E-Commerce: 5 Automation Examples to Help You Get Started
It's hard to imagine running an online store the old-fashioned manual way. First of all, because it wouldn't allow growth. The more orders, the more workload, and the more errors you might expect. Secondly, e-commerce offers you lots of flexibility that couldn't even be thought of with real stores.
With digital stores, you can create personalized promotional, nurturing, and loyalty campaigns, keep track of all the orders in an easy way, and automate the whole interest-to-order-to-renewal flow.
Three-Quarters of Repeat Purchases Are Made Online (Drip, 2023)
However, such a high retention rate is possible only with smooth processes and a well-thought-out customer journey.
In this article, we want to discuss some basic examples of e-commerce automation that will allow you to create an amazing and seamless experience for customers that will make them want to stay.
E-Commerce Automation Benefits
E-commerce automation refers to the use of technology and software to streamline and automate various processes involved in running an online store.
This includes everything from inventory management and order fulfillment to marketing and customer service.
Typical E-Commerce Process Flow
The flow of e-commerce automation typically begins with the collection of customer data through various channels, such as social media, website traffic, and email marketing campaigns.
This data is then used to create targeted marketing campaigns that can be automated using email marketing software. When a customer places an order, the inventory management system automatically updates the stock levels and alerts the fulfillment team to pick and pack the order.
Don't forget to check out: How Does Salesforce Revenue Cloud Benefit Sales and E-Commerce Businesses?The shipping carrier is then automatically notified to collect the package and deliver it to the customer. With all the data in place, customer service can quickly solve any issues, and marketing has the needed data for personalized re-engagement campaigns.
E-commerce automation can benefit various stakeholders involved in an online business, including customers, management, sales teams, and the fulfillment staff.
Stakeholders' Benefits of E-commerce Automation
E-Commerce Automation Software
Business needs, budget, learning curve — these are the three main points to consider before opting for a specific solution for your business. The choice is wide, but here are three most popular e-commerce automation platforms:
1. Shopify
Shopify offers a range of features, including inventory management, payment processing, and order fulfillment.
Shopify E-commerce Platform, Pros & Cons
2. Commerce Cloud Salesforce
Salesforce Commerce Cloud offers features such as personalized product recommendations, order management, and customer service.
Salesforce Commerce Cloud Platform, Pros & Cons
3. WooCommerce
WooCommerce is an e-commerce automation software that is specifically designed for WordPress websites. It offers features such as customizable storefronts, inventory management, and payment processing.
WooCommerce Platform, