Useful Tools for Advanced E-commerce Business Owners
Owning a successful e-commerce business requires attention to detail and skillful multitasking. From website design, to tracking orders, to customer service, maintaining streamlined operations is the key to long-term success.
So how do advanced e-commerce businesses improve their operations? Integrating business tools into your day-to-day tasks will simplify your responsibilities and help you gain insights into customer priorities and effective sales techniques. Here are some of the most useful tools you can integrate into your e-commerce business.
What are E-commerce Tools?
Your e-commerce “toolbox” is a virtual collection of apps and software aimed at streamlining and automating your business. These tools can provide crucial analytics, enable a sleek and user-friendly website, and aid with other concerns like marketing and customer service. E-commerce tools alleviate the daily responsibilities that business owners normally shoulder, and keep operations running smoothly.
What Tools Should You Prioritize?
Choosing the right tools for your business may feel overwhelming since there are a wide variety of e-commerce tools available including apps, plug-ins, and online platforms. Remember, the goal is to simplify your business, so adopting too many “shortcuts” may actually end up making operations more complicated and adding too much technical burden for IT staff.
Stick with intuitive solutions that eliminate tedious tasks like recording sales or managing products by-hand across multiple platforms.
Here are some of the most essential tools for e-commerce:
#1 E-commerce Platforms
An e-commerce platform is a cloud-based software program designed to host businesses online. Although this tool may be an obvious first-step for most e-commerce businesses, it’s worth mentioning since these platforms provide such an essential service. In addition to hosting your business website, a good e-commerce platform offers a variety of useful tools including analytics tools, a powerful POS system, customer relation management software, and customizable storefront options. When choosing a website builder, select a platform that aligns with your brand and caters to your unique needs.
#2 Channel Data Integration Tools
A channel integration platform is a cloud-based software for connecting all your digital sales channels with your internal ERP or order management system. There are more and more digital selling channels available in today’s e-commerce world and you need to be able to upload your product listing data and real time inventory to each channel simultaneously. You will also need to download order and upload tracking info after orders have been shipped each day. A channel data integration platform will help you transfer all of this data automatically and eliminate the manual entry process in the communication between your company and your selling channels’ systems.
#3 OmniChannel ERP Software
An omnichannel ERP software not only can handle traditional offline B2B business but also is capable of processing the high volume of digital transactions e-commerce typically requires. Many e-commerce businesses deal with a high volume of online orders and need to communicate with all digital sales channels and provide real time ATS inventory data and shipping information, as well as download the orders back and forth on a daily basis. An omnichannel ERP should have many built-in features to automatically process data entries, transactions, and communications. Being cloud-based and having an open API are two important components for modern omnichannel ERP software.
#4 Marketing Tools
A successful e-commerce business relies on online marketing to spread awareness about products and offers. One of the most effective ways to market your business is through email marketing. Email campaigns are cost-effective, and can be tailored to align with a target audience’s interests and needs. Most importantly, emails reach a large number of prospects instantly, and don’t require any extra effort from your in-house team. Common e-commerce marketing tools include email platforms that allow businesses to design and schedule outgoing emails.
#5 Shipping & Fulfillment Software
Shipping a high volume of packages in e-commerce presents a big challenge for businesses without the proper shipping & fulfillment software. Useful shipping software can integrate with all shipping carriers’ systems and print the shipping label without much manual data entry. Advanced fulfilment software should be able to double check the product and print the relating packing slip before it is put into the package to minimize the human error.
#6 Analytics Tools
Analytics tools provide insight into crucial data, which helps e-commerce businesses improve sales strategies and marketing techniques. An analytics tool compiles data on elements like customer behavior, sales trends, and return on investment (ROI) and uses these statistics to evaluate areas like business practices and web design.
#7 Customer Service Tools
Satisfied customers are crucial for a business’s long-term success. Customer service tools help e-commerce businesses of all sizes provide high-quality and consistent service to customers regardless of location. Customer service tools include elements like chatbots for instant assistance, and online forums where customers can submit more complex inquiries. Customer service should focus on retaining existing customers in addition to appealing to new clients.
#8 Social Media Management
Social media is a key marketing component for e-commerce businesses. Unfortunately, managing multiple social platforms may be too time-consuming for many e-commerce businesses, so social media posts fall by the wayside. Social media management tools help you create, schedule, and post across multiple social platforms, ensuring your brand has a cohesive and consistent message.
Partner with an Industry-Focused E-commerce Operation Management Platform
At DigitBridge, we offer an e-commerce operation management platform built by the industry, for the industry. DigitBridge is your go-to service when it comes to all-things e-commerce including warehouse management, task automation, and real-time analytics.
DigitBridge offers an all-in-one platform where you can buy, sell, and fulfill orders on-the-go. Plus, our centralized hub allows you to integrate e-commerce marketplaces and platforms so you have all the essentials in one user-friendly location.
Interested in getting started? Contact us today for your free demo.