The eCommerce boom continues at a pace and shows no signs of slowing down; if you have an online business and are looking for ways to improve efficiency and productivity, you may want to read on.
Efficient management of any online business – whether a store or a service – involves knowing what is happening and when and keeping up with your customer’s demands and requirements.
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| 5 Technologies That Will Help You Manage Online Business: eAskme |
We have looked at five areas of technological development that will help manage and grow your online business, so let’s get started.
Business Scheduling Software
Why are we suggesting business scheduling software as an essential management tool?
Quite simply, software packages of this kind offer many features ranging from HR tools, accounting and for the business that has clients who need to book for sessions – say a tutor, personal trainer, life coach, or similar – an appointment booking solution that enables the customer to book relevant slots easily on a cloud-based schedule.
This moves the onus from the business manager onto the customer and saves a good deal of time and money.
AI for Small Businesses
Among the most prevalent business technology trends is that of artificial intelligence.
How can AI help your online business?
Think in terms of automation. AI can be used to send automated messages to visitors on your site that encourage them to complete a transaction.
Did you know that the shopping cart abandonment rate is more than 70% across all eCommerce markets?
You can set your AI messaging service to target customers who have left a cart behind by offering them a discount, for example.
That’s just one use of AI, and there are many more.
Using Chatbots
Chatbots are everywhere these days and are an excellent method of reducing time spent answering general questions.
Have a look at the most frequently asked questions on your store, and you will find many of them can be answered by a chatbot very quickly.
For example: ‘When is an item back in stock?’ could promptly be answered by software linked to your purchasing system, and ‘What are the delivery costs?’ and similar also fall into the category of chatbot questions.
Check out some better chatbot software packages right now.
Automated Online Invoicing
Automated invoicing is the way forward for online businesses and does away with one mundane job necessary for the day-to-day management of an online business.
Let’s use the example of a personal trainer.
They hold one-on-one sessions for many clients, and at the end of the week or month, they have to go through the time spent with each one, add up the total for the bill, create an invoice and send it.
This all takes time.
What if there was a software package that could do it automatically for you?
There are many to choose from that automatically invoice your clients at a given time, thus eliminating the time-consuming invoicing process. If you want a bulletproof e-invoicing software, save money with Coupa today.
Smartphone Optimization
Not only should your website or store be fully optimized for smartphone use, but there are many handy business apps that you can download to your phone and use to improve the performance of your online business.
These include everything from messaging systems to notification apps that tell you when you have been booked.
For business owners who are often on the move, these apps are essential to keep your efficiency as high as can be.
Some require a small fee, and others are free, but there are apps for everyone in every area of online commerce.
Conclusion
The recent worldwide pandemic rendered working from home a necessity for many people.
Some small businesses did not survive; what a tragic and challenging time it was; some of those people left without a job turned to online eCommerce to fill the gap.
There are plenty of opportunities for online businesses.
If you have a particular skill or authority in a specific area, people are willing to pay for your time.
The above are just a few of the areas of technology that are helping smaller online businesses grow, so we hope we have given you some ideas as to how to improve your productivity.
If you still have any question, do share via comments.
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