In the age of digital technology, consumers can have almost anything they need and want in a matter of a few clicks and taps. With this phenomenon, the e-commerce industry has boomed in the last few years, from website services, online shops, and even online marketplaces.
Although consumers were skeptical about the progressive way of shopping at first, innovation and development endured. Business owners and marketers ensured that their platforms, services, and products were reliable and safe, solving consumers’ qualms about fake products and scams.
However, it did not end there. Just as the world continues to evolve, so does consumer demand also. Thanks to Amazon for setting up the trend, people expect to receive everything as soon as possible. Same-day deliveries, last-mile deliveries, and free shipping fees.
If you think that providing your customers with legit products and services is enough, you are wrong. Many other businesses offer more than just a safe website, reliable payment method, and same-day deliveries.
Innovative businesses use smart technology to their advantage. There are fleet management solutions to track orders easily, return merchandise authorization (RMA) software for better return processes, and a CRM software system to store customer information.
If you are one of those eCommerce business leaders who need help with innovating, targeting profiting niches, and providing better customer service, here are some tips to help you get started.
Equip Your Team With the Proper Tools and Resources
When you’re doing business, you cannot allow your staff to do things without the proper equipment. It is not even just hardware equipment but also digital tools they need to work and collaborate. The software above is a start, but there are other application systems that you can use.
You can also use the best plugins for your WooCommerce website, and make your business more efficient and productive. Some of our top picks are WooCommerce Table Rate Shipping and WooCommerce Order Export.
Using the WooCommerce Table Rate Shipping plugin, store owners may optimize shipping and employ rule-based strategies to calculate the final shipment fee. To account for every aspect of the order, it is divided into subcategories and assigned a price. It has both a free and a premium edition. Shipping rules (based on weight and other factors) may be used to create fine-grained rules; you can also import and export your own shipping methods, as well as import and export shipping rules from other services (such as FedEx and UPS).
If you’re wondering as to how this plugin works, watch the clip below:
WooCommerce Order Export is a simple free plugin that allows you to export your WooCommerce orders and product data. Filters can be used to limit the information you’re looking for. In addition to the free version, there is a premium edition with many more features, such as exporting all required data, automated exports to your email or FTP, column reordering, multiple exports, and much more.
The video below demonstrates several of the features:
Depending on the nature of your business, the work applications and software your staff need will vary. If your e-commerce business supplies smaller ones, it is best to get real-time GPS tracking solutions for your drivers. It will allow you to better track and monitor all the outgoing assets and make sure that there are no hiccups along the way.
Also, if you are selling online products, then having a responsive website will be your best bet. Put yourself out there, go where the people are, and market your products on social media. Your website will become and serve as your sales funnel that is open and functioning every day for twenty-four hours.
Invest in Your Customer Service
Perhaps you have heard of the saying, the customer is always right. In eCommerce, that may be the only truth you would want to believe in. Customer satisfaction is every business’ end goal. Until they receive their packages and rate your products and services a shining ten, your job to please them is not over.
Customer satisfaction also means a sure repeat of the transaction, just like you would with your favorite and go-to Starbucks drink. Your customer service will be in charge of ensuring people have a pleasant customer experience with you. It is not just about the product; it is also about how you will handle your customers.
There are times when logistics will fail to meet their expectations. It is then up to your customer service to coordinate with the department and handle the situation to assuage an irate customer.
Additionally, there will be times that the product itself can go wrong, there will be unfortunate defects and mislabeled ones. Your customer service will have to oversee the return management process, too.
At the end of the day, customer satisfaction makes business, and your customer service is one key to make that happen.
Empower Your SEO Strategy
In a way, digital marketing is search engine optimization (SEO) marketing. Your digital marketing efforts aim to build a more substantial online presence that will rank you in search engines. Being Google’s go-to results for a specific and targeted query should also be your priority.
Now that consumers are most likely to search for a product or services they need, your eCommerce business needs to be on page one of Google if you want to do business. Consumers do not even go to page two if they need anything; they scroll down twice and go with the first page results.
Thus, if you want your eCommerce business to grow and be self-sustaining, you need an SEO strategy that will place your website there. This way, you won’t need to prioritize your marketing efforts just as much, and you can have more time to innovate and improve your overall services.
With the boom of the eCommerce industry, customer demands and expectations also changed. Now that many competitors are floating around, it is up to you to get on with the times and provide a quality customer experience that will make them go back to you.