The True Cost of Doing Nothing in eCommerce

A lot of our customers say they don’t want to invest in eCommerce yet. Whether it’s through lack of time, reluctance to make the investment or faith in the status quo, there’s a cost involved in a lack of innovation.  In this article we look at four ways inaction is costing your eCommerce business.

 Loss of Customers

If your website is not being updated to reflect modern expectations you could be heading for trouble. Not only are you missing out on first-time orders, you could also be losing existing customers. Ecommerce customers in the b2b world are now demanding as much as in the b2c world. This means a fast, slick, mobile responsive website offering a personalised experience and easy checkout.

Order Errors

Outdated software means your business is more likely to suffer from order glitches and delivery errors. Research by the Aberdeen Group found that businesses that didn’t invest in technology only had 87% of orders delivered correctly and on time, compared to 91% for those that were using the latest technology. Furthermore, businesses that didn’t make a technology investment only had 88% accuracy on their inventory management, compared to 92% for those that had.

Lack of Advocacy

B2b customers are used to seeing and using reviews in their decision-making process in the b2c world and expect to see them featured on b2b platforms. According to RevLocal, just one review can boost conversions by 10 percent. 

If your b2b platform is poorly affecting your sales the result may be a double whammy. Firstly, a lost sale also means a lost opportunity for a customer review. This impacts future visitors to your site, who won’t have the quality reviews they want to see to help in their decision-making process. Secondly, if your eCommerce site is old and clunky it may result in a poor review, discouraging potential customers from buying. RevLocal reports that negative reviews can cause four out of five consumers to reverse purchase decisions.

Drop in Visitor Numbers

Whilst you may be doing nothing to further your eCommerce strategy, many of your competitors are. This means that things are not staying the same for your business as you remain in a state of inaction. As your competitors spend time improving their own eCommerce offering, your website is losing visibility. A drop in organic traffic means you’ll need to spend more on paid advertising to get back to the visitor numbers you enjoyed a year or two ago. Once people arrive at your site and experience an outdated or forgettable website they won’t return, meaning your traffic drops even further.

If you don’t want to be stuck in a downward spiral of lost customers and low sales the answer is easy. No more delays and no more excuses – it’s time to invest in a modern, integrated eCommerce website to allow your business to thrive and grow.

If you need help with your b2b eCommerce website, complete our contact form and we’ll be in touch.