Is your online business giving you sleepless nights? Are you not getting the results that you wished and hoped to get from your online business? What could be the reasons for online business failure nowadays? Why are you not getting the results that you wished and hoped to get from your online business?
90% of all online businesses fail within their first year of start. This is a well-known fact, established with ample statistical data to back up this fact. This is a pretty bleak statistic. The whole of 2018 also showed the same trend and predictions for 2019 also remain the same. Meaning, most online businesses will fail in 2019 also
So, what are the main reasons for most online businesses to fail? And, what can be done for the success of your online business?
Here are the top 10 reasons and strategies for avoidance of failure in your online business:
1. Lack of Knowledge of Basic Business Operations:
It is extremely easy to open an online business in these times of Internet availability and ease of starting a business online. Therefore almost anyone and everyone can start a business online. And, that’s why most people do.
But there’s a whole lot of difference between starting a business and running it smoothly. And, on top of this, if you wish to run a business profitably, it is a different ballgame altogether.
You must understand that the basic principles of running a business are still the same. The only change that has happened in the online businesses is the way the business is conducted.
Since the investment is less, and ease of starting a business is very high, if you think that you’ll be able to run the business also, then you’re wrong and setting yourself up for failure.
If you do not have any business background, it is better that you get some knowledge about running a business by actually doing a course. There are plenty of online tutorial websites, which offer to learn any subject at reasonable pricing and at your own convenient timings.
2. Lack of Knowledge about the Competitors:
“Why do most online businesses fail?” The most obvious answer to this often asked question is, “Too much competition.” It is indeed a fact that there is too much competition on the Internet. But still, there are many success stories also happening side by side.
On the Internet, you need to know who your direct competitors are. There are great chances that these competitors are keeping a close eye on the changing market trends. As a newcomer, you may not be aware of these, or may not even have access to the right resources that can give you a fair idea about these changing trends.
There are three points that you can take into consideration. They will work for any niche or business model –
- If you are in content marketing, and you watch the content created by your competitors, or the products and services created or recommended by them, you will get a fair idea about what is working right now. Then you can modulate your own content, products, and services accordingly. Add your own signature mark, without any plagiarism and watch the results.
There are great chances that these competitors are keeping a close eye on changing market trends. As a newcomer, you may not be aware of these, or may not even have access to the right resources that can give you a fair idea about these changing trends.
- If you are in pure e-commerce then it is not just enough to understand the trends. It is also important to avoid a space, which is too tough to compete in because there are numerous businesses already clamoring to grab eyeballs there.
So, it is advisable to watch for the things that the top performers may be lacking in and then go about implementing them on your own websites. Maybe, the product descriptions can be better for better audience engagement. Or, maybe, more video or pictorial content can be put in. Or maybe, some influencer endorsement can do the trick. Or maybe, video testimonials from your actual customers can help. Or, maybe just the layout of the website can be improved to become more consumer-friendly.
Think about what’s lacking in your competitor’s websites and then fulfill it on your own website.
- There are certain Business Models that can be so saturated that any chance of making any inroads in them have totally passed. Like for example, Dropshipping was an open playing field in the years 2013-2017. But in 2018 it got increasingly difficult to make a reasonable income through Dropshipping. It is predicted that in 2019 it will be next to impossible to make any serious inroads into this field.
The year 2019 will be focusing on individuality, personal brand building, recommendations and endorsements, affiliate marketing and unique content, products, and services. So, developing a YouTube channel is a better trend to follow in 2018 and 2019.
3. Lack of Knowledge of Developing a Business Identity:
Developing a unique business identity is extremely important as the Internet is a very competitive place, and is increasingly getting all the more cluttered.
With the changing algorithms of Google and other search engines now focusing on the quality of the content, proper branding is what makes you stand apart.
Branding gives you a distinct business identity and that is what your followers will recognize and eventually relate with.
Most business owners do not understand how to develop a distinct business identity. And, that is why their businesses get lost amongst the horde of others.
