What to do during a sales slump? Why are there no sales? Cause and effect There were no more sales.

We talk about the reasons for the lack of purchasing activity and ways to help correct the matter.

Why there are no orders and sales in the online store: search and you will find

Problems remain hidden because you don't try to find them. If an online store is not profitable, analyze the routes, traffic, start a comprehensive check - it will definitely give you reason to think.

More often than not, the site remains a graveyard of unfilled orders for several reasons.

Search engines don't find the site

No traffic

The main mistakes that lead to a site lacking traffic:

If you don't know how to manage your traffic sources, there's no point in expecting more sales. For an online store, the channels for attracting traffic are:

Organic search.
Contextual advertising.
Targeted advertising on social networks.
Mailings via e-mail databases.
Aggregators of product offers (Yandex Market and Google Merchant Center).
Advertising in social networking groups.
Media advertising.
Product teaser networks.

Test all the ways to attract new visitors, analyze their effectiveness, learn how to manage them, learn everything about the mechanisms of their action. In targeting, it is necessary to segment the audience so that only potential buyers see the ad. Advertising in media works more for image than for sales. Placing ads in product teaser networks will yield results only with successfully configured targeting. We have already written about and - read and apply useful tips.

Thinking about SEO after you created a store

This is the most common mistake of online store owners. The success of promotion requires initial work on the semantic core - it is on its basis that the structure of the resource will be developed.

The success of a website largely depends on its structure.

The structure should not be inconvenient for visitors. If you don’t work it out and don’t devote time to SEO optimization, the store will lose positions and traffic. Google and Yandex remind you of the need for thoughtful organization of the structure - this contributes to the correct scanning of the created site by search engines.

The following requirements are imposed on the structure:

It must be understandable to the user. Divide products into intuitive categories and subcategories. For example, in the “cycling” group there may be subgroups “bicycles” → (“for men”, “for women”, “for children”), “bicycle accessories”, “protection”. Remember: if a visitor does not find the product you need or gets confused in the site structure, he will go to your competitors.
Find out the optimal directory nesting level. There is no need to take in quantity and split one item into several mini-catalogs so that the user gets tired of the journey. The buyer should be separated from the product by a couple of clicks - no more.
The created sections must correspond to the search intent. It is the intent (user’s intention) that should be taken as a starting point when creating a correct and understandable structure. To understand what the buyer wants, analyze the requests. Collect the most complete semantic core - the promotion of any resource should begin from this stage.

To please the search robot, the structure must include the following pages:

catalogues;
sections and subsections;
filtration;
goods;
products available only at one URL.

Collection of the semantic core, clustering, and development of the structure are carried out at the site development stage. If you skipped this stage and started thinking about promotion after creating the resource, you will have to finish the site: create sections, filters, product cards, metaboxes. All of these are additional costs, so think about SEO optimization in advance.

By the way, reworking a website means not only new expenses, but also a lack of profit during the refinement and processing of the resource. We could collect our first clients, but we only have to deal with expenses.

Also, at the SEO launch stage, you should decide on the width and depth of the assortment.

Width – a list of products divided into different categories.
Depth – the total number of product positions in each group. The deeper these groups are represented, the greater the chance of guessing the needs of the buyer who lands on the site.

Filtering products that provide additional landing pages through:

Filter intersections – pre-define the pages that will be created at the intersection of filters. For example: product+brand+characteristics – mountain bike+STELS+for+women, laptop+ASUS+gaming.
The nesting level is the first HC - on the main one. All pages that we go to from the main page have UV2. From the UV2 pages the user moves to the third level pages and so on. Filtering pages should be located on the second level. A site with UV4 will be indexed by search engines more slowly. In addition, the deep hierarchy of categories and sections will be difficult for the buyer to navigate.
Quick search – advanced, with manual settings of parameters and linking to a specific product category. The best option: a prominent search window, an autocomplete function, displaying results relevant to queries (when searching for jeans, classic trousers should not appear), many filters (for jeans - color, size, style, fit type, men's, women's, unisex), sorting by decreasing and increasing prices. The more filters you offer, the more convenient it is for the user to find the product he needs.

The search box should be available on any page of the site.

A landing page or landing page is a page that a user goes to when they click on a link from a search engine result, social networking site, or advertisement. The simplest example is a product card that you get to when you want to buy something online. The benefit of a landing page is that it leads to the completion of the main target action - a purchase. But in order for a user to turn from a potential client into a real one, you need to retain him: with an appeal, the information on the page matching the promise, simplicity of the design and message. High-quality landing pages should be optimized, user-friendly, useful, and eye-catching.

There are internal optimization errors

Same meta tags. They must be unique, contain the main high-frequency, as well as mid- and low-frequency queries. If you want to make the work go faster, make templates that allow you to set unique meta tags in one structure. For example: buy (product) in Syzran at a price from (price) | online store (name).
Problems with content. They can arise if there are no texts on the pages or they are not unique, duplicated on pagination or filtering pages. The solution is to create unique content. The more pages with unique texts, the more trust the site receives from search engines. Unique optimized content will help you gain trust and increase traffic.

