The 7 mistakes when building an ecommerce business * Thinking it’s easy * Believing that customers will just “find you” * Thinking that you are “different” and “unique” * Making yourself “secret”so nobody finds you * Believing that it is all about the website and the front end * Thinking that you can trade across the world and with any partner * Leaving customer service as an afterthought

1. THE ETAIL SUCCESS
7 MISTAKES….
When building a
successful Ecommerce
Business

2. 7 MISTAKES WHEN BUILDING AN
ECOMMERCE BUSINESS
1.Thinking it’s easy
2. Believing that custo m e r s will just “find
you”
3.Thinking that yo u are “different”
and “unique”
4. Making yourself “secret”s o n o b o d y finds
yo u
5.Believing that it is all about the
w ebsite and the fro n t e n d
6.Thinking that yo u can trad e
acro s s the w orld and w ith any
partner
7. Leaving custo m e r service as an
afte rthought
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3. 1. THINKING IT’S EASY
T h e re is a major misconception that it is ve r y easy
to set up an E c o m m e rc e business….
that is partly true …
it is fairly easy to set up an E c o m m e rc e w ebsite
To set up an E c o m m e rc e Business is demanding and
long te r m – there are millions of w ebsites out there ,
that sell your p ro d u c t and yo u are just o n e w e b s i t e
in a massive e-ocean
A n E c o m m e rc e Business is just that – it is a real
business, and as such it ne eds planning, strategy,
funding and then d eveloping
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4. C O P Y R I G H T R E TA I L
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5. 2. BELIEVING THAT CUSTOMERS WILL
JUST “FIND YOU”
M a ny people believe that o n c e yo u set up a w ebsite yo u
will b e “found”
U n fo r tunately this is n o t the case – a w ebsite has n o
p resence until it has been through a p ro p e r, and
d e tailed launch p rocess
Imagine walking d o w n the high street w h e re yo u s e e
m a ny sho ps o n b o t h sides of the road – they all have
big signs ac ro s s the fro n t and p robably a bus sto p
sign to s e e fro m the side , they have plenty of colour
and they have a relevant wi n d ow display – all of which
you will notice
Yo u w ouldn’t o p e n a s h o p o n the high stree t with out
these basics in place , s o w h y launch an online s ho p
without E c o m m e rc e business basics
Making yo u r E c o m m e rc e business o p e n to be “found”
involves m a ny technical and m arketing areas – e .g.
making sure the headings are set, making sure the
m e ta data tags are readable and ensuring yo u have
plenty of relevant c o n tentC O P Y R I G H T R E TA I L
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6. C O P Y R I G H T R E TA I L
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7. 3. THINKING THAT YOU ARE
“DIFFERENT” AND “UNIQUE”
W h e n people have the idea to set up an E c o m m e rce
business they believe they are to tally different and
unique….unfo r tunately in m o s t cases they are not.
D u e to the large nu m b e r o f E c o m m e rce businesses,
m o s t p roducts are sold by a nu m b e r o f e tailers in a
nu m b e r o f different w ays.
T r y it fo r yourself…….Choose yo u r favourite p ro d u c t
and google it. Click o n the shopping results and yo u will
see h ow m a ny people sell that p roduct!
S o m e E c o m m e rce businesses are truly unique, i.e. if
they have a special p roduct that is patented or new to
the market
In the main, the uniqueness is due to ; the brand
values, the w ay the p roducts are sold and the
custo m e r service .
Thi s will ma ke a unique brand and E c o m m e rce
business, n o t only the p roductC O P Y R I G H T R E TA I L
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8. C O P Y R I G H T R E TA I L
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9. 4.MAKING YOURSELF SECRET
SO NOBODY FINDS YOU
W h e n building a n ew E c o m m e rce business, o w n e r s
o ften w a n t to keep themselve s secret and n o t let the
competition see w h a t they are doing and wh a t they are
d eveloping……..T hi s create s a secre t w ebsite which
people will n o t find.
E c o m m e rce is o p e n and searchable 24/7 – b e p roud ,
honest and o p e n with yo u r E c o m m e rce business –
m a ke sure yo u are seen in all the forums , social media
and shopping sites
Yo u w a n t yo u r E c o m m e rce business to been seen by
eve r ybod y, including yo u r competition.
T h e m o re people are e xp ose d to yo u r brand the m o re
o p p o r t u n i t i e s yo u have to sell p roducts
R e m e m b e r the law o f 7 – People need to see yo u r
brand at least 7 times befo re the buy fro m yo u
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10. C O P Y R I G H T R E TA I L
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11. 5.BELIEVING THAT IT IS ALL ABOUT
THE WEBSITE AND THE FRONT END
Thi s is a ve r y c o m m o n mistake – the fro n t end is ve r y
impo rtant, as this is wh a t the custo m e r see’s, but a
go o d fro n t end is useless withou t a great backend
and people visiting
H aving an amazing looking fro n t end is a c o m m o n
target fo r m a ny E c o m m e rce businesses…m y clients
are n eve r targeted o n a great fro n t end , they need to
ensure brand consistency and ease o f use , but w e
fo c u s the clients o n functionality and custo m e r
service
T h e backend m ust enable a custo m e r to purchase
an item seamlessly, adding to the basket, paying fo r
the ite m s and receiving them should all be simple.
T h e backend needs up to date stock and a custo m e r
needs to b e able to track their o rd er and easily return
o r interact with C u s to m e r service if needed
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5.BELIEVING THAT IT IS ALL ABOUT
THE WEBSITE AND THE FRONT END

