7 ways to prevent product launch failure in ecommerce

Rebecca Menezes | Jun 12, 2021

Out on the ecommerce scene, you will find tons of products listed and selling like hot cakes. But sometimes, before a best seller born you have to deal with a couple of failures. Don’t let this dishearten you from moving forward as an online seller. Failure is a way of learning and there are ways to limit your chances of failure when launching your product in the online retail market.

Product failure occurs due to the lack of sales. And the reasons for this could be a single wrong move or a combination of wrong moves. The best way to bounce back from failure is to learn from your mistakes. There are a couple of key areas where online sellers may go wrong when launching a new product says Browntape, the multi-channel order and inventory management firm.

To help you decrease failure and identify wrong turns, we have compiled key areas for you to double check before launching your product again.

Reasons for product launch failure & How to recover

1.Early or delayed entry into the market

The women’s western wear category manager at Browntape, Pranay Porwal says, “Sellers must pay attention to category trends. Introducing a product when the demand is low will not bring sales.”

To know what’s selling best he suggests keeping an eye on what big brands that are selling online. For upcoming trends in clothing and fashion sellers mostly watch the Europe markets, claims Pranay. This is because the trends from there are usually brought to India. But it takes time for this to happen as the trends in Europe must be replicated to suit the Indian consumer’s needs. So take note of what is catching on in the Indian market and pay attention to trend updates to know the right time to launch your product.

2.Lack of variety

The online retail scene is a vast market and if you don’t have what shoppers are looking for, someone else certainly will. For clothing, if you have a limited cut sizes (i.e. clothing sizes like – L, XL, XXL, etc.) shoppers may not come to you again because they may feel they won’t find the size they desire. You may have gotten everything right from the quality to the pricing, but the lack of sizes will force customers away.

Product variety is another aspect that sellers must consider to spread the risk of product failure. Pranay states that if you sell under the clothing category have a variety of products like tops, trousers, dresses and so on. This way in case a particular product fails, say in the trouser category, you will still have the success of the other categories to recover.

3.Product-related problems

If you face a lot of returns for a new product make sure you figure out why. Check out your feedback and reviews on marketplaces and social media for comments indicating quality issues, lack of money’s worth, difficulties with the product and so on.

Based on these comments you can identify what customers are looking for in your products.

For pricing – always note premium pricing is not for beginners. You need to maintain competitive prices says Pranay. High prices will not get you sales, especially if the quality of your product doesn’t match it.

For quality – try to offer only the best because it will help keep bad quality related reviews at bay. This way, potential customers will know there’s no problem with your product.

4.Incorrect steps during listing

While listing your products, you must be put them under the appropriate category and upload their descriptions and images accordingly.

For descriptions – make sure you thoroughly explain your product and the concept behind it. This way the customer cannot return it saying he does not understand it. Also, interesting descriptions can help you sell your products better.

For product images – follow through with the marketplace guidelines. Customers concentrate on product images most, so you need to get your images right. Put up high-quality product images of different angles. Also, remember to highlight product features through images.

For categories – avoid wrong nodding Pranay advises. This is when you list a product under the wrong category tag. As a result, your product will not show under the required category thereby causing you to losing visibility. Always double check your category tags before uploading a product online.

5.Use data-driven results

You can use Google Trends to know if your products are what customers are looking for. For example, if you are looking for top trending headphones you can enter this as your keyword in to Google Trends and find which states in India are searching for this product. You will also notice the brands associated to this product that was searched on Google. Based on this you can decide which has the most preference and sell accordingly.

6.Lack of or weak team efforts

A product launch requires team effort to ensure everything from production to promotions go off without a hitch. But if your team does not work as a team, you could be headed for product launch failure. Make sure your team members are skilled and you have useful resources like ecommerce management tools to keep team efforts on track. Communicate with the team regularly for better coordination and so you are aware of how things are going. It can also help you identify what’s working against you and make sure you get back on the right track.

7.Communicate with buyers

When you launch a product you need to know what the public thinks about it. For this people need to buy from you. To initiate purchases try promoting your new product through discounts or freebie offers. Once you get buyers, make efforts to collect feedback. This will give you an opinion of what the public thinks of your goods. If you cannot communicate your feedback requirements via your marketplace, use social media to promote your seller brand, goods and your interest in customer feedback. Use the information you collect to correct your product, pricing, delivery or promotions, should these be the problem areas.

Note, when you experience product failure, you must first identify what the problem is. The above are the common areas where you need to focus your attention. Make sure you check off all the above to prevent failure when you launch your product once again.

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Rebecca Menezes