The trust or reputation of a site, its authority, reflects the search engine’s attitude towards the Internet project. The greater the trust in a resource, the easier it is to promote new pages, the faster the site is indexed by robots, and the lower the likelihood of falling under sanctions. Read more about this and find out what factors will increase the level of trust of search engines in your online store.

Linking of internal pages is not configured. Each of the many pages has its own weight. It can be transferred to other pages so that they bring more traffic. For this purpose, linking is used. It can be implemented using a contextual link in the text or a block of links to similar, recommended, best-selling products.

There are external optimization errors

Search engine requirements for external optimization have become more stringent: unnatural links can cause sanctions to be imposed on the site and a significant decrease in search results. Links from off-topic resources, a preference for anchor links instead of a balanced profile, link spam - all this can be a reason for punishment.

Yandex introduced the Minusinsk algorithm, which reduces a site’s ranking in search results for using SEO links, and Google updated the Google Penguin algorithm, used to get rid of unnatural links. Now it demotes only one or a few pages with spam, and not the entire site. But this doesn’t make it any easier.

Errors lead to sanctions: automatic and manual. Automatic ones can only be removed when ranking algorithms are changed. Manual sanctions are applied by the moderator. The result of manual sanctions is a decrease in the visibility of the site in search results and a drop in traffic. If you are caught by filters, then read our articles, which tell you in detail what to do if the site is caught by and. Better yet, play by the rules of search engines.

Here are some common mistakes made in off-page optimization:

Unnatural link mass - many commercial anchors, lack of links with the site address, non-thematic links.
Aggressive unnatural anchor list – queries in direct entry in anchor links. An anchor list is a list of anchor links used to build link mass.
Purchase of rental, footer, end-to-end and banner links. Rental and footer ones cause distrust among search engines because they are located in an unusable area or “basement” - the bottom of the page. This is a blind, unnatural zone for placement. The information in it does not motivate the user to take the target action and is defined by search engines as spam. And aggressive advertising using full-screen banners leads to pessimization.

There are technical errors on the site

The payment aggregator did not work - as a result, the client cannot pay for the goods. The most common problems: error in the code, incorrect code from SMS, lack of notification with the code. All this causes the user to become stupefied, and then refuse to perform the operation. Often the reluctance to try to pay for the order again is due to the fact that the user has lost confidence in the site. He thinks that the system does not allow payment for the goods and the next attempt will end in failure. The solution to the problem is to check the operation of the aggregator once a day or once a week.
Errors during uncoordinated work on the site. Another stumbling block that the user has to deal with. Programmers editing a product page, editing sections, reinstalling a feedback form - all this can lead to incorrect operation of the site. Imagine that SEO specialists added meta tags to many product cards, and the administrator re-uploaded the product database without warning. The result is that traffic has dropped, and meta tags will have to be rewritten. Second example: the layout designer simply forgot to close the div tag. Consequences - the code fell out on the page.
Unfound links that lead to a non-existent address and worsen the ranking of the site. After clicking on a broken link, the user sees a 404 error message. Trust in the site decreases. The reasons for the appearance of an unfound page are that the url has changed, the page or site itself has been deleted. You can find useless links using Yandex.Webmaster and Google Search Console. The Screaming Frog SEO Spider and SEO PowerSuite services will also help with this.
Errors inherent in the site structure - internal redirects, errors with protocols. In this case, you will have to check manually or use scanning services (Xenu Link Sleuth).
The resource is displayed incorrectly in different browsers, phones and tablets. For example, important features and tips are not visible in Safari, while they are available to Google Chrome users.
Insufficient functionality. Another reason for the lack of sales in the online store. Often the buyer cannot complete what he started and removes the item from the cart because he does not find the button or section he is looking for. For example, he cannot add another product to the order at the checkout stage, change the delivery address or payment method.

There was no USP

Another reason why your online store does not want to turn into a Mecca for customers is a sales offer that cannot boast of uniqueness. Most often it looks like this:

prompt delivery;
high quality products;
low prices;
great service.

You have already seen all this on other sites. This is not only secondary, but also useless. Put yourself in the user's shoes. When people visit an online store website, they want to know:

How quickly will the order be delivered?
Is it possible to check the status of the product?
Is it possible to try on/check the product?
How you can pay - bank cards, Qiwi, cash, upon receipt or in advance.
How much does delivery cost?
They can bring the purchase home or need to go somewhere.
Is it possible to refuse the product? if possible, then under what conditions.
How the goods are packaged.

