Automation: Your eCommerce Cheat Code

Automation is here, and eCommerce just got a LOT easier

THERE IS TOO MUCH ON YOUR PLATE.

 

How do we know? Because you are an eCommerce brand, and every eCommerce brand has too much on its plate.

 

That’s just the way the eComm cookie crumbles.

 

It would be surprising if you were NOT getting overwhelmed, trying to juggle scaling marketing efforts, managing inventory, analyzing data, optimizing operations, and trying to stay ahead on sales and forecasting. And let’s not even get into staffing.

 

With so much going on all the time, it is easy to miss opportunities, and even easier to run short on time. Especially when a lot of your time is spent doing certain tedious, repetitive tasks.

 

So what’s the solution? Simple: take a leap into the future.

 

How? By incorporating automation solutions and software.

 

This is not some vague daydream about how things could be — automation is already, TODAY, helping brands increase their efficiency by 10x, by using better processes and eliminating the time spent on repetitive tasks.

 

So how can you implement automation? There are a ton of tools out that specialize in marketing, fulfillment, or ops. OR you can engage a full-spectrum eCommerce automation tool that does it all like our friends at Alloy Automation. The world is your oyster!

 

Trust us: having automated actions that capture every opportunity, without you having to do any work at all, will save you and your team SO MUCH TIME. You’ve heard of passive income, right? Well, automation is basically passive work — you could be sleeping, or go on vacation, or go to your kids’ soccer game, and Alloy will be literally “taking care of business”… without any input or supervision from you!

 

Does this sound like magic? Well it’s not — it’s just good AI.

 

What are some ways automation can make you more efficient? We are so glad you asked:

Automate Your Inventory and Fulfillment

As a fulfillment company ourselves, WE LOVE A PROCESS. With automation tools, you can pack and pick orders a lot faster. With less time spent on manual tasks that take time to identify the right products, you can execute your entire shipping and fulfillment process in less time, with a lot less man-hours (don’t worry, bots don’t have unions…YET).

 

Low Stock Notifications

 

Use your automation software to set up low stock notifications when a product variant drops below a certain threshold, which will signal to you that it is time to reorder, thus preventing any “out-of-stock” situations…or, as your customers refer to them “doomsday scenarios”. With an automated system tracking what’s being picked, packed, and shipped, you’re able to keep a closer eye on inventory levels, which greatly reduces the potential for human error.

 

Product Performance

 

A cool trick our pals Alloy can do? You can set up a notification if a certain product is underperforming. In those cases, you could, for example, automate a notification to your team that it might be time to give a discount for that product, or switch up marketing efforts to highlight the product on your front page, to try to move more units. You could also simply fully automate the discount and/or front-page placement, if you think your team is too busy with other things, or if your team is you (and you are busy with other things).

Automate Your Marketing

Here’s a fun fact: Around 63% of companies using marketing automation outperformed competitors. (moosend) This is all thanks to automation technology helping to improve lead generation and conversions. Below are some ways you can utilize automation in your marketing efforts to get more bang for your buck:

 

Loyalty Programs

 

We’ve talked in length about the benefits of loyalty programs before, and thanks to automation recipes, you can run one seamlessly without having to lift a finger. As soon as a customer places an order you can set up triggers to:

 

  • automatically add reward points to their account
  • add a coupon to their order after they reached a certain benchmark
  • send a personalized email thanking them for their high-value purchase

 

If you use a service like Alloy, you can even integrate with loyalty services like smile.io to make sure rewards are instantly triggered, generating a positive feedback loop with your most loyal buyers

 

Automate Messages

 

Don’t have a super robust social media management platform? Never fear! A lot of full-spectrum automation softwares can help here. Once you set up some conditions and triggers, it’s possible you won’t ever have to manually copy your TikTok video and paste it on Instagram Reels. THE DREAM.

 

I ❤️ AI

For you TL;DR folks, in short, implementing automation has a host of benefits:

 

  • It makes your business processes faster and easier
  • You can easily manage your inventory
  • You can offer a better customer experience with multiple fulfillment, drop-shipping, easy returns, and improved customer service
  • It reduces business costs, as you’ll need fewer employees and less training
  • You can focus on more important aspects of your business, which involve decision-making and strategy
  • It helps increase sales and reward loyalty
  • It makes marketing easier, with automated emails and scheduled social media

 

So what are you waiting for? The great robot (labour union) uprising? Get to automating today!

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