Client Background

This client was one of our earliest partners — an e-commerce brand selling high-quality mechanical keyboards. The mechanical keyboard market is fiercely competitive, dominated by long-established brands with strong reputations, loyal communities, and deep marketing budgets. For a new brand with limited recognition and resources, breaking into this space is incredibly challenging. In particular, digital marketing challenges for e-commerce startups without a clear niche or unique selling proposition (USP) can make or break the success of their entry.

Project Timeline & Scope

We began working together in mid-September 2023 and collaborated for about four months, wrapping up in January 2024. Our primary scope included:

1. Website audit and optimization

2. Identifying potential niche markets

3. Launching and managing digital ad campaigns on Google Ads and Facebook Ads

Challenges

From the beginning, we faced several significant digital marketing challenges for e-commerce startups:

1. No Established Brand Identity: The client had a good product, but lacked brand awareness. For users unfamiliar with the name or without social proof, conversion was naturally low.

2. Limited Marketing Assets: High-quality images and videos are crucial for success on platforms like Facebook, but the client had limited creative resources.

3. Tight Ad Budget: The budget for Google Ads was approximately $100/day. This is quite low in a vertical where keywords are highly competitive and expensive.

4. Short Runway: Most of the initial two to three months were spent improving the website and identifying the right niche. That left just about two months to run ad campaigns, which is simply not enough time to yield long-term results in such a competitive category.

Performance & Learnings

On Google Ads, our campaigns began to show progress — we moved from zero conversions to a small but improving ROAS. However, given the limited budget and timeframe, it wasn’t enough to reach profitable scale.

Facebook Ads suffered from a lack of visual content and brand trust. Without engaging creatives and strong social proof, performance remained modest.

We observed small but promising growth in the website’s SEO metrics (tracked via Ahrefs), but the client’s traffic still showed dramatic fluctuations — a sign that the overall strategy needed more consistency and support.

Reflection on Digital Marketing Challenges for E-Commerce Startups

After our cooperation ended, we reached out to check in and were told our previous efforts didn’t meet expectations. It was disappointing, especially because we believed we needed more time and resources to truly move the needle. That said, we respect the client’s perspective. Every business must make tough decisions, especially when ROI is unclear.

What We Learned?

This case is a clear reminder that digital marketing challenges for e-commerce startups are multifaceted. Without brand identity, supporting assets, a clear niche, and internal commitment, even the best marketing strategies can fall short. At the same time, we also believe this:

* You can’t build a brand in two months.

* You can’t find a niche without testing.

* You can’t expect results without consistent input and support.

Our team cares deeply about the projects we take on. We don’t try to juggle too many clients — we prefer to work closely, long-term, and build something meaningful together. But success requires partnership, patience, and shared investment — not just financially, but in time, team support, and trust.

Closing Thoughts

We believe in growing through every experience. While we stand by the effort and care we put into this project, we also recognize that there were things we could have done better. Losing the trust of any client is something we take seriously, and we genuinely feel sorry for that. Every project teaches us something, and we carry those lessons forward — to improve, to adapt, and to serve our future partners even better. We learned a lot. And even though it wasn’t a “success story” in the traditional sense, it taught us the value of alignment — between product, budget, team, and expectations.

If you’re a brand looking for long-term growth, honest communication, and a team that treats your project as their own — let’s talk. At FS Digital, we’re not here to promise instant results, but we are here to do the right work that leads to real outcomes.