Answer common user questions in detail. For example:

How quickly will the order be delivered?	Delivery time is 2-3 days to all cities of Russia.
Is it possible to check the status of an item?	Each order is assigned an individual number by which you can check its current status.
Is it possible to try on an item?	Free fitting of ordered items is available. You will pay only for those goods that suit you; the courier will take the rest with you.
	You can return the product within 7 days from the date of purchase.
How to pay for goods?	In cash at the point of issue, by bank card (Visa, MasterCard and Maestro), using Apple Pay, electronic money (PayPal, Yandex.Money, WebMoney, Sberbank Online), bank transfer.
How much does delivery cost?	To parcel terminals and delivery points - free of charge, by courier - 450 rubles.
They can bring the purchase home or need to go somewhere.	If you would like the item to be delivered to your home, please select courier delivery. You can also pick up your order at the pick-up point or in a parcel locker.
Is it possible to refuse a product?	Yes, if after trying on/checking you are not satisfied with it. It is enough to issue a return of the goods. Condition: preservation of the presentation of the order and packaging.
How is the product packaged?	In courier packages and a strong cardboard box. You can order designer gift packaging.

If you don't have any unique offers, just help the client quickly place and receive an order.

The user may be interested in:

Bonuses - a gift for every visitor to the online store, sales every first day of the month, discounts for active customers, an exclusive postcard for a bouquet from a floristry studio, a plush toy when ordering a set on February 14th.
Favorable offers - when ordering goods in a health food store for an amount of 2000 rubles or more, a multicooker as a gift, several products to choose from - with a lower price without additional bonuses and with a higher price.

Unique should be unique, not seem unique. Remember this whenever you are unhappy with your online store.

No feedback

Often the client cannot place an order because he cannot reach the manager and get answers. Typical problems:

The manager has no scripts - he doesn’t know what to say

You shouldn’t throw a manager into the ocean of sales like a kitten into water - give him answers that will help during conversations with clients.

They can't reach you

A person calls the specified number, but cannot contact the operator due to an error in the phone or problems on the line. To avoid this problem, check the information in the “Contacts” section, monitor the operation of telephony, view statistics on calls made during and after business hours, monitor the speed of call processing, check the quality of communication, and the load on the line.

Managers do not process customer requests

This means that managers do not call back - neither within an hour, nor the next morning - never. After placing an order, such silence on the part of the seller, who promised to contact the client as soon as possible, is perceived as evidence of incompetence.

The solution to the problem is prompt notification of customer calls and messages sent by email. If the problem is related to errors in setting up the feedback form, check the form parameters and change the addresses used.

Wrong in positioning

Proper positioning will help you take a strong position in your chosen niche. This is the purpose of which is to create a stable connection between the brand and certain associations. Everyone knows that Jaguar is about cool sports cars, and Maybelline is about cosmetics used by world celebrities. However, you don’t have to be marketing mastodons. You just need to stand out from your competitors with an offer that will attract buyers and will not require you to invest money. The task is to make the product recognizable and salable, to associate it with benefits that the buyer can only receive in your online store.

A good example of successful positioning is Dodo Pizza. The pizzeria promises: if the pizza is not delivered to you within an hour, you will not have to pay for delivery. This is captivating and speaks of the responsibility of each employee for the quality of service.

Positioning errors

Error	The essence	Solution
Underpositioning	Buyers do not feel the need for the product you offer them.	Prove the benefits of the purchase by demonstrating the benefits of the product or service.
Overpositioning	You overdid it and formed a too narrow idea of the target audience about the products sold - when you mention the brand, they think only about one characteristic. A classic example of this mistake is brands with predominantly expensive products that also produce more affordable models, but customers do not know about it.	First of all, you should not allow this situation to happen. Choose the right media strategy, don’t focus on the “more is better” principle. If a problem arises, reduce all forms of advertising and change the strategy - highlight more features.
Vague positioning	Frequent changes in promotion strategies, shifting between different target audiences, there are too many advantages.	Sell with confidence - knowing what and to whom you are selling, what advantages of the product will be a priority for the target audience. The buyer of a gaming laptop is interested in power, amount of RAM, and keyboard. Focus on these characteristics. Don’t forget that your target audience is gamers, and maximum performance is important to them.
Questionable positioning	Occurs when the characteristics of a product are questionable among buyers. For example, you sell economy-class dog food, positioning it as premium, or fantastic diet pills for losing 10 kg in two weeks. It is not surprising that such offers confuse users.	Don't deceive buyers. Be honest about product characteristics. Watch your reputation: a statement about the fastest home delivery of food will be perceived as a mockery if, in fact, the company’s couriers arrive late or do not arrive at all.

Strive to be better than competitors: in price, quality, attitude towards the client, service. If you succeed in all these areas, sales growth is guaranteed.

Wrong choice of promotion channel

If you need quick results, choose contextual advertising. It starts working immediately after the first ad is moderated. Disadvantages: Internet advertising requires a constant injection of money: poured into advertising - received from sales. Bottom line: as long as there is money in your account, there are sales, as soon as they run out, there are no sales.

