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There is one commodity e-tailers have very little of regardless of their product catalogs. There is likely even less of it than the inventory of their most popular items that they can’t seem to keep in stock.

This valuable and hard-to-come-by resource is: Spare time. It seems there’s always too little of it available in a given day to tackle all the tasks that need to be completed.

This is where automation comes into the picture.

Between store operations, fulfilling orders, and marketing a website, there are never enough hours in a day to run a business and maintain a well-rounded life outside of it. But, by automating as many processes as possible, e-tailers can focus their time on higher priorities while still seeing an increase in sales and customer loyalty as a result.

There’s a reason why 91% of businesses agree that automation is vital to their overall success.

It has saved them 200 million decisions and 1.6 million hours of work, per Shopify. eCommerce automation has also generated $2 billion in pre-scheduled sales.

Here are 7 immediate benefits of eCommerce automation that you should consider implementing today. Doing so will help you get the highest return on investment for your time.

Make the Most of Email Marketing

Email marketing is still the No. 1 growth channel for eCommerce, according to the latest reports from BigCommerce. It is a fast and free way to connect with your customers and leads. According to recent studies, you will connect with them; research finds that people check their inboxes at least 15 times per day.

There are some easy ways to incorporate automated email marketing, such as welcome emails, drip campaigns, newsletters and “thank you” emails. Each serves a unique purpose to draw customers to your site, too.

Don’t forget to personalize the emails you send. Research from Aberdeen finds that personalized email messages improve click-through rates by an average of 14% and conversions by as much as 10%.

Set-and-Forget Social Ad Campaigns

Social media is one of the most effective ways to drive consumers to your online store and has proven to be a powerful marketing and branding tool for e-tailers.

These recent statistics show how valuable social channels can be for eCommerce:

• Facebook influences over 52% of consumers' online and offline purchases (The Drum, 2018).
• Link clicks account for 92% of all user interaction with Tweets (HubSpot, 2018).
• 50% of Instagrammers follow brands, making them the social networkers who are most likely to do so. (Brandwatch, 2017).
• 93% of Pinterest users visit the site with an intent to purchase (Marketing Land, 2015).
• 74% of consumers use social networks to make a purchasing decision (ReadyCloud, 2018).

Each social channel has its own advertising capabilities, but they all allow you to set campaign start and end dates. This means that promoted posts can align with any other campaigns you set and forget. It’s true social automation that saves you time, effort and money.

Auto-Launch New Products

By using an automated launch system like Shopify’s Launchpad, you can release new products at set times. This takes the stress out of debuting products on your site, so you can focus on other areas of managing your business.

Shopify’s latest report is centered on Frankie’s Bikinis, which auto-launched a new line and realized a return of over $150,000 in revenue in a single hour, with a popular style selling out in under two minutes. As you can see, the powerful nature of automated product launches is undeniable.

For total optimization, sync product launches with automated emails and social advertising to watch a holistic campaign effortlessly come to life.

Keep Inventory Up-to-Date

Inventory is a tricky business when you’re an e-tailer. There is a delicate balance you must maintain between having enough of each product so that it doesn’t sell out and in not keeping so much that it wastes valuable storage space.

The good news is that are are solutions to automate your inventory management, such as aACE Software. Inventory is integrated seamlessly throughout the entire aACE solution. The additional company-wide visibility allows each of your departments to plan more productively and accurately, eliminating costly mistakes and reducing the need for excess inventory. For aACE client Restylers’ Choice, that streamlined inventory management freed up 2,000 square feet of warehouse space and allowed them to eliminate a conveyor belt in each warehouse.

Create Flash Sales & Coupon Codes

More than 90% of shoppers have responded that they’re always on the hunt for deals online. What better way to draw them in than by hosting an event in your store that is full of bargains for them to explore? You can also get their attention by featuring coupon codes, which 68% of consumers say generate brand awareness and loyalty.

Flash sales are easy to automate. Simply set the discounted prices of items to only apply between certain dates and ship off the announcement in your next big newsletter. Given the aforementioned email marketing stats, you’re assured engagement, click-throughs and conversions by offering these valuable deals to your existing customers.

Retarget Abandoned Carts

Right now, cart abandonment costs retailers an estimated $4 trillion per year, and Baynard found the average cart abandonment rate is at almost 70%. However, with the right tools, you can automatically bring back consumers who were just shy of checkout on your site.

