Today’s online retail landscape encompasses millions of sellers across dozens of platforms, collectively turning ecommerce into a $3.5+ billion industry. The space is cutthroat, meaning e-tail entrepreneurs should always keep an eye out for strategies that can help them stay ahead of the competition.
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In the battle for the customer, every weapon counts. These seven are must-haves for every ecommerce entrepreneur’s arsenal.
Hunt Down Broken Links with LinkTiger
The fast pace of the internet and ecommerce stores means things are constantly changing and updating, links included. When links break or die, there is usually no indication that they need to be fixed. This is where LinkTiger comes in to help. It actively scans your online store’s website to determine if there are any broken or dead links, and it generates instant reports so you can make the necessary repairs quickly. That way, you don’t lose out on any sales from shoppers who were too frustrated by dysfunctional links to make a purchase.
Capture Customer Feedback with Honestly
Customer feedback is one of your most valuable resources because it gives you direction for how to improve the customer journey and how well your products are being received. With Honestly, you can create questionnaires to get this insight and see the responses organized into analytics, metrics and statistics. Then, you can reply to their feedback with personalized messages or perhaps discount codes as a “thank you” for submitting. It’s a surefire way to solidify the customer experience and leave a positive impression so your brand stays top-of-mind.
Recover Abandoned Carts with Cloud.IQ
On average, consumers around the world abandon their online shopping carts at a rate of over 75%, costing e-tailers $18 billion per year. This is clearly a costly problem that Cloud.IQ can help resolve. The tool analyzes shopping cart data and shopper behavior to determine if there are any improvements you can make on your site to drive better conversion rates. It then makes suggestions so you can reclaim 5% or more of those lost sales.
Automate Your Accounting with Webgility
Accounting and bookkeeping are some of the less glamorous parts of being an ecommerce entrepreneur, but it’s imperative to stay compliant as a business. E-tailers can try manual data entry, which is time consuming and susceptible to human error, or they can automate it. Webgility automatically posts all ecommerce transactions—sales, fees, expenses, returns and more—to your accounting software so you can spend less time entering data and more time focusing on sales. There are also inventory management and forecasting capabilities, making it a robust tool any seller should have in their arsenal.
Build Customer Relationships with ReadyCloud CRM Suite
Customers are the reason businesses stay afloat, and ecommerce companies are no different. Therefore it is worth the investment to treat customers well and build relationships with them, so they feel connected to your brand and come back to shop time and time again. Enter: ReadyCloud CRM Suite. Once you connect to your online store, the software will start building detailed customer profiles complete with contact information, lifecycle timelines and order history. You can then add notes and tags for further customization and opt into premium plugins that make shipping and returns a breeze. It’s a win-win for sellers and shoppers alike because shoppers feel they’re being catered to, and sellers reap the rewards.
Manage Subscription-Based Revenue with Think Subscription
Subscription-based businesses, this is what you need for managing multiple subscription modes. Think Subscription lets you bundle multiple items, whether they’re digital or physical, for easy recurring orders. It also has renewal and recapture features that target former customers so you can bring them back into the fold.
Get More Face Time with Alfaview
Sometimes ecommerce customers need the face-to-face assistance they’re accustomed to getting while shopping in brick-and-mortar stores. This is the idea behind Alfaview, which facilitates free video conferencing. Use it for online meetings, for customer service calls or for conferencing with your team. There’s no plugin or app download required, and it allows an unlimited number of guests per call.
The Right Tools Will Help You Succeed!
The savviest e-tailers understand they can’t succeed all on their own. They need help from tools that can save them time, make processes easier and keep them organized. That is why they turn to these weapons to round out their arsenals so they can win customers over and battle for market share.
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