SEO has a lasting effect. You will have to wait 3-5 months for the results. However, with the right strategy, you will receive a steady flow of visitors. After disabling SEO, the number of buyers will decrease gradually, without a sharp drop in traffic.

Poor selection of goods

If the budget is small, but there are many categories, there is a discrepancy between promises and reality: instead of a wide assortment, the buyer is waiting for several products in each section.

If you know that your budget is limited, work on several categories - 1-3 is enough. Concentrate on them and get results. This is better than showing one product on the page, demonstrating the lack of a “wide range”.

What to analyze if there are no sales in an online store

Carefully monitor the operation of the resource. Eliminate technical errors, track attempts to pay for your order using and. We have already written about setting goals in Yandex.Metrica and Google. Analytics. Check the functionality of the site after any work using test orders, use Google Webmaster and Analytics, Metrica, and be sure to test the site on all browsers and devices. You need to see what every potential customer in the store sees.
Think about the functionality. Let the buyer have the opportunity to remove an item from the cart, change the address, delivery or payment method, or add another item at the checkout stage. Set up reminders and notifications about order status.
A good USP is truly unique. Remember this and find new ways to attract visitors to the site: additional bonuses, competitions and prizes, comprehensive services. A unique offer should be located not only on the main site - users should see links to it or information about it on all pages.

Provide feedback. Answer questions promptly, give the manager scripts and teach him how to provide value to the client. Make the online consultation as informative and quick as possible, so that the site visitor does not think about the uselessness of the service.
Offer the client all the popular payment options - cash upon pickup, cash on delivery, using a bank card, through terminals, PayPal and parcel machines.

If you decide to use contextual advertising, don’t skimp. If you have chosen the path of SMM promotion, attract traffic to the site through groups on social networks, create groups and public pages. Expand your channels of exposure to potential clients - YouTube and thematic blogs really work. Send emails to your customers and potential clients. Add notifications about new discounts and promotions, useful tips, recommendations on choosing products, their use, and links to articles on a thematic blog to your newsletter. This will increase the user’s confidence and give him a chance to choose between several lucrative offers: subscription only to promotions or subscriptions to promotions and materials that will be useful to him.

The potential buyer immediately sees the benefits of the purchase

Feedback and product list in one window

Don't disappoint the buyer's expectations. If you write about a wide selection, be kind enough to provide it.

In ours, we already talked about how to turn a website into a gold mine. It remains to give a few general tips:

Monitor the status of your site once a month. Do not forget to check the relevance of the information provided: if the order conditions have changed or a new product model has been released, inform the user about it.
Use analytics tools: Google Webmasters or Yandex.Webmaster to search for technical errors, Yandex.Metrica and Google Analytics to analyze traffic.
Don’t forget about real orders to check the performance of the resource - they need to be done at least once a week to eliminate the possibility of errors.
Take into account all changes in the code and structure of the site: they may negatively affect positions in search results and traffic. Automate monitoring using SeoSan, SEO-CRM.
Improve the functionality, adapting it to the user's needs.

Oksana Zoriy

Team lead of the SEO department

In addition to finding ways to increase traffic and attract new customers to the site, you should pay attention to existing customers and.

Make the ordering process simple and intuitive so that the customer does not have to go through many stages of the purchase. Be sure to use ways to return the client to purchase: e-mail or SMS notification, retargeting/remarketing, bonuses, discounts and other goodies.

For help in contextual advertising, internal and external optimization, you can contact us - we will help you raise traffic from your knees and turn potential clients into actual ones. Don’t forget: in the pursuit of profit, you cannot relegate a person to the background. The benefit for the visitor should be at the forefront. Make websites for people and get guaranteed sales.

They write to us: “I created a website, but there are no sales. What should I do?” We answer.

Immediately after creating a website, each entrepreneur consistently has two tasks: attracting visitors and receiving orders from these visitors. The first can be solved using paid and free tools that we talked about earlier. The second depends on a number of factors: the convenience of the resource, prices, products, the availability of convenient payment methods, delivery and communication methods, guarantees, positive reviews, etc.

If there are visitors on the site, but no orders, this indicates that there are errors on it that interfere with sales and force them to leave for competitors. In this case, you need to identify and eliminate them as soon as possible. Here are the 10 main mistakes:

1. Incorrect display on mobile devices

Check the display of your website on smartphones and tablets. Is everything visible? Is everything displayed correctly? Probably yes, since he works for Nethouse. In any case, it is advisable to upgrade to one of our responsive templates if you have not already done so. Their essence is that all interface elements automatically adapt to screens of various sizes. This is very important as visitors are increasingly accessing the Internet and placing orders from mobile devices. In addition to convenience, responsive design is loved and appreciated by search engines.