One such tool is the Facebook Pixel, which serves up advertisements across the Internet to consumers who have visited your site. This retargeting is done automatically, once the tool is installed, and will bring shoppers back to your site while delivering key metrics that you can use to improve your automation efforts.

Another way to retarget potential customers is by sending them a retargeting email. Though capturing someone’s email may be more difficult to do, it is well worth it, and it can be automated with tools like OptinMonster. SaleCycle reported $8.21 in revenue generated with every retargeting email sent.

As proven by statistics, automated retargeting really works. So make sure you add to your list of to-dos when trying to put your online store into autopilot.

What eCommerce Industry Members Say About Automation

"aACE software is easy to use, intuitive, logical, and easily customized. It is clear that the architecture of aACE has been very well thought out. We were able to automate some previously manual processes that is resulting in literally 100’s of saved labor hours each month." —Daniel Chapman, Founder & CEO, Redd Remedies

“Every eCommerce brand should prioritize their automation, whether that’s automated emails or on-site campaigns. It’s the name of the game and one that you’ll need to do without sacrificing too much of the human touch to execute it well.” —Kayla Lewkowicz, Marketing Manager, Privy

About the Author

Taylor Gilliam is the Director of Social Media at ReadyCloud, a cloud-based CRM solution built for your eCommerce world. She enjoys covering eCommerce topics and playing with her dog, Charlie. You can find her work on ReadyCloud’s Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter or give her a shoutout on her LinkedIn.

Editor's note: Michael Lazar is an Executive at aACE integration partner ReadyCloud. We're delighted to share his expertise in eCommerce with our audience.

One of the most painful parts of running an eCommerce store is returns. It’s no secret that returns are looked down upon by online retailers in general. After all, don’t returns represent a loss?

What if the reality was that returns were actually the secret to improved sales? They wouldn’t be such a pain any more, would they?

Hand-in-Hand

If we really analyze things, sales and returns aren’t enemies. They’re inseparable best friends; friends in the sense that they actually cooperate and help each other out. We’ll get into details on that later, but for now, let’s consider the importance of returns.

Consumers want to be sure that if their purchase doesn’t work out, they won’t be stuck with a product that doesn’t fit or wasn’t what they were looking for. Who would buy with too much risk? No one. No one wants to be stuck with jeans that they can’t even button up.

Most returns (and one in three items purchased online ARE returned!) happen because the item didn’t fit, the wrong product was shipped out, it wasn’t what the customer was expecting, or it came damaged. Returns are a very normal and necessary part of the online buying experience.

Preventing Unnecessary Pain

Now, that isn’t to say that returns can’t be costing you money if you’re not being careful. But looking at it in a positive light, returns can be a learning experience and an opportunity to increase sales.

Most serious eCommerce retailers have implemented apps and other methods on their sites that help buyers to make an informed decision before they hit ‘‘buy’’. Return rates can be decreased by improving product descriptions as well as upgrading your site with other tools to help buyers make better choices – like multiple images, videos, zoom buttons or even short tutorials for technical products.

The Fine Print

Even after trying to ‘return-proof’ your shop, you won’t be able to prevent all returns. Sometimes it’s just inevitable. Regardless of whether or not you want to set up a returns process, it’s a must. The fantastic shopping experience that online buyers are looking for includes both the purchase and return experience, which means that you probably need to polish up your return process.

And it’s not just the process that needs to be easy. The return policy itself – that legal fine print – is so important to consumers that they actually read it. They’re looking for a smooth, convenient return process, and if that’s not available, they’re likely to buy from someone else. In fact, a UPS study found that there’s nearly an 80% chance that potential customers will leave your site if the return policy is convoluted and appears to make returning an item a lengthy, involved process.

In the long run, if you make even the returns a fantastic experience, customers will come back to you – and not to your competitors. And that means more sales.

What Consumers Want

You can get ahead by making your return policy similar to that of a brick and mortar retailer. The advantage of shopping locally is that you get exactly what you want, you take it home instantly, and you can return it easily.

So, why do people even choose eCommerce stores?

Convenience. They can sit around at home, or on their lunch break, and browse and buy. They are probably in love with your selection or your prices. And, thus, they’ll buy from you – if you have a decent return process and policy.

The risk of buying online is not getting what you were hoping for, and if you can eliminate that, then you can bring in more customers – and more profit.

You should ask yourself if your return policy is as convenient, fee-free, and easy as returns at local stores. If it isn’t, then you may be in trouble. Take a look at your competitor’s policy. Are they giving a better experience to the customer than you are? That’s why they prefer the competition.

