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Ecommerce is massive. From sites like Amazon and eBay, right down to sole retailers selling their own products online, ecommerce is becoming an enormous business as online sales grow all of the time. For years, ecommerce has been slowly eating into brick and mortar stores sale, and this is only set to continue going forward. Ecommerce stores can offer fabulous customer experience, a straightforward and convenient way to shop and a vast choice of products and styles. The structure of ecommerce can also mean that traders are able to offer quick, free delivery, better prices and wonderful seasonal deals. It’s a growing industry, and it’s easy to see why.
More and more of us are setting up our own ecommerce stores from home. Either selling our own products and services or selling on goods that we have bought at wholesale. It’s a great way to make money and gives you a very real opportunity to create a meaningful business for yourself, out of nothing.
While setting up and running an ecommerce store is easier than ever, it’s still a lot harder than many people expect. Growing an ecommerce business, making sales and doing everything that you need to is hard work. Many ecommerce store owners work far more than full-time hours, putting everything that they have into their business. But, it doesn’t need to be like this. Automation can be a lifesaver. Here’s a look at 4 of the things you should be automation to save time and your sanity.
Reporting
Are you spending hours at the end of every week compiling reports, looking at data and finding ways to make your business better? Looking through data can be time-consuming and confusing. The benefits of automated reporting are clear. It saves you time, it helps you to avoid mistakes, and it gives you the information that you need when you need it.
Social Media
Social media is a huge part of modern business. Especially online business. It’s a fantastic way to grow your audience, attract new customers and promote loyalty. But, it’s time-consuming. Social media moves so quickly that you need to be online all of the time to make any real impact and get noticed. Use a scheduling tool to set posts up to go out when you want them to, without you needing to be online all of the time.
Emails
Emails are a brilliant way to speak to your customers. They are more personal than social media posts and give you a chance to pass on information while making a one on one connection. But, imagine sending an email to every one of your customers? It would take forever. Use an email provider to send regular updates, setting up templates to make sending emails fast and easy.
Stock Counting
Stock counting is one of the things that small business owners hate the most. It takes a lot of time, and it’s easy to make mistakes. But, stocktaking is essential. It gives you a way to monitor your stock, keep track on how much you are selling and what stock you are holding, and helps you to get your ordering right. So, don’t. Use an automated stock counting system to give you real-time synchronization between your sales and your stock holding.
Growing Forward 