2. Complex order form

Sometimes site owners unnecessarily complicate the order form and add not only the standard email and phone number, but also date of birth, passport number, and some personal data. Some even require you to register. Leave in the form only what is really needed to place an order, and all other data can be clarified later. The more fields in the form and the more stages in placing an order, the more visitors leave without purchasing anything from you.

By the way, not everyone is comfortable ordering goods through a shopping cart, routinely filling out a lot of fields. The solution is to add a “buy in 1 click” link to the products. By clicking it, the client only needs to leave a phone number, and then the site manager will contact him to clarify the order. Thanks to this option, you can reduce the number of abandoned carts.

3. Poor choice of domain and corporate email

When creating a website, choosing a domain name and email is very important. You should not use a free domain like ivanpetrov.nethouse.ru or the unmemorable divan-347-02-16.ru. After all, if your customers want to return, it will be very difficult to remember or enter the site address without errors. Also, don't confuse your visitors with email. [email protected]. Create corporate mailboxes like this in a few clicks [email protected] And [email protected] using the Mail.Ru service for business.

4. Inconvenient site navigation

Visitors come to the site in order to obtain some specific information about goods or services. If they can’t find her quickly, they leave him pretty quickly. That’s why you need to pay close attention to the structure of the site and the formation of the menu. Possible errors: bloated menu, unstructured sections, lack of search, presence of empty pages on the site and links to already deleted ones (404 error).

5. Prices are too high or they are not available on the website

If your competitors’ product costs 3,000 rubles, and you offer it for 10,000 rubles, don’t expect to see a bunch of orders. As practice shows, clients almost always compare prices on at least 5-10 sites. The next point that may confuse visitors is the lack of prices. Even if you are selling expensive equipment, indicate them at least in the format “from 120,000 rubles.”

Next important point. If you set high prices for goods, then users with the Yandex.Advisor extension installed in their browser will see competitors' offers with a better price. We have a solution.

6. Poor quality product images or lack thereof

The peculiarity of any online store is that the product cannot be seen “live”, tried on or touched with your hands. The main selling elements are photographs. Do them yourself or invite a photographer. Do not use low-quality images, especially those with copyright from another site.

7. Delivery and return conditions and guarantees are not specified. No reviews.

Efforts to attract visitors to your site may be frustrated by a lack of information about shipping, returns, and guarantees. These are very important points, which is why many online stores put them on the main page in the form of triggers, for example, “free delivery within the Russian Federation,” “return within a year,” or “lifetime warranty.”

Positive customer reviews can also be a decisive argument in favor of ordering on the site. Ideally, they should be from accounts authorized via VKontakte or Facebook.

8. Not enough contact information

Sometimes it feels like some sales-oriented website owners want customers to never find them. Remember: the more contact information, the better. Don't be afraid to go overboard. Provide a detailed address, phone number, e-mail, opening hours, details, instant messengers, skype, online consultant, etc. Display the location of your office or store on a map. Post additional photos to the address. This, at a minimum, will emphasize your openness and inspire trust among visitors.

9. No online payment

Another argument in favor of purchasing on your website is the ability to pay online. This is not only convenient and encourages impulse purchases, but also inspires trust among visitors. For some reason, some site owners think that it is enough to indicate the numbers of bank cards and electronic wallets on the site. This is fundamentally wrong and repulsive. After all, if the client makes a mistake in one number during the transfer or simply does not receive the goods, he will not be able to get his money back. On the other hand, if payment is made through integrated methods, then the client can always request a refund through his bank or payment system.

10. There are errors and typos on the site

Despite the many services for checking the literacy of texts, it is quite common to encounter sites with errors and typos. This also creates negativity among potential clients. To check spelling and punctuation, use Advego.ru/text or Online.orfo.ru.

Check your site for errors now and make it sell. Remember, you must like him yourself. Good luck!

Each sales manager has his own achievement level, above which he cannot jump, for certain reasons. To the question: “What’s stopping you from selling more?”, you can hear standard excuses like: "No luck this month!" or “There are very few clients!” or “The competitors are better/cheaper!” or “Working conditions don’t allow me!” and everything like that, read about the nature of such excuses.

However, if you look at it, third-party factors certainly influence sales efficiency, but not 100%, but only partially. The lion's share of the contribution to sales success is made by the employee himself, or rather his professional qualities, knowledge and motivation. Let's look at these reasons why you can't sell more and fix them.

The main reasons why sales don't happen

Regardless of the sales manager’s experience, each of the following points may be the cause of low personal effectiveness in working with clients:

Lack of sufficient knowledge information about your product and a competitor’s product will be a serious hindrance in working with the client. Most barriers relate specifically to comparing your product with a competitor's product. Question: “Which is better? Why is your product better than what is sold there?”— absolutely all clients ask themselves. If you ask a similar question at a car dealership, an electronics store, or even a bank, then in 90% of cases, you will hear general phrases and the irritability of a manager who was simply stumped by an inconvenient question. In a word, you need to know your product across the entire breadth of the industry.
No training. Ignorance of basic sales techniques is the most common reason for low performance. The reasons may be different, from personal reluctance to develop to circumstances that prevent you from doing so. In one case or another, each of us has the right to choose whether to develop our sales skills or remain at the same level from year to year. Sales training, seminars, master classes, conferences, exhibitions and presentations are excellent tools for personal upgrade.
Laziness- this is the scourge of our time. For some, it is much more interesting to surf the Internet than to make a couple of calls or work with a client. Such employees complain the most about low wages, which is a consequence of low sales. Read more about the reasons why sellers don't want to sell.

