What specifically is e-Commerce automation?
Running an e-Commerce business is time-consuming and labor-intensive if you try to do everything manually and in-house. The solution is to automate as many of the repetitive tasks as possible, freeing up valuable human capital for more nuanced tasks, while simultaneously removing the possibility of human error when working at scale. Examples of tasks that can be readily automated include:
- Building large and highly scalable product feeds that are always consistent
- Contacting customers with order updates, tracking details, and new offers
- Creating a pipeline that systematically turns browsers into buyers without manual input
The point here is that if a task is repetitive in nature, it is far more efficient to automate it than to carry it out manually each time. To do this, systems need to talk to one another, and processes need to be designed from the top down.
Begin with manual process creation
Regardless of how powerful the automation tools at your disposal may be, it’s important to step back and work on the fundamentals by adopting a human viewpoint. Laying out your customer journey will ensure that you can highlight each of the key touchpoints that your processes need to include. It’s about putting yourself in the mind of your target audience so that you can deliver an experience that is engaging, informative, and helpful at every stage. Once you know what it should look like, you can hire the services of an automation specialist to start tying the various systems you need together.
Leveraging API keys for integration
There are particular pieces of software that allow different systems to talk to one another. If you want MailChimp to be able to talk to your e-Commerce platform so it knows who to send messages containing your latest offers and sales, you need an API key to make it happen. The same is true if you want to integrate programs like Asana that will allow you to create custom workflows for various things your business needs to be able to do. Using an automation service is the smart way to make sure that every system talks to the necessary parts of your business, all while ensuring uncompromising security and a very high degree of uptime. That said, there is always the need for human oversight to ensure that things are running as expected.
Using dashboards for human oversight
The creation of custom dashboards that allow human users to see at a glance how different aspects of the business are functioning is essential. It’s about having something that is highly informative and intuitive, as well as adaptable to the changing needs of the business. Once this has been added, it becomes so much simpler for e-Commerce businesses to identify areas where further optimization and automation are needed.
Making use of low-code applications
Having the ability to make changes yourself, while still having the option to talk to an expert, would be the ideal scenario for many. e-Commerce is all about being faster than the competition, and that means being able to test new ideas at speed and then rolling them out to achieve scale, can make the difference between success and failure.
Final thoughts
Automation can remove human error, improve staff morale, and grow the bottom line of your e-Commerce business. The key is to find an approach that doesn’t lose sight of the human side of the customer journey, given all of the powerful technical features that are available.
Finding a low-code option will provide the best combination of speed, flexibility, and scalability. For example, if you were to compare Zapier vs n8n, you may find that one has a less intensive focus on coding and a more modular approach. This would then allow you to focus on the core elements of the customer journey, rather than spending too much time on the technical details.