The Reality of it All

According to several sources, the importance of having that smooth-ride policy is something you just can’t keep ignoring if you want to have success in the online shopping world.

• CNBC noted that there was a 357% profit increase in eCommerce stores over a period of 12 months when returns were free.
• Take, for example, Zappos. They had a 75% improvement rate in customer loyalty and purchases because they offer free returns. And, they’re more expensive than the competition. Think on that for a minute.
• Almost 65% of consumers actually do read your return policy before they buy from you, says comScore. And, as mentioned earlier, if they like the competition’s return policy better, the competition is going to win.
• Since a third of all online purchases are returned, customers are looking for easy returns. UPS noted that 81% of customers don’t want return shipping fees.
• Upstream Commerce backs that right up by saying that 81% of customers will not buy from you in the future if they had to pay a fee to return something.

Don’t Fear Returns

Stop being afraid of returns. They aren’t your enemies, and they aren’t going to put you under.

It’s really a no brainer. Would you really want to purchase something from your store if:

It didn’t fit?

You didn’t like it?

Or the description was completely off?

Would you lose money when trying to return it? If you wouldn’t have a good experience no one else will either.

Take the time – make the time – to analyze your online store. Check the product descriptions. Go over the return policy. And smooth out the wrinkles so that you’ve got an easy, hassle-free and fee-free return process.

You won’t lose time or money on it. Actually, if you review the facts we’ve just presented, you’ll understand that an easy return policy improves sales, loyalty and long-term retention while reducing cart abandonment rates across the board.

Now that’s something all online retailers can get on board with.

About the Author

Michael Lazar is an Executive at ReadyCloud, an eCommerce CRM software suite that includes premium plugins like ReadyReturns, an automated online product returns solution for e-retailers. As a nationally syndicated author Lazar enjoys covering topics that are related to eCommerce returns.

Plans to deploy new technology for your company can create both excitement and resistance. Some of your team may look at new software tools like a present or a new challenge. This may be especially true for those most involved with deploying the upgrade.

However, the people who will be most affected by the change might have other feelings. As with any change, there can be a lack of interest, misunderstanding about goals, or even resentment over the extra effort required to learn the new tools.

Amid these different reactions, how do you keep your organization unified? How do you organize your company for a successful step forward to increased productivity and growth? To answer questions like these, Bloomberg Tax writer Xing Gao has collected insights from three leaders in business innovation: Michael Baccala of PwC, Harry Bains of NBC Universal, and Robert Giglietti of GE. As a top site for information, news, and insights about business, Bloomberg.com has published the highlights of the webcast interview.

One of the first points established is that your company has to confront the potential problems. Positive attitude and optimism are helpful in any business effort, but if it comes to the point that difficulties are being ignored, then a focus that is positive could create results that are negative. As Baccala says, the challenges are ultimately what your organization needs to consider.

Among the various challenges, one of the most critical is getting your team to understand and accept a new vision of their work. Bringing in new software is essentially rearranging the work environment. And it requires rearranging people's thoughts and feelings. A new work culture needs to prepare the way for the new work environment or you increase the risk of employees fighting change instead of contributing to success.

No one can deny the fact that "The Way We've Always Done Something" is a real mindset with real impacts on the business. Whether it's a tradition of relying on Excel, QuickBooks, NetSuite, or any other software package, the old way of doing things can short-circuit your efforts to establish something better. As Giglietti explains, you must escape the mentality of patching and repairing, creating a new vision of replacing.

Central to your new vision for the business, a communication plan can make a huge difference in the transition. Bains declared simply, "You have to get the message out to the employees." This messaging could be a series of emails focused on how the new technology will make their work obligations easier to fulfill. It might be a town hall-style meeting to discuss how automating basic tasks will open the way for grappling with more complex and valuable issues. However you personalize the content and the format, time spent on conveying these ideas to your team will be time well-spent.

A final recommendation is about preparing ways to measure the benefit of the new technology. The most meaningful gauge might be cost targets or greater time investments in higher-level tasks or something else entirely. But you need to identify these measures before the deployment. Gather some numbers of how things are currently going for a baseline. The measurable improvements after the deployment can help anchor the new tool within the new company culture.

Insightful business owners will recognize the pattern created by this advice from experienced sources. These principles of communication and culture development can help any software deployment be a success, even though your specific application of the principle will be unique.