The phenomenon of laziness in the 21st century is that despite realizing the importance of professional success in life (high salary, career, personal achievements), many choose the path of vegetating in sleep mode.

Lack of purposeacts as a chemical reaction neutralizer. It kills interest in work and the desire to achieve results.“I already have enough of everything. I'm fine as it is!"- the first sign of the absence of a goal, but there is no goal - why then move? Be sure to read it.
Lack of motivation or lack of motivation takes an honorable fifth place on the list. Lack of recognition in the team, lack of career growth, and low salary are direct demotivators that deprive you of the desire to work. As you know, people are divided into three categories: careerists, money lovers, downshifters (people who live for their own pleasure without obligations and social patterns). The first two categories make up 80% of the working population of the planet, but not everyone manages to make a career or earn millions, and there are objective reasons for this, which you can read about and.
Uncertainty. Clients always feel this state from the communication style and behavior of the seller. Uncertain speech, vague phrases, wandering eyes, etc. reduce customer confidence and chances of making a sale. Uncertainty is a consequence of: personality complexes, ignorance of the product and sales techniques, as well as the sales market. Excessive modesty or, on the contrary, insolence, rude frankness, inertia are the main enemies of a successful seller. Even negativism, depression and just a bad mood can cause a lack of sales of a psychological nature
The situation in the team and the company as a whole. We are all influenced by our circumstances and the society that surrounds us. Chaos, scandals, gossip, stupid management decisions - all this makes working with a client unbearable and exhausting, but despite this, you must adapt and influence, if possible, the situation and these circumstances. Read how to survive in such conditions.
Lack of freedom of action and making decisions independently can greatly hinder the dynamics and effectiveness of the seller’s work. There is no trust in employees - that’s why sales don’t happen! Rigidity and bureaucracy are sometimes a powerful brake on progress in business, and there are hundreds of examples of this. The ability to quickly respond to circumstances not only increases the efficiency of working with the client, but also directly affects the quality of service. Fast and high-quality service is a sign of competent and modern management.

Conclusion

I think you have found the reason, or maybe several reasons, why you cannot sell as you would like. What to do with it is up to you, but if you choose, remove the obstacles and big sales are waiting for you.

Very often, after the site starts working, it happens as in the saying - “it was smooth on paper, but they forgot about the ravines.” And it seems that everything was thought out to the smallest detail, and the idea itself was carried out for a long time, but the expected effect never came. In fact, there are quite a lot of reasons why no sales in the online store. To prevent the project from becoming a failure, it is worth learning more about the pitfalls of online sales.

Problems with attracting clients

One of the first reasons why an online store does not sell goods in the desired volume may be insufficiently effective customer acquisition.

This situation occurs in several cases:

Poorly thought out advertising and announcements. To promote the site, you will need advertising on third-party pages and posting information on social networks. This is much more effective than distributing flyers with the name of the site or paying for advertising in newspapers, which are often read by those who are not interested in online stores at all.
The site is aimed at the wrong target audience. If the site is designed mainly for wholesale sales, then the target audience should be enterprises and companies.
The promotions offered are ineffective and uninteresting. Very often, stores try to lure customers with offers like “buy 100,500 products and get a 3% discount.” This will not increase sales volumes, but will rather make a potential client smile and feel that the site developers see him as an idiot.

A client may also be put off by a website with cheap graphics. Beautiful appearance of the site– this is also work for the target audience. A store selling expensive branded clothing looks suspicious when its design leaves much to be desired. But this error relates rather to technical problems, which are worth discussing separately.

Technical errors and usability

The product offered on the site may be the most relevant and the work with the target audience is carried out correctly, but the online store still does not make a profit. The reason why customers don't buy may be a technical flaw.

Inconvenient basket. Sometimes you come across sites where the process of adding an item to your cart is similar to hacking the system. Complicated registration with a half-page form and the need to enter a password several times make you lose patience and force you to abandon the order halfway through.
Poor delivery. One of the good reasons why there are no sales in an online store is the lack of several delivery options or it takes too long.
Disadvantages in payment methods. The most popular payment options are e-wallets, cards and cash. An example of an ill-conceived payment system on a website would be a gift shop that requires payment in cash upon receipt.
Broken site structure. The product catalog must be logical, otherwise the buyer simply will not find what he is looking for on the page. An internal search engine and a well-designed product filter are a must.
Lack of direct communication. Today, a very popular option for communicating with a client is pop-up windows for correspondence or application forms for ordering a call back. This type of interaction with the buyer requires constant attention from the manager, but it is quite effective. A large flow of page visitors may occur during non-working hours. Often potential customers simply want to ask a question about a product before purchasing it. This way they can leave a request, and a little later the store will contact them and remind them about themselves.

