5 Key Things You Need To Know About Ecommerce Automation

Getting orders in the door and managing them can be a tall order for small business owners, especially those without a large staff. We get it. However, ecommerce automation can be an advantage and a means to help you hit the next level of success.

Look no further than this guide to how you can use ecommerce automation in your everyday operations to get next-level results.

What is ecommerce automation?

Ecommerce automation is a way to use tools to bring efficiency to the most critical areas of your online enterprise. Its applications range from inventory management to marketing—and everything between. The bottom line—it’s a better way to run your ecommerce business without increasing your workforce or investing in expensive equipment.

When you integrate ecommerce marketing automation into your business, you might experience outcomes such as as:

• Increasing efficiency: Automate repetitive and cumbersome tasks, giving your team more time and space to use creativity to problem solve.
• Seeing reduced costs: Simplify workflow, reduce errors, and make better use of your resources to lower costs.
• Enhancing the customer experience: Provide faster resolutions, customized recommendations, and a better overall CX.
• Improving accuracy: Use technology to cut down on mistakes and improve data accuracy.
• Improving scalability: Plan for busy seasons. Meet increased demand without hiring and training additional staff.
• Gaining a competitive advantage: Attract more customers with an interface that makes it easy to complete a transaction and receive real-time order updates.

Why does ecommerce automation matter?

Ecommerce automation can help today’s busy business owners do more with less. It can help their teams perform tasks faster, lower costs, deliver outstanding customer experiences, and bring in more sales. In other words, ecommerce automation may be just what you need to outsmart your competition and win more customers today.

Key Benefits of Ecommerce Automation

Ecommerce automation can help you do more in less time. You can also benefit from these other advantages:

Fewer Errors

It’s human nature to make mistakes. In business, you have to worry about the loss of your reputation and even losing traction overnight. However, you don’t have to worry about costly missteps when you have automation in your quiver. Automation software can offer peace of mind in areas like order processing, fulfillment, inventory management, and shipping. Fewer errors can mean greater customer satisfaction and a healthier bottom line.

Decreased Impact of Labor Shortages

It can be challenging to find a stable source of talent. Automation fills in the gaps by handling repetitive and time-intensive tasks. As a result, your team can focus on solving more nuanced problems that require human intervention and help your ecommerce business thrive.

Better Customer Experiences

Ecommerce store owners can look to marketing automation to improve customer service via faster response times, curated recommendations, and a more intuitive checkout. Customers will reward you with their loyalty and you’ll only wish you had made the investment sooner.

Increased Revenues and Reduced Costs

This newfound efficiency, thanks to automaton software, can help business owners devote more time and energy to bringing in revenue while curbing costs at the same time.

Increase Employee Satisfaction

Every job comes with tasks that are necessary, but aren’t necessarily exciting. However, automation can help employees feel a greater sense of purpose. They can use their time and talents to solve problems instead of getting bogged down by distractions that make them feel more like firefighters than customer experience wizards.

How to Use Automation in Your Ecommerce Operations

Business owners stand to gain a lot by integrating automated workflows into their operations. Consider these practical applications:

Inventory, Orders, and Fulfillment

There are many ways to use automation to gain efficiency and accuracy in order fulfillment. For instance, you can look to technology like Shipstation to track and update ecommerce inventory levels in real time, create shipping labels, and track orders. All of this can mean getting your product in the hands of your loyal customers faster without compromising quality or accuracy.

Scheduled Sales and Product Releases

One use case for automation in the context of an ecommerce platform involves slotting in sales and product releases to create a sense of urgency. Business owners can lean on the automation features associated with Shopify to push out relevant marketing campaigns, updates, and offers without manually scheduling such touchpoints.

Customer Support

Customers want answers on their terms and that can be day or night. Never miss an opportunity to maintain their loyalty and deliver a standout customer experience. Ecommerce business owners can use automated tools to offer real-time help to take some of the pressure off customer service agents.

Rules-Based Pricing and Discounts

Your ecommerce store’s pricing strategy should be dynamic. Automation tools can help you seamlessly adjust prices based on strategic factors or events you’ve identified that might entice customers to place more orders more often.

Workflows

Automation software like Shopify Flow can help you refine processes related to fulfilling orders and inventory management, allowing you to get more done in less time. You won’t miss the extra work or headaches associated with the old ways of managing workflows in an ecommerce business.

Notification Emails

Customers like to be in the loop about their order status. By using automated email, you can easily push out order updates and other relevant communications to stay in touch. Marketing automation is simple when you have the right tools in your ecommerce business arsenal.

Fraud Filtering

One bad actor can do irreparable harm to your ecommerce platform. However, fraud detection can save the day (and your ecommerce business). Automation software can flag fraudulent transactions so you can offer customers peace of mind. You also protect your reputation at the same time.

Practically speaking, you can stop criminals in their tracks by catching suspicious activity based on IP address, payment method, and other patterns that might suggest something is amiss.

Marketing Automation

Timing can affect the success of Shopify marketing efforts. Automation can help guide you in the timing of email marketing campaigns and social posts so you can make the greatest impact without putting in a lot of research to hack or chase ever-changing algorithms.

How Is AI Used in Ecommerce

Artificial intelligence (AI) has touched nearly all areas of ecommerce. Some examples that might resonate with your business and industry include:

Personalized Product Recommendations

Automation solutions like Shopify Flow can curate product recommendations on your customers’ behalf. When ecommerce store customers feel like brands know them, they’re more likely to push the purchase now button.

Chatbots, Virtual Shopping Assistants

Many younger customers welcome engaging with AI-powered chatbots, virtual shopping assistants, and other automation tools to get answers quickly. This extra AI support can help to reduce the dreaded abandoned cart effect.

Dynamic Pricing

Ecommerce store owners can lean on AI to help them price their inventory when factors like changes in demand, competition, and customer behavior call for such a move.

Fraud Detection

AI and a suite of automated workflows can be a business owner’s first line of defense when it comes to mitigating a potential disaster. Just one high-profile incident of fraud can ruin a company’s reputation for life.

Logistics Optimization

Business owners can use automation tools to find opportunities to save time and money in logistics operations. In the golden age of Amazon, ecommerce customers today expect automated emails, fast fulfillment and delivery. Automated workflows can give you a competitive advantage over other small businesses that lack these more sophisticated order management capabilities.

Unlock Ecommerce Marketing Success with Podium

Imagine an ecommerce platform solution that works around the clock and helps customers feel valued as individuals, not order numbers. Podium’s ecommerce automation ticks all of those boxes. By automating tasks and processes, your team of high performers can have more time and energy to devote to more strategic and creative work. AI fills in the gaps by taking ownership of repetitive and time-consuming tasks that tend to plague ecommerce businesses.

The future is here, and it lies in AI-powered ecommerce automation. Don’t sleep on Podium’s smart automation tools when you could unlock the next level of growth. Watch a demo and learn how you can put your ecommerce store on the map through the power of marketing automation.