As a new seller on Daraz, there are many mistakes you can make without realizing.
Reading so much fine print can be time consuming. Also, there are so many hidden tactics you can forget, which will decrease your likelihood of building a strong brand presence.
However, you can avoid the new-seller pitfalls by following Daraz’s rules, which are in place for a single objective – to improve customer experience.
But to avoid mistakes, you need to first identify them.
For this reason, we have compiled a list of 15 common errors that businesses on Daraz make while selling on the platform. Knowing what you’re doing wrong can help you easily avoid the following mistakes:
1. Overlooking Seller Guidelines
Daraz has strict seller guidelines in place, which were written and designed to protect buyers and sellers on the platform.
Without the strict enforcement of these guidelines, the online marketplace would not be manageable. Despite that, many sellers start without reading the seller guidelines. Then, they end up experiencing financial penalties, or have to shut down their account.
To avoid making this error, start your Daraz journey by reading the channel’s rules on what is permissible and what isn’t.
2. Directing Daraz’s Shoppers To Your Website
As part of the written policy, Daraz’s shoppersare meant to stay on its website. So, when sellers redirect the traffic to their website, they are placing their business at risk.
The infrastructure of the leading South Asian marketplace is quite smart and can easily detect such behavior. Ultimately, this can lead to seller delisting.
Instead, keeping the traffic on Daraz platform is beneficial for both the sellers and the platform alike.
3. Neglecting Competitor Research
Many new sellers start by creating a selling account and their product listings. After that, they wait for consumers to purchase from their company.
This is a faulty approach because increased competition on the platform means you have to make your products stand out. Hence, you should research competitors’ products. This way, you will have clarity on what exactly to include in your listings.
When conducting research, ask yourself these questions:
- What is making this competitor’s product sell well?
- Do they have a good product image and does mine compare well?
- What keywords do they appear to be using in their title and bullet points?
- How do they describe the product so that customers know what they are getting, and will not make a return?
After finding the answers to your questions, attempt to make your product listing better than that of your competitors.
4. Inadequate Product Listing
Instead of rushing to get the task done, create a holistic business solution, by providing products that customers are actually looking for.
As product assortment is at the heart of Daraz and its promise to customers, sellers are encouraged to make sure they optimize their product catalog.
Some key tips are: complete more than 80% of product attributes, add maximum characters in bullet points and title. In addition, add SEO optimized keywords in your titles, and list down prices clearly.
Even after all this effort, you should run weekly checks on your product listings. Based on customer feedback and the data you receive, continuously improve your offerings.
5. Ineffective Search Engine Optimization
The best way to enhance product visibility is to track your search rank. See what terms people are using to find your product. And which ones they seem to be searching for most.
Based on that, utilize SEO best practices; use relevant keywords, enhance your off-page and technical SEO, so you can appear in top Google searches.
Thus, you will be able to drive higher conversions and build a greater brand presence.
6. Poor Stock Management
It can be challenging to predict your inventory needs well in advance when you just begin selling online. Not being able to forecast the demand can be frustrating.
But that doesn’t mean you don’t try to manage your stock. What if your business actually picks up? Then, if you run out of inventory, you’re bound to lose customers.
On top of that, Daraz lives up to its promise of excellent customer experience by being transparent with its users. This means the platform indicates whether products are active or inactive at a given time. As a result, when your product is out of stock, your listing is taken offline.
Hence, to ensure you don’t negatively harm your search ranking by being removed from the platform, make sure you have enough inventory to not run out, especially when customers really need your product.
7. Late Shipment
The fundamental promise of ecommerce is fast delivery. It is what the customers expect from every business on the platform.
For an offline company, who is not used to fast and easy deliveries, this transition can seem taxing. However, delivery is one of the main factors on which buyers rate the sellers.
When they order a product online, they are trying to save the time and effort it would take to go to a physical store. Often, they want easy access to a large number of products.
Hence, it is best if you don’t consume a lot of shipment time. Doing so will cost you a bad seller rating. And that is something you want to avoid.
To helpcater to this problem, you can utilize Daraz’s own fast delivery mechanism – Daraz Express.