12. A great looking fro n t end is n o t going to attract t r a f f i c
and custo m e r s - it will c o n ve rt them and help them
re-visit, but it d o e s nothing to bring t he m there in the
first place .
M a r keting in all it’s fo r m s ( P P C , S E O , Email, Social
Media e tc) is wh a t m a kes an E c o m m e rce business
successful, yo u m ust drive t r a ff i c to the E c o m m e rce
w ebsite in o rd e r to b e able to sell to t h e m
Driving t r a f f i c to the w ebsite and delighting the
custo m e r s, builds yo u long term success – n o t an
amazing looking fro n t end
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5.BELIEVING THAT IT IS ALL ABOUT
THE WEBSITE AND THE FRONT END

13. C O P Y R I G H T R E TA I L
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14. 6.THINKING THAT YOU CAN TRADE ACROSS
THE WORLD AND WITH ANY PARTNER
Many people setting out on the Ecommerce
journey believe they can sell to any customer
anywhere – this is a great ambition, but a
complete red herring in the beginning
At the start, you must have a niche and target
in mind – marketing your Ecommerce business
to the world will cost millions and cause many
issues
Global laws and rules make trading globally
difficult – many different laws and taxes make
this a complex task.
Long term it will build a successful Ecommerce
business, but in the short term it will cause
many issues
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15. ACROSS THE ORLD AND WITH
ANY PARTNER
Thinking globally m e a n s n ew E c o m m e rce businesses
look to A m a z o n and Ebay to set up their shops and sell
their p roducts – afte r setting up 5 E c o m - m e rce
businesses in the last 4 years, I can p ro mis e that this is a
ve r y diffcult task
Selling o n Ebay is n o t to o diffcult, but it take s time,
needs planning and has extra costs in the form o f fe e’s
Selling o n A m a z o n fo r a start-up is m o re a less a n o go –
A m a z o n is trusted and o nly allow s go o d quality
E c o m m e rce businesses to trad e . T h e y also have a
complicated p rocess, which m e a n s it take s m o n t h s to
start trading.
H o w eve r, o n c e set up, both Ebay and A m a z o n are
great marketing and gro w t h engines fo r a successful
E c o m m e rce business
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6.THINKING THAT YOU CAN TRADE ACROSS
THE WORLD AND WITH ANY PARTNER

16. C O P Y R I G H T R E TA I L
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17. 7.LEAVING CUSTOMER SERVICE AS AN
AFTERTHOUGHT
Customer service is the number one priority in all Retailers
and etailers (See my book to find out how important the
customer is)
When you set up a successful Ecommerce business, you
must think about the customer in every part of the business.
From deciding which products to sell, to the branding and the
way you will attract your customers they must be thought of.
When building the website, thought on how the customer will
interact is critical.
The website must be easy top use, clear and have very
simple Customer Service procedures, should the customers
need to contact you
Customers are key and must be thought about through the
whole process
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18. C O P Y R I G H T R E TA I L
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19. THE PROGRAMME
C O P Y R I G H T R E TA I L
P O T E N T I A L LT D
The goal of the Etail Success programme is to enable you to
set up a successful Ecommerce business.
Through the programme you will build up your knowledge
of YOUR business and YOUR customers, which will enable
you to set up an Ecommerce business that meets their wants,
needs and desires.
T h e p ro g r a m m e is split into 4 modules:
• Planning Yo u r E c o m m e rce Business
• Building Yo u r E c o m m e rce W ebsite and b e c o m e
Multichannel
• Launch, M a r keting and Social Media
• M e a s u re , Test and Impro ve
Each module covers the in
depth details of what you
need to do, in order to set
up a successful
Ecommerce business.

20. Copyright Retail Potential Ltd
C O P Y R I G H T R E TA I L
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21. opyright Retail Potential Ltd
C O P Y R I G H T R E TA I L
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22. NOTE WHEN BUILDING AN
ECOMMERCE BUSINESS
It is impo rtant fo r yo u to understand that w e are n o t
talking about building a w ebsite and e-shop –
technically that is a ve r y easy job. Design and brand- ing
take s a while , but m o s t w ebsite s can b e built quickly
and at a reasonable price
W e fo c u s o n building a successful
Ecommerce business
W e have launched 5 E c o m m e rce Businesses, and
they have all been e x - tre m e ly di cul t and
complicated, but w e have d eveloped a p ro c e s s to set
up an E c o m m e rce business during the last 4 years
T h e foundations o f any business is a plan - All
businesses need a plan and fo r a successful
E c o m m e rce business this go e s m uch further than a
w ebsite
W i t h o u r tried and tested training and s up po rt
p ro g r a m m e s w e take yo u through the wh ol e process
and support yo u eve r y step o f the w ay
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23. ABOUT US
Antony Welfare – FounderandAuthor
A n to n y w a s b o rn into a family o f
R e tailers – in the 1920’s his G reat
Grandfathe r, at the age o f 26, set
up a ve r y successful p ro visions
shop in K ent
Antony has been a retail and Ecommerce expert for over
20 years, with experience from international multi-channel
retailers; Marks & Spencer, Sainsburys, Dixons Retail and
Homebase. The last few years have been working with
smaller entrepreneurs, online stores and fashion brands.
•Online R e tail & Social Media e xp e rt
•Author – T h e R e tail H a n d b o o k
•Expert speaker and TV News commentator
• W rite r and E xp e rt fo r the National Digital
High Street Skills training programme
•Re tail M a n a g e m e n t B S c H o n s
•20 Years in R e tail
•Large R e tailer experience for 15 years
•Inte rnational experience for 2 years
.
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24. EAGER TO LEARN MORE?
A N T O N Y @ R E TA I L P O T E
N T I A L . C O M
@ A N TO N Y W E L FA R E
FA C E B O O K . C O M / A N T O
N Y W E L FA R E
07976
367992
C O P Y R I G H T R E TA I L
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