 

The transition to new accounting, CRM, or ERP software gets easier the more you can show your team how the tool fits into their best practices. Then the updated software is less of a package dropped on top of the business. it's more of a tool customized to fit your organization's unique niche and value-proposition. aACE 5 is built on FileMaker, which makes it one of the most customizable and most cost-effective business operations products on the market today. It's an ideal match for mid-size companies interested in cross-platform, cloud-based solution, from wholesale distribution to light manufacturing. Learn more about what aACE 5 can do for your business by reading what current aACE clients have to say.

"Instead of simply maintaining our system, they took the time to understand our processes and worked with us to build a customized aACE system suited to our needs. The results exceeded our expectations, saving us several months of man-hours while improving the quality of our products." ~ Tae Koo, Manager of Design and Production, McGraw-Hill

Running a business can be stressful, like sailing on the open ocean. Waves and winds are constantly changing, forcing you to continually adapt. And one of the largest recent waves across the U.S. market is the Supreme Court decision on South Dakota v. Wayfair.

The details of this decision are fairly involved. In overview, the journey started in 1992, with Quill Corp. v. North Dakota, regarding the standard for sales taxes and interstate commerce. The final appeal challenges South Dakota’s application of its sales tax to internet retailers who sell into South Dakota, but who have no property or employees in that state. The Court's June decision in favor of South Dakota's legislation was given alongside recommendations for legislators to come up with long-term solutions.

To help you navigate this huge change, Scott Peterson of Avalara has written an article for RetailTouchPoints.com. The central principle he explains is that the recent and ongoing changes in tax legislation require your business to confront tax issues with a thorough, reliable process. Like an ocean, the waves are never steady, so you must establish a system to cope with this ongoing fluctuation.

The nine main features of a well-balanced tax handling process are:

1. Understand each state’s tax laws and know your nexus - Physical presence as the test for nexus has been joined by "extensive virtual presence". Obviously that puts a lot of attention on what the exact meaning of "extensive" is. States are starting to pass more laws basing sales tax obligations on the number of sales or amount of monies.

2. Heed changing filing requirements - States are gradually shifting to e-filing. Make sure that your tax process keeps you updated about current payment options and requirements.

3. Track required prepayments - An increasing number of jurisdictions are turning to PRE-payment for larger tax liabilities and existing pre-payment laws have schedules ranging from 1-4 payments a month. Your process must be flexible and must stay tuned in to the evolving demands.

4. Reconcile your sales tax payable account - The process you adopt must keep the books accurate as well.

5. Regularly confirm filing frequency for each state - Government agencies are more frequently using email and notifications on your tax account to handle communications. But even if a message gets lost en route, you will still be held accountable. In your tax process, include a way to proactively verify your deadlines.

6. Accurately tax new products - This variation to your processes arises directly out of your success. So, well done! But a new product line might entail new complexity for taxation. It's entirely possible that a product is taxable in one state, but exempt in another. As you roll out the new product, make sure its tied into your tax process to verify all the details. Similarly, when you expand sales to a new state, don't assume that the tax obligations will be the same as what you're used to.

7. Stay current with exemption certificates - An easy audit target is tax exemption certificates that are incorrect, misplaced, or expired. In your tax process, be sure that a step is focused on keeping these records watertight.

8. Respond to notices promptly - When a government agency tries to contact you, they take themselves very seriously. Not responding in a timely manner can result in levies, liens, and suspensions. Along with the large-scale changes, your tax handling process must address needs that arise on a day-to-day basis.

9. Use exact location, not ZIP codes - As states continue to refine their taxation requirements, it may be increasingly common for a single postal code to have multiple sales tax rates. Not only does your tax process need to stay up to date on these developments, but your calculations need to be accurate. It's the only way to avoid audits, penalties, and return reconciliations.

As Peterson suggests in conclusion, your protocols for handling tax responsibilities don't need to re-invent the wheel. There are a variety of tools already developed to automate sales tax chores and protect your company from audits. Leverage these technologies to ensure tax compliance and boost your company growth.

 

Going one step farther in your company progression, after a solid taxation process and high quality tax-handling tools, the pinnacle is to have tax functionality integrated into your business operations software. This is where the benefits of computerized automation shine even brighter. Your tax support keeps your business ship-shape while the accounting, CRM, and ERP software accelerates your business velocity. You can concentrate more of your team's attention on the tasks that boost profits. Learn more today about how the aACE business suite integrates with AvaTax.

"aACE was able to customize a few key components for us very intelligently that now just work. Exactly the way we need them to." ~ Derek Navratil, IT Administrator, Janibell Inc.