9 Ways To Make Your Ecommerce Business More Efficient

Is your eCommerce business struggling to fulfill orders and grow? If so, it might be time to start looking at your daily processes and finding new ways to get the job done using less time and resources. Keep reading to learn nine ways to make your eCommerce business more efficient.

1. Hire a 3PL

One of the easiest ways to make your eCommerce more efficient is by hiring an outside company to handle logistics. 3PL, or third-party logistics, refers to a business that handles warehousing, order fulfillment and shipping for retailers. Often, their efforts are far more efficient than trying to handle these steps in-house.

In addition, these types of companies generally have great discounted shipping rates with major providers, as they send more items out collectively that your eCommerce brand can do in-house. The end result is time and money savings that really make a difference in terms of your overall budget.

2. Automate Tasks Where Appropriate

Perhaps the easiest and most beneficial way to make your eCommerce business more efficient is to automate tasks where appropriate. For example, you could choose to have packing receipts and mailing labels print as soon as a customer places an order. Or you can tie your shipping label generation into an automated software program, which then sends tracking numbers and updates directly to the buyer.

In fact, there are tons of different software apps and programs out there specifically designed to help eCommerce brands automate simple tasks. If you haven’t looked into it, this guide from Shopify is a great place to start.

3. Integrate Omnichannel Sales

Does your online business sell on different marketplace channels, like Shopify, Amazon, and eBay? One of the easiest ways to make your eCommerce brand more efficient is to choose software that integrates omnichannel sales.

There are a ton of great programs out there that make it easy to update listings, add photos, upload new products, and more to multiple websites with a single click. The end result? Less time spent copying and pasting between platforms and more time for other important tasks.

4. Focus on Excellent Customer Service

On the surface, focusing on customer service almost seems too simple. After all, isn’t that what everyone in eCommerce is trying to do? But the main point to remember is that good customer service means the shopper is always happy and doesn’t need any additional follow-up or correction after they’ve received an item.

Furthermore, when customers are happy with their orders, they don’t want to initiate returns. Since restocking is quite costly in terms of time, creating an experience where the process rarely happens can improve efficiency overall.

5. Work to Reduce Cart Abandonment

Ask any eCommerce business owner and they’ll tell you that abandoned carts are one of their most difficult challenges to overcome. This is why working to reduce the problem in the first place is truly a smart idea.

What does cart abandonment have to do with better efficiency? Well, improving your eCommerce business is an all-encompassing task that ultimately comes down to finding more ways to make better sales. If small changes reduce the number of lost customers, then your brand can see better growth, which ultimately helps improve all areas of your business.

6. Use Data to Make Growth Decisions

There’s nothing worse than waiting around for a new marketing campaign to take off. That said, you can help make the overall process much more efficient for your eCommerce business by using data to drive your growth decisions.

What do we mean by this? All eCommerce brands should be using some form of analytics tracking, whether that’s through Google or another third-party solution. By taking the extra time to see what’s really happening in terms of organic traffic, paid advertising, and more, you can make better decisions on how to scale those efforts and grow more rapidly. In fact, this is always a better alternative to just jumping into your efforts blindly.

7. Ask Customers What They Want

Sometimes asking is the easiest way to make changes in your business. For eCommerce brands, this includes flat out asking customers what they want, either through a survey or just by listening to their reviews.

Why does this help improve efficiency? Instead of guessing as to what will best resonate with your target market, you get the answer straight from them. Thus, you’re able to cut to the chase and immediately satisfy their needs, making it easier to capture more conversions without having to spend time and money trying other methods.

8. Have Planned Operations Processes

One area where a lot of new eCommerce brands struggle is that they’re trying to do everything at once without having a clear operations process. In the end, this makes it harder to keep things like adding new products to a website or fulfilling orders streamlined.

For increased efficiency, consider creating a process that everyone within your organization uses for specific tasks. This way, there’s never a question of who should handle a task or what steps need to happen for it to move to completion.

9. Connect with Customers on Multiple Channels

Another way to improve efficiency within your eCommerce business is to connect with your customers on multiple channels. This includes both sales and marketing.

Why is this important? People buy when they are ready and trust a brand. If you’ve worked to add your products to widely recognized platforms like eBay, Amazon, Walmart, and others, then they’re likely to make a purchase. Likewise, brand recognition is incredibly important. By seeing your marketing via methods like varying social media channels, they can get to know more about your company. The end result is less work to have to reach your target market, while improving profits in the long run.

Conclusion: Ways to Improve eCommerce Efficiency

While improving eCommerce efficiency is a process that takes time and effort, it is certainly one of the most effective ways to help increase sales and grow your brand. Try implementing the nine tips we’ve included here to see results.

Also Read: 6 Ways to Integrate Automation into Your Ecommerce Business