Many business owners are wondering if they should expand and take their business online. It is because of the advantages of a website. They are clear and numerous – more exposure, the chance of selling online, etc. But it is not what it looks like. When you are starting an online business, you have to deal with lots of obstacles and pitfalls.
Even the most successful businesses may have some hurdles to overcome when going online. The internet is a dynamic place and is changing rapidly. It is open to everyone with an entrepreneurial spirit and some knowledge of how to get online.Â
As a result, businesses- big or small, have to face challenges. These challenges are not necessarily prepared for, but you should be aware of them before embarking on this path.
Here are the biggest challenges for most businesses when selling online:
Table of Contents
1. Lack Of Technical Knowledge
Online business owners do not have required technical knowledge even today. They have to outsource people for making their website. Earlier, people used to hire professional coders just to make their websites live. Not only limited to this, but it also takes a hefty amount in development, hosting, domain and marketing of a website.Â
So, here is the alternative that will save you a lot of money, time and effort.
2. No-Code Website Builders
There are more than enough website builders available in the market. But still, the entrepreneurs running small online businesses find the UI of many website builders difficult to understand. That is why they should look up to no-code website builders.Â
The no-code website builders like QPe, do not require any kind of technical skills to use. It allows users to customize the store as per their requirements without any coding. It also helps people scale their online business by providing features like SEO, Digital Marketing, Content Automation, Chatbots, Marketing Tools, and so on.Â
3. More CompetitionÂ
It is not a secret that online businesses have seen huge traffic and increased sales for a while now. It has become a reason why people consider taking their business online more worthy. But honestly, it is not easy to make your brand image there as well. The more people enroll their business online and create a digital store, the more they have to face competition.
As a result, SMBs (Small and Medium Businesses) reduce their profits to compete with their rivals. Lower prices attract more traffic, and conversions but it makes a deal of loss.
4. No Clue of Digital Marketing:
It might be very easy to create a website for your online business and make your presence live on the internet. But when it comes to marketing the product that you are selling, the matter gets complicated. Just like offline marketing, digital marketing has its own rules. Be it running campaigns on social media or engaging people through Google Ads, it needs a decent knowledge and experience.
But there is a solution to this as well. There are many SaaS-based platforms like QPe which provide a suite of marketing tools that help an online business grow their traffic and sales.
5. Generate Sales:Â
To hit the spot which you aimed for, generating a good amount of sales is mandatory. And in today’s generation depending on a single platform would not work. Online Businesses should make them available on different platforms like social media, and other e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, etc.
6. Managing Funds:Â
Managing funds is the biggest task for an entrepreneur when he/she establishes his/her business online. From managing the website to running campaigns, everything requires a good amount of money. If not managed properly, your capital can be the biggest challenge for the existence of your own online store.
7. Payment Gateways:Â
It has been observed that the business may suffer a disrupted cash flow if they run only on a cash-on-delivery model. It takes time to process. Also, it is not feasible in PAN India for many businesses. To solve these issues, you should prepare or choose your secured payment gateway. That should accept all forms of payment like Net Banking, UPI, Credit/Debit Cards, and so on.  Â
If you are looking for a single platform that can compile all these, there are some. Platforms like QPe with an integrated payment system can help you accept payment in all forms.Â
8. Customer Acquisition:
It may get tricky when you talk about customer acquisition in the initial stages of your online business. Online Businesses must have a rock-solid strategy to gain new customers. Be it social media or google, catching the right set of audiences will help you gain customers.Â
9. Refund And Return Policies
Reviews, Return and Refund Policies are something that a potential customer may put his/her eyes on for the first time. Businesses should work on their return policies since the customers have become really smart. If they think the product which they ordered does not match the quality, they will return it.Â
10. Inventory and Delivery:
Last but not the least, businesses should come up with a solution for inventory and delivery. The variety of products and quantities your online store has, makes your inventory. And how you will deliver the products will decide the customer service you are offering. If the delivery was fast, you will be known for valuing your customer.
At the very initial stage, you might find it difficult to find delivery partners. But there are solutions to this as well. You can partner with many shipping platforms like Dunzo, Shiprocket or FedEx.  Â
11. Documentation:
Terms & conditions, privacy policy and GST number are some legal documents that you will require to set up your online store. Everyone finds it difficult to make these documents. But again you can find plenty of free options that are available online. QPe’s free tools like privacy policy generator or terms & conditions generator can help you download these for free.
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