There is one more error that is simultaneously related to the work of the manager and the functioning of the system. When updating catalogs, each new product receives a name. Here you need minimal experience or at least advice from a SEO specialist so that the new product name can be easily included in search queries.

The name from the supplier’s price list is not always suitable, because it often contains abbreviations, article numbers and other information that the client does not need. Correct naming will help you find the right product easier and faster.

Disadvantages in the work of a manager

Human factor– this is what can ultimately ruin everything. Even if the site was initially perfectly thought out and everything was done to promote it, the “specialist” who will be entrusted with managing the brainchild can raze everything to the ground if handled ineptly.

There are a number of fairly common problems that the manager himself creates:

Rare catalog update. A site on the pages of which nothing changes gives the impression of not working. The interest of regular and new customers is supported, among other things, by offers of new products.
Invalid information. Data about the goods offered by the store require regular monitoring. If in reality half of the products offered are missing, this leads to undelivered purchases and dissatisfied customers. In addition, irrelevant prices will cause losses.
Lack of knowledge about the products offered. If a buyer asks a question. Then he expects a confident, reliable answer, and not a vague story about what color the packaging of the product is. It is recommended to place as much information as possible on the page with the description and technical characteristics of the products offered. This will reduce the number of questions and also help the specialist himself to quickly navigate the products.
Unpolite service. This human factor has not been canceled. Intrusive questions can irritate you, but this is only a reason to be patient in solving problems. A dissatisfied customer means negative feedback and loss of trust.

Errors in working with suppliers

Often it is unsuccessful cooperation that becomes reason for low profits. The most common mistake is setting a low markup. If, when setting prices, you have to focus on competitors’ prices, then you should look for another supplier with a more attractive price list. Many companies operate on the principle of reselling products, so you need to negotiate with manufacturers or work with the first supplier.

The discrepancy in quality also turns into a rather unpleasant surprise. Unscrupulous partners can provide beautiful photos for sale and even samples of the products offered, and after the start of trading and conclusion of contracts, unpresentable product items arrive. Such a product will lead to buyer disappointment and loss of trust in the site.

A separate problem - outdated product remains from suppliers and long shipment times. Many small factories and private companies are guilty of this. In words, everything that is in the price list is available, but in reality, it is not profitable for them to keep large warehouses and large product balances. Therefore, when ordering a product, it turns out that it has not even been produced yet and there are no raw materials for them either. This translates into anticipation for the end customer who made the purchase in the hope of quick delivery.

It may seem that there are quite a lot of chances to make mistakes in the operation of an online store, but, fortunately, all these shortcomings are quite correctable.

So, you have launched your online store, it has been indexed by search engines, and now you can finally calmly sit back in a soft chair and wait for sales.

But, for some reason, these same sales are not there. Well, or there is, but far from the quantity you expected. In this case, you will have to figure out what the reason is.

Sometimes, even a great website may not make money. And some never will. Here is a small list of reasons why there are no sales in an online store, or they are at a very low level. Check your site using this checklist, maybe you have exactly one of the listed problems, and eliminating it will help increase your income.

1. Product photos are terrible.

A visitor to an online store does not have the opportunity to touch the product with his hands and examine it from all sides, as in a regular retail outlet. That is why visual presentation of information for an online store is extremely important.

Think for yourself - would you buy a product “by touch”, without the opportunity to look at it well, and make sure that it is exactly what suits you? Most likely no. And your clients share exactly the same point of view.

If possible, hire a photographer to take high-quality, professional photographs of the product range for you. If not, then at least try to get the best quality images possible from the supplier. Or steal from competitors.

Take a look at the sample product images below:

They look amazing and really make you want to buy them! Invest in photography, it will pay off.

2. Product descriptions are boring

Let’s take for example the product page – “Green T-shirt”. And in the description you write that: the T-shirt is green. Applause - a prize for originality is guaranteed to you (irony, of course). Now let's think about what else we can say about this green T-shirt to convince someone to buy it.

Perhaps it is made of the finest natural silk? Or is it sewn by hand? Perhaps the drawing on it was drawn by a professional artist according to your individual order? Here's a whole range of ideas for creating a really interesting description.

People need to understand what they are buying, what the benefits of the product are, and why they should buy from you and not someone else. Providing this information to potential buyers bridges the gap between no sales and generating order flow.

3. Prices are too high (or low)

In the first case, everything is clear: if many sellers offer the same product (for example, a laptop model), in most cases they will buy from the one who offers it cheaper.

