A huge welcome to our trusted partners and integration experts Patchworks who are joining us on this guest blog.
Patchworks have successfully integrated hundreds of established retail brands such as Gym Shark, Huel and Cluse, so they know what they’re talking about!
We love working with these guys on new eCommerce projects and can’t wait to see what they have to say in this post, take it away Patchworks!
Your eCommerce business is up and running; after that challenging time after launch, you’re starting to reap the benefits of all your hard work and seeing those sales begin to roll in. First thing’s first: congratulations, that’s no mean feat! Now, let’s talk about scaling your business and allowing it to grow sustainably to reach its true potential.
By incorporating the right systems and services into your business, you can allow them to manage your operations in a way that suits you and enables you to be as hands-off or on as you want while you grow your organisation.
Integration between systems, using an integration platform such as Patchworks, is the ideal way to learn from your customers and scale sustainably and effectively. So, how can integration between intelligent systems help scale your eCommerce business?
Marketing and Re-marketing
Integration between your POS, eCommerce and marketing systems is integral in not only attracting new customers but retaining existing ones to get them spending with you again. Digital marketing is a beautiful thing these days and does so much more than getting folks through the door.
With integration between marketing and your shopfront, you can create individual customer profiles based on what content they like, what they buy, when they buy it, and more. This data can be used to create a better, personalised shopping experience for each consumer, increasing the potential for conversion, as well as creating bespoke, targeted marketing to get them back to your site and spending again!
The more the integrated systems work together, the more sophisticated your customer data becomes and the more effective your marketing will get, ideal for a growing eCommerce business like yours to scale sustainably.
Customer Service and Brand Loyalty
After-sale service is what sets companies apart and fosters true brand loyalty; the key to excellent customer service, among other things, is to be proactive rather than reactive. By getting the right systems in place and integrating them together, you can let technology do the talking for you and keep your customers well taken care of past the point of sale.
For instance, integrating systems such as warehouse and enterprise resource management with your shopfront means that accurate stock data is always dynamically updated and stops overselling.
Syncing your POS systems with CRM and email software means that automated email campaigns can be bespoke to individual customers and ensures that they get the right after-sale message to encourage them to continue engaging and spending with you.
If a dissatisfied customer comes to you and is met with slow, inaccurate customer service, you can say goodbye to any future business from them.
Integration with Finance For Strategic Planning
If your accounting software is talking in real-time with other operations around your business – POS, warehouse, marketplaces etc. – it’s getting accurate, up to date financial information regarding your income and outgoings. The more integrated your finance is, the more intelligent it can become at predicting the future.
Forecasting profits and potential expenditure is essential for you to plan for strategic growth. The more holistically connected your accounting is to your business, the more accurately you can approach scaling your operations moving forward.
Automation and Using Your Time Wisely
Your time is incredibly precious, and you’re running an eCommerce business, for goodness sake! That’s why you shouldn’t waste time on the minutiae that integrated systems can be performing automatically and accurately for you.
Any time wasted on manually inputting data over multiple platforms, sorting out returns, unravelling data inconsistencies, or sifting through numbers unnecessarily is time not spent planning for future growth and scalability.
Proper integration and automation grows with your business, scaling its own operations accordingly. Once you have the proper technological infrastructure in place, you can rest assured that your eCommerce business is futureproofed, and you can get to work growing the organisation.
Take Your Next Steps
Are you ready to scale your eCommerce business? We recommend working with Excellent Zephyr and trusted partner, Patchworks, a leading integration platform for fast-growing retail worldwide.
TALK TO ONE OF OUR ECOMMERCE EXPERTS ABOUT HOW TO INTEGRATE YOUR RETAIL BUSINESS WITH PATCHWORKS.
