Managing an online store is not simple, you already know that very well. A series of metrics to track, customers needing help all the time, administrators demanding results and companies that provide hosting support with technological problems, making your site go offline. One careless mistake and you will lose money.
For this not to happen, check out now a list of 7 tips for you to put into practice in the administration of your e-commerce so that the loss is far away from your company. With these tips, managing your virtual store and obtaining good results will be much easier. Check it out!
1. Analyze the Delivery Service
One of the great difficulties for managers who migrate from the physical store to the virtual one is to manage well the service of delivery of goods to customers. You may already know this, but it is worth mentioning: a large part of cart abandonment is due to high freight rates or long delivery times.
Most online stores work only with the post office as a delivery service. However, depending on the type of merchandise that your company sells, it may be interesting to rely on the services of a carrier. Many of them work with a logistics system that can save a lot of money that is spent with the maintenance of staff and area for the stock.
2. Find The Errors On The Site
A detail that goes unnoticed by many e-commerce managers, but which is of paramount importance: finding the problems of the site before your customers do. When a consumer comes across an online store that has an error, instability, or slowness, he usually thinks two things: either the site is amateurish or it is a fraud. One way or another, he will hardly finalize the purchase, for fear of having future setbacks.
Another even worse problem is when the site goes offline and you take a long time to realize it. Have you thought about how many customers have stopped shopping? To avoid this kind of problem, it is necessary to have constant monitoring of the store's systems by people trained for this. Some companies have tools to help the administrator with this task.
3. Vary Your Payment Methods
Many people believe that online consumers prefer to pay for their purchases in several installments without interest on their credit card. In some industries this may be true, such as electronics. However, in some niche markets it may be more interesting for the customer and cheaper for your company to offer cash discounts.
Thus, it may be that your customer is using an expensive payment method for the store, such as interest-free credit card installments, when he might be happier paying by debit, bank draft, or bank transfer. Therefore, check with your financial staff or your bank how to include new payment options in your e-commerce.
4. Use Tools to Automate Tasks
Computerization brings with it a lot of great solutions for the modern administrator. So don't waste any more time on tedious routine tasks. Put your computer to work for you. Thus, you will have more efficiency in your work, being able to identify flaws in the process and have time to focus on what generates profit for the company.
These tools are called Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), which in Portuguese means "Sistema de Gestão Empresarial". Investing in such a system will make a difference in the future when it comes to saving time and money. However, before hiring this solution, it is important to verify that it integrates perfectly with your online store's platform, without errors.
In addition, the ERP needs to be in compliance with the rules for issuing electronic invoices and with the payment and shipping systems that your store works with, so that no failures occur and you don't lose money with that as well.
5. Keep track of the most important metrics
A great advantage of online stores over physical stores is the amount of information and reports that can be generated and tracked. As practically everything is done in a computer system, it is registered and can become a report. Keeping track of this information is extremely important for a professional management of an e-commerce.
However, the tip here is for you to select only the metrics that make a difference for the business, so they should be closely monitored. Many managers get lost in the middle of too much information that doesn't have much value and end up not paying attention to others that may indicate loss of revenue or unnecessary expenses.
6. Invest in Specialized Marketing
Many online stores spend significant amounts of money on marketing and do not achieve good results. This is because many people think that it is simple to advertise on Google and Facebook. It may be easy to set up a campaign with these two companies, but losing money with this is even easier, because converting the campaign into results requires knowledge.
Stop spending money on amateur advertising and invest in specialized marketing. You will realize that the efficiency of each campaign will increase exponentially. Depending on the situation, spending will be lower and revenue generation higher.
7. Check Your Gateway Fees
When you started your online store sales, you probably checked which gateway had the best rates at the time. Over time, two situations can occur:
- the rates charged by the gateway companies have changed, making the one chosen by your e-commerce store not the most interesting now;
- the sales volume that your e-commerce store has reached justifies dismissing the integration company and going for direct integration.
In both cases, the suggestion is to contact the companies and negotiate better rates. Many end up lowering the percentages in order not to lose the client. If the negotiation is not successful, migrate to another, more economical system.
Now you have figured out how not to lose money with your virtual store and will be able to manage it more easily. More than not losing, you will reap great results in a short time, because you will have more time to dedicate to what really generates revenue in your company.
Speaking of making administration easier, do you know about the robots that have arrived to automate your tests and not let you lose revenue? Learn more now and be sure to put into practice this new tool that will greatly assist your work!
