Automating your ecommerce business: What you need to know
As the owner of an ecommerce business, you’re probably used to having your hands full. From keeping track of your stock to sorting the inventory on your website, to customer service and marketing, there’s never a quiet day when you’re working in the online retail industry.
With so much going on, the last thing you want is for things to get on top of you. Running a business is stressful enough already without having to deal with minor tasks that end up taking up all of your time. Luckily, there’s a way that you can make things much easier: by automating your ecommerce business.
What does this mean?
Simply put, ecommerce automation involves using software to automatically carry out the tasks that you previously would have had to complete manually. Time-consuming tasks such as confirmation emails, notifications or support tickets can be turned into automated workflows, in which you can set up multiple conditions so that things run exactly how you’d like them to.
With ecommerce automation, your time is freed up for focusing on other areas of your business. While before you would be using much of your valuable time imputing information, you can now leave that task down to your computer, and get on with the marketing and customer interaction side of things.
What platform should I use?
Popular platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce offer automation tools that you can tailor to exactly how you like. If you’re a business selling to other businesses, then check this article about the best B2B platforms to help you find the right hosting site. Iconography are ecommerce experts who will be happy to answer your questions about ecommerce automation, and they also offer services and tools that are built to fit all your business needs.
If you want to get ahead of the game, then ecommerce automation is the way froward. Here are some examples of how you can automate your ecommerce business:
Abandoned cart emails
A great way to increase sales is by automating your abandoned cart emails. You can easily build automated workflows on most email sites which will be programmed to send an email to someone if they leave an item in their cart without checking out. If someone is in two minds about a purchase or has genuinely just forgotten that they left an item in their basket, then one email can be all that’s needed to secure the purchase.
Track engaged customers and offer rewards
You can use automation tools to keep tabs on your most loyal customers and offer them special discounts or free items if they spend a certain amount of money. Loyal customers are a great group to target for marketing purpose since they have already proven that they like what you have to offer.
Automate reviews
A great way to build trust in your ecommerce business is through reviews, so why not set up an automated email that asks your customer to write a review a few days after their purchase? Make sure to share a link where you’d like the feedback to go, and you could even offer an incentive for writing the review.