8. Ghosting Customers
Essentially, good communication with your customers is key to driving conversions and sales. For this reason, Daraz has many tools in place that sellers can take advantage of.
One such feature is chat support. Allowing buyers and sellers to converse directly, this tool enables you to build strong, lasting relationships with vital stakeholders.
But the only way to fully utilize the feature is to use it consistently. When customers send you a query, make sure to answer them promptly. If you need time to get back to them, let them know that as well – along with the reason why. Just make sure to not leave your customers hanging – no matter what they ask.
9. Ignoring Buyer Questions
Despite providing all relevant details about the product, sometimes, customers still want to know more, especially if they are making expensive purchases.
Then, it’s possible that people may have specific questions that the product detail page may not answer. So, on the same page, they will post their questions.
It is where you, as a seller, can make the difference. By regularly answering their questions, you can nudge them in making a purchasing decision that is beneficial for you.
Moreover, honest replies will make your buyers feel heard, which is why they will likely become loyal brand advocates.
10. Skipping Seller Picks
Seller picks is a great promotional tool for Daraz sellers. Tapping into millions of users on the platform, jumping the promotional bandwagon can really help sellers gain traffic.
Such an opportunity is especially useful for new sellers, who don’t have an established customer base. By taking advantage of all that Daraz offers, you can change your position in the market.
11. Neglecting Mega Campaigns
Following from the previous mistake is the neglection of large campaigns and promotional activities that the leading ecommerce channel pushes forward. 11.11 mega sale is one such example.
When all the brands and startups alike engage in large-scale promotional deals, not following in their footsteps will result in you falling behind.
If you fail to submit your SKUs via the promotion tool in Daraz seller center, it is possible that your competitors might. And during the sale season, buyers will prefer products that give discounted prices.
12. Mismanagement Of Product Reviews
Stellar product reviews are your savior, especially when you are a new startup. Since online shopping means individuals cannot actually see the product in real life, they are likely to depend entirely on seller ratings, product ratings and product reviews.
Thus, if previous buyers have listed negative reviews, it can cause serious damage to your business. To curb this issue, you should do everything in your power to reach out to the buyer, try to find the cause behind the review, and resolve it at the earliest.
On the other hand, simply deleting the review or blocking the buyer will negatively impact your credibility. People will be less likely to trust you and buy from you.
13. Discarding The Customer-Is-Always-Right Approach
Some buyers can be quite tough to deal with; they have unreasonable demands and remain dissatisfied despite your best performance.
In this case, don’t discard the number one business approach: customer is always right. Even if a frustrating situation presents itself, remember to politely communicate with the buyer, and keep your interaction with them as transparent as possible.
Professionalism during tricky circumstances is the the defining marker between a successful business and a failing one.
14. Assuming Buyers Read Everything In Your Listing
It is a common error to assume that after all the effort you put in creating the perfect product listing, buyers will actually read all of it.
But the truth is that people often just skim over the information they see online. It is why visual aids are becoming immensely significant.
Instead of writing large chunks of information, only provide critical information. Additionally, make appropriate use of bolds, italics and bullet points. You can also add an image or a video, which the users are much more likely to check out.
Doing so will help you avoid the frustrating situation where a customer buys a product without actually reading the description, and then tries to return it. Avoiding this error can be a real time-saver for both the consumer and the seller.
15. Not Utilizing Daraz’s Support Mechanism
Instead of trying to tackle infrastructural issues that you can’t resolve on your own, contact Daraz immediately.
For instance, if there is a bug on the platform, or customer issues arise due to the channel’s technical infrastructure, it is better to inform Daraz support.
Leaving these problems unaddressed can lead to long-term inefficient customer experience, which will drive away buyers from your shop.
In Conclusion
Whether you’re already selling on Daraz, or thinking about joining the leading South Asian ecommerce channel, it’s necessary to be wary of these mistakes so that you don’t make them.
Identifying these easily avoidable errors is the first step to resolving them. Even though most of these problems don’t result in immediate suspension from the Daraz platform, they do impact your sales and profit.
But Daraz is all about creating value for its sellers, which is only possible if sellers take accountability for their actions. And try to do everything they can to optimize their online business practices, in the hopes of establishing successful businesses.