In order to brand your online business identity properly, you have to answer the following questions –
- What are you offering through your business?
- Why is your product or service desirable to your customers?
- What is your market?
- Which segment of your market do you wish to target?
- Who is your end-user or customer?
- How would your product or service benefit your customer?
- What is the USP (Unique Selling Proposition) of your product or service?
- How is your USP different from other competitors, and add unique value to them?
If you do not know much about developing a unique business identity, it is always best to take expert advice on this, as branding is a highly specialized field. Not knowing this can cost you your business. So, investing in gaining specific information can take you a long way.
4. Lack of Business Goals:
A quote that startled me when I first heard it goes like this –
“Most people drastically overestimate what they can accomplish in a week, yet drastically underestimate what they can accomplish in a year.”
Goal Setting is a very important aspect of every business, and, your online business is no exception to this rule. Proper Goal Setting means a regular pace of accomplishment.
Usually what happens is that in the initial phases of starting their online business, people are generally very enthusiastic, and they set lofty goals. They even write them down and break them into daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, half-yearly and annual goals. They also put them up in some place, where they see them every day. In short, they use all visualizing techniques.
And yet, after a while when they find that they cannot accomplish their goals, slowly, their enthusiasm wanes out. And then their business starts to take a downward turn.
When looking closely into such cases, which come into my coaching, I realized that it is because of a faulty Goal Setting. Read the above quote again. You’ll see some grains of truth in it.
I have realized that the Goal Setting and Goal Achievement are two different processes. While Goal Setting is largely a mental process, Goal Achievement is a process where both physical and mental faculties are involved.
Since most people do not understand the intricacies of these processes they fail to put in place all the components involved. The resultant is a faulty outcome, which has a direct impact on their businesses.
Again, in order to stop yourself from falling into this trap, it is best to take expert advice. My mentor, Bob Proctor of “The Secret” fame has a one-of-a-kind program, which simplifies information and understanding of all aspects of Goal Setting and Goal Achievement.
You can either take it and study yourself or come into coaching for a more in-depth understanding. Lack of Important Skills – Writing, Designing, SEO, Technical Skills, Marketing Skills, Social Media Skills, etc
5. Lack of Important Skills – Writing, Designing, SEO, Technical Skills, Marketing Skills, Social Media Skills etc:
Remember starting an online business is rather easy and that is why most people start it. But, most people have almost nil expertise in the online environment, except for searching and shopping. These skills are rather redundant when trying to run a business.
You need different skill sets like writing, designing, SEO, technical skills, marketing skills, social media skills, advertising skills and several others for online business. You will need to learn all of these. Most of the people find this very overwhelming. But, you must understand that all these are an integral part of your business. So, you will have to get a good grip on them.
An alternate solution to this is outsourcing. You will need to understand your strengths and weaknesses. Then you can identify the right vendors to outsource the tasks that you are not good at. You will also have to spend money when you hire the services of the vendors. Outsourcing is a great option if you can allocate a specific budget for your online business.
There are several web platforms, which offer services of various types of vendors. Upwork, Fiverr, Dribble and Freelancerare a few examples. You can find almost any service that you will need to support your online business on these platforms.
6. Lack of Understanding of the Markets:
The online business environment changes very rapidly. So in order to develop a successful business online keeping yourself updated about the market trends is very important.
You will have to read a lot and keep yourself updated about what’s working at the current time. This will also help you in identifying the new markets for your products and services, which you may have not yet thought about at the time of starting your business.
Many times, a snippet of news that may have caught your attention leads to the expansion of your market in unexpected ways. So, keep your antennae open and think ahead of others. Don’t let even the minuscule information escape your attention.
If you start marketing your product and services in a new market, there is a very fair chance of your raking it up before your competitors make inroads in it.
7. Lack of Proper Content:
Content is the king. Online searches are keywords based. In order for your online business to appear in the online searches, it has to be keyword enriched. Everyone knows this. But, what happens when someone reaches your site and is unable to find the content they were originally looking for? They get a bad taste in the mouth and there are high chances that they will remember this.
