Top 11 Reasons Why People Fail with Dropshipping
[featured-image]
Dropshipping has seen a massive explosion as it is a viable business model if you have what it takes to nail all the components for success. It’s like having your store, and the business model is simple. You are essentially the middle man between supplier and customer. You’re marketing the supplier’s products and getting a commission from the sales.
The Top Tips to Do It Right!
Most people begin doing it as a side hustle and eventually leave their mundane 9 to 5 jobs as they start earning sustainable profits. You have probably heard of success stories from online entrepreneurs flaunting luxurious lifestyles. This is usually what gets people in the business in the first place.
However, what you don’t see is the hard work and dedication put into building the dropshipping business. Because of this, there are also people who invest money and end up failing in the business. Here’s a look at some reasons why that might happen.
Lack of resources
Every business needs an initial investment. Although the finances you need for a dropshipping business is considerably low, you will still need to pump out some initial funds to set up your store. There are also quite a few elements that require investments before you start seeing any returns. Areas that need initial funding are such as ordering and testing products and running ads. Running a business on minimal funds isn’t easy, and you might result in taking short cuts to make it work. Taking short cuts will cause you more problems in the long run.
Spot the real from fake gurus
If you’re beginning to research on dropshipping, you’ll come across a bunch of self-acclaimed ‘online entrepreneurs.’ They’re easy to spot as they flaunt their luxurious lifestyles and boast their achievements. They become famous by posting content with clickbait titles such as “earn money fast” and pretend to be experts on the dropshipping model. Although some of them might have found real success, most of them have no real substance. Exercise caution when you are deciding on which courses to sign up as they usually cost a lot of money. If it’s the wrong one, your payment will be gone, and you will end up learning nothing. Its advisable to do some digging on the teachers beforehand to verify if they’ve really found success in what they are preaching. Alternatively, there is a lot of free information available on the internet.
Unreliable Suppliers
As a dropshipper, you rely on suppliers for your products. If you encounter problematic suppliers, then you’re in for a tough ride. You will depend on suppliers on the quality of their products, and even the way they package and ship the products to your customers. If your supplier does not take their job seriously and are just in it for the profit, you will be the one getting complains from your customers. You will have minimal control over this issue, but you should always listen to your customers if this happens, and drop the unreliable suppliers. Otherwise, it would harm the image of your store. It’s advisable to have a few suppliers on hand in case something happens, at least you have a steady flow of supply. You can take a look at Saleahoo.
Know your customers
A different niche of customers might respond to your marketing campaigns in different ways. Therefore, you must get to know your target market. For example, if you’re selling products that appeal to older people, social media campaigns on Instagram or Pinterest might not have good returns as they don’t spend much time there. You can take a look at your competitors to get some ideas that work for their store. This way, you won’t spend money for no reason.
Spending too much time on a product
You shouldn’t spend too much time and money on a single product. For example, if a product is not taking off even after some time and painstaking costs, leave it and focus on the ones that work, and replicate it. Especially with paid ads, you should identify the ones that are working and eliminate them the soonest.
Incorrect pricing
Business is all about profits. No one is in it just for the fun of it. Your pricing strategies have a significant effect on profits; therefore, you should work it out properly. There are many things that you need to consider when pricing your products, such as the cost of goods, marketing, shipping, paid apps, etc. You should also always scout the market and competitor’s pricing so that you stay relevant in the market. Your price needs to be competitive; otherwise, you will get drowned out by competition. Play around with bundles and upselling to maximize your profits.
Not mastering marketing
Establishing a dropshipping business involves a lot of skills that you will need to pick up along the way. Building your brand is very important, and you will learn some website graphics, design logos, making your website, etc. Another important skill you will need to master is marketing. Marketing is the main force that drives business to your store. Without effective marketing, your store will remain dormant, and your products will sit there without you seeing any profits. All your initial efforts will be wasted. It’s advisable to invest in some time to research all the marketing tools available out there. Please start with the free ones and move on to the paid advertisements once you get the hang of it. Ads help drive customers to your store, but SEO will help you rank higher. Create fun and engaging content through blog posts to build trust from your customers.
Failing to outsource
Once your business starts picking up, you’ll realize that you need more hands-on-deck to help you as you focus on scaling your business. Outsource tasks such as product research, social media manager, customer service, etc. There are many freelance websites available where you can find virtual assistants such as Freelancer.com or Upwork. The good thing is that you can select the freelancer you want to work with, and the platforms will ensure that it is safe to use.
Longer Shipping Times
Amazon’s next day delivery has spoilt us all. Customers always expect fast shipping times as they want to get their hands on the product instantly. Unfortunately, you will realize that most suppliers are based in China. This means that shipping times can take between 13 to 20 days. With such a long waiting time, customers usually get frustrated, especially if they’re first time customers who are not used to it. Therefore, it is crucial that you pre-empt your customers before they purchase the item or use other shipping methods like ePacket shipping. With ePacket shipping, your customers can track their packages in real-time, so they can’t blame you if their package is delayed.
Treating it as a business, not a hobby
Most successful dropshippers begin their business as a side hustle and as a hobby. They don’t treat it as their main rice bowl, so they take it more natural, and success eventually comes. If you’re too hard upon making profits from the start, instead of nurturing your business and letting it grow organically, the setbacks you face will affect you drastically. Therefore, you should learn that patience is a virtue and good things come when you nurture them.
Wrong Mindset
Most people think that starting a dropshipping business is the easy way out, and they will get rich without putting any effort. Although it is possible to be rich with this business model, it takes a lot of time, skill, and energy to get your business up and running. Hence, it’s not as easy as it looks. But with the right mindset, motivation, and discipline, you will see results in no time.
If your looking to wanting to take your ecommerce business to the next level or just wanting to start a dropshipping business, I highly recommend you try out a good course. Because, if your doing dropshipping chances are your gonna have to do paid ads and if you don’t know what your doing you can lose some SERIOUS amount of money.
Now, there’s a TON of overpriced courses out there claiming that they are the best however, a lot of times you could just find most of the information they offer for free on google. While that being said, I recommend eCom Elites because it’s taught by Franklin Hatchett who has makes 7 figures online and has been doing dropshipping years before it became famous and other gurus tried to jump on it. It’s also one of the most affordable course and value packed courses you can find. I have reviewed over 50+ dropshipping/ecommerce courses on here and NONE of them even come close. You can read my review on eCom Elites to see if it’s for you or not!
