Because the dropshipping model doesn’t involve you storing and shipping any goods, which is instead handled by third parties like manufacturers and wholesalers, it has become one of the most popular eCommerce business models of recent years.
However, because so many entrepreneurs have taken advantage of the model, it means the competition for dropshipping businesses is fierce. The vast majority of new dropshipping businesses fail in their first year. But that’s largely down to the fact that they don’t know what mistakes to avoid. If you’re a dropshipping beginner, here are the mistakes you need to ensure you don’t make.
Not Willing to Invest Upfront Money to Achieve Long-term Growth
Many entrepreneurs choose the dropshipping model because it involves hardly any upfront costs. But dropshipping newbies often make the mistake of not investing in any tools that can help them with long-term growth. When you sell the best products for dropshipping combined with a sound marketing campaign, you can successfully grow your business and brand over time.
So, consider your marketing budget and other costs before you even set up your eCommerce platform. If you don’t have three or four hundred dollars to invest, you’re better off delaying the launch of your dropshipping business until you have saved enough.
Choosing the Wrong Niche
New dropshippers often think that they have got the business model nailed by choosing niche products. Sure, many experts recommend selling niche products, and indeed, it is a good idea. After all, with so many dropshipping businesses out there, one of the biggest challenges that beginners face is competing with others.
So, by choosing a niche product range, you can become a big fish in a small pond and know your audience demographic much better. But while selling niche products is certainly a good way for new dropshippers to go, many make the mistake of selling the wrong niche products. Before you select items to sell, it’s crucial you do rigorous research to discover the size of your market and what the best marketing avenues are.
Believing Dropshipping Requires Little Work
People think dropshipping businesses are easy because the order-fulfillment is completely taken care of by third parties. In essence, you just need to wait for a product to sell on your eCommerce platform, let the automatic order fulfillment system do its thing, and then take a cut of the sale. But if you want to be successful, sitting back and doing no work is not the way.
It takes a lot of time and effort to steadily grow a dropshipping business. You need to use effective marketing strategies, connect with potential customers, and grow your brand. If you have a lack of patience and persistence and think you need to put very little work into running a dropshipping business, you’re setting yourself up for failure in your first year.
Not Paying Attention to Your Website Design
Following on from the last point, one area that requires your hard work is creating an attractive website. A website that utilizes good UI and UX design principles, so that the site is easily navigable and engaging for users, will see a lot more visits and custom than one with poor design.
If you don’t have the technical skills, you may want to consider hiring a UX and UI professional who can help your website to show up high on search engines via using best SEO practices and attract and maintain customers. Again, it can be worth investing a little at the beginning so that you can grow your business quicker and reap the rewards later down the line. An excellent eCommerce store is no different from a successful brick-and-mortar store in that it needs to feel and look exceptional.