Look at it this way, if you open a brick and mortar store, and advertise it the right way, but when people come there, they do not find what they were looking for. Will they come back? Bleak chance!
Proper content can mean information if that is what your product or service is about. It can mean entertainment or actual products and/or services. Whatever it is, your content is the face of your online business. Keep it fresh, updated and relevant.
Make use of videos, pictures, audios, reviews and other tools to engage your audience and converse with your audience using all these tools.
A “How to” video can clarify the different aspects of your product better than anything else. Consider the “How to” video as a trained salesperson you would employ in your brick and mortar business. Only, here it is free and can work non-stop until the product is there on the online store.
Keep your content original otherwise you risk being banned on account of plagiarism. The quality of your content will make you stand out. So, make no compromises and just go for creating great content.
8. Lack of Technical Support:
Technical aspects are intimidating for many especially if you are going into online business for the very first time. But the good news is that you don’t have to do it all alone. There are several companies, who can help you with every technicality of maintaining and operating your websites. This can relieve you from the technical aspects and focus on the other areas of your business.
Here are some ways to find a good technical partner for your online business:
- Look for a company that has a diverse portfolio providing several options to suit your needs. This is worth the investment it demands. WebpageFX is a good company that can give you the services you desire at a package that fits your pocket.
- If your budget doesn’t allow it you can hire a fresher eager to prove their merit. There are several college students and dropouts who are great at technical aspects. You can find them in your own vicinity or through social media.
- Hire a freelancer through Upwork, Fiverr, Dribble and Freelancer.
9. Lack of Dedication and Discipline in Daily Workings of the Business:
It is difficult to own up to lack of dedication and discipline. But this is one of the prime reasons for the failure of online businesses.
Actually many people start their online business in their spare time along with their regular day jobs. And they bring their job mentalities into their business. Usually, in a job, there are decided to report structures and no one is responsible for all the parts of a task. In your business, you are in-charge and responsible for every task. And, you don’t have to report to anyone. So slackness is easy to set in.
Believe it or not, most people are very adept at remaining busy and they overlook whether they are actually being productive or not.
Just because you are a master at filling your time with work, does not mean that you are also meeting your objectives.
So decide whether you wish to be busy or wish to enjoy the freedom that your business will eventually give you if you stay dedicated and disciplined and above all, totally honest with yourself. The decision is yours.
10. Lack of Persistence and Motivation:
Many daily tasks in operating your business are just so monotonous that they are easy to let go. If you need to create content on a daily or weekly basis, you just have to do it. If you have to update your website products on a regular basis, you just have to do it.
It can be dull and drab and so can be easy to skip. But the repercussions are immense. The search engine ratings of your website can slip. Your competitors can take over your place. Your audience can go to other portals. You can lose valuable business. And above all, you can lose your credibility.
The best definition of discipline that I have come across is, “Discipline is giving yourself a command, and then obeying it.”You see, it is actually as simple as this. Just tell yourself what you have to do every day as if you are your own boss, and then just go ahead and do it. Develop a routine, which you can stick to for at least 18 months.
Pretty soon during this time period, you will start seeing the results of your persistence. And then, it will become easier to stay on track for doing the mandatory mundane tasks.
Initially, when there are nil results, and there will be a long time before you see the fruits of your efforts, it is hard for everyone to stay motivated. Visualizing about success helps a lot during this time. Once some results start trickling in, it becomes easier to stay motivated as now you know that the more persistent you stay, the more results will follow.
You can come into coaching for “The Success Puzzle” if you wish to understand why success is such a puzzling thing for most people. This will ensure that you never lose your motivation ever.
Internet is an ever-expanding space so it got quickly cluttered with all kinds of content in the initial years of online business. 2019 onwards will be a time to separate the wheat from the chaff. Searches will become more converged, targeted and pinpointed. The businesses, which fulfill this changing trend will do well.