The second option is related to trust - if you offer a product at too low a price, a potential buyer may wonder if there is some kind of catch in this, which ultimately will again lead to a refusal to purchase.

Finding the optimal price is not as easy a task as it might seem at first glance. After all, this price must also include the costs of logistics, storage of products, marketing and payment of employees. Therefore, it is necessary to calculate everything well and conduct a little market research, analyzing the pricing policies of your closest competitors.

4. Navigation is confusing

After visiting your site, the visitor should easily find what interests him. Therefore, careful attention must be paid to the navigation and structure of the online store catalog.

Site navigation should be logical, search should work correctly, products should be correctly distributed into categories. Also, do not forget about filters and tags that simplify navigation when there are a large number of pages.

Likewise, you can use separate blocks for the best-selling and most talked about products, which can become sales drivers. It often happens that people themselves do not know what they need until you give them a hint.

5. Problems at work

If there are no sales in the online store at all, or for some reason they have dropped sharply, try to go through the entire ordering process yourself, as a buyer would have to do. Perhaps the problem is that it is simply impossible to make a purchase due to the fact that nothing works.

In my practice, there was an example when a client’s sales dropped sharply, and no one could understand what was wrong. Until it turned out that the full-time programmer, in the process of introducing a number of edits, somehow disabled the “Buy” button. The clients probably pressed this button in despair and unsuccessfully, but they were never able to place an order.

There are many user experience issues that can cause people to abandon a purchase at checkout. For example, there are too many steps to complete a purchase, complex forms, etc.

6. The site is not trustworthy

When you have to compete with e-commerce giants, there is one thing you need to understand: they have the ability to leverage one of the important advantages of a brand - user trust.

But you should make sure that you appear to potential buyers as a reliable seller. Write down the terms of payment and delivery, guarantees and returns, provide more contact information, if necessary, add photos of the office and scans of quality certificates. Don't forget about reviews from existing customers either.

Well, remember that people are greeted by their clothes, and if the website design resembles “hello from the 90s”, you shouldn’t be surprised that against the background of “polished” and modern competitor sites, your online store looks like a schoolchild’s craft in their free time from lessons time.

You don’t have to sell your apartment and order a redesign from Lebedev Studio; it’s enough to at least buy a nice paid template.

7. You have no visitors

Suddenly. Strangely, for some entrepreneurs it is still a revelation that in order for an online store to have sales, it is necessary to invest in Internet marketing. Moreover, invest regularly. No marketing - no sales.

It is important to understand that they can be divided into two large groups - those that give almost instant results, and those whose returns appear only in the medium and long term.

To get the best effect, you need to apply them comprehensively: to get quick sales, we launch contextual advertising, and at the same time we begin work on SEO and content marketing to build a stable base.

In addition, you need to take care of collecting a subscriber base for email newsletters (repeat sales) and developing your pages on social networks.

8. The manager is an idiot

And, sometimes, literally. The situation when a sales consultant understands absolutely nothing about the product he is selling is not uncommon. And the owner of the online store is to blame for this, first of all, who most likely considered it unnecessary to hire professionals in their field. Well, or just squeezed money.

This is especially important for niche online stores in complex topics, where advice from a specialist is highly valued by the client. For example, audio equipment and power tools, industrial equipment, photographic equipment, etc. In such cases, the owner of an online store needs to either consult himself or hire real specialists.

9. Website design is crap

Like this. No censorship. Calling a spade a spade is my favorite weakness. A beautiful, professional-looking website is a must in our time, when most users, as they say, are greeted by their clothes. Would you buy jewelry from a gypsy selling it in an abandoned basement? Hardly.

The good news is that in the Themeforest.net catalog you can find excellent templates for most popular CMS, or PSD files, based on which you can create a nice, modern design for a small fee.

10. Marketing at zero level

Marketing is not just about attracting traffic. First of all, you need to answer the key question of potential clients - how do you, in fact, differ from all the other online stores? And fairy tales in the style of “excellent service” and “fast delivery” will not work here.

It is necessary to work to earn the loyalty of the audience - hold promotions, organize competitions, offer discounts and make seasonal sales. The combination of all of the above marketing tactics and constant experimentation can ensure repeat sales and significantly save advertising budgets.

It will be difficult (if not impossible) to build a successful business if you ignore these things.

11. Unrealistic expectations

You opened an online store a week ago, and still haven’t crossed the 100 sales mark per day? Don't you even bother to print your website address on your business cards? Forgot to answer customer questions by email and are still wondering why people aren't buying?

All of these scenarios and more can be classified as unrealistic expectations. Like any other business, e-commerce can build a steady stream of sales, but it won't happen overnight.

But if you work hard on your online store, take high-quality photos and product descriptions, provide excellent customer service, actively promote your site and set competitive prices, you have every chance of success. And almost always, it's only a matter of time.

What other reasons do you think there may be problems with sales in an online store? Have something to add to this list?