t forget a phone number when setting up your website.

While automation has reduced the need for a massive sales and marketing team, it’s still vital to have company representatives that customers can access. 

How to Optimize 

Ensure you provide a direct line to your sales team. The benefit of having a phone number that clients can access is having someone they can call and confirm information with. 

A salesperson can provide up-to-date data for custom orders and play an essential role in nurturing new leads. 

Since B2B eCommerce orders are typically large, most businesses prefer to talk to someone to increase their confidence in the company they are dealing with. 

Not Enough Payment Options 

B2B eCommerce is different from B2C businesses. Handling large orders and multiple clients requires you to offer multiple payment options. 

While card options and PayPal might work well on smaller sites, your clients might need multiple payment options to complete their transactions. Some examples of payment options to integrate into your B2B business include:

• Paper checks 
• Trade credit 
• Purchase order 
• Credit card 
• Cash on delivery 
• Instant credit 
• Mobile wallet 

How to Optimize

Ensure you add multiple payment options at your checkout. Make the payment process easy and transparent, and provide all the payment information necessary.

Making sure the payment process is well-integrated and straightforward makes it convenient for customers who are then more likely to keep using your services.

You Have Not Optimized for Mobile 

The number of mobile users globally is 6 billion and still growing. Chances are, your clients will interact with your site on mobile before anything else. 

When you fail to optimize your site for mobile, the user experience is unpleasant. Websites that are not optimized for mobile are challenging to navigate and create an overall negative customer experience. 

A significant majority of people use mobile as an essential part of their research process. Some people will never even access your website otherwise. A responsive design can go a long way in engaging potential clients. 

How to Optimize

To improve the amount of traffic you attract, ensure your website works seamlessly across multiple devices. At each touchpoint, your customer needs to come first. 

Test out your website on multiple devices and pay attention to critical areas. Take note of anything that hinders an excellent customer experience. Keep improving and testing your website to see what your customers prefer. 

Work With a Shopify Plus Developer 

If you want to take your wholesale eCommerce business to the next level, a great website is the beginning of your journey. 

An experienced Shopify Plus developer can help manage all the tech aspects of your website development. Uncap is an exemplary Shopify Plus agency that can optimize your website for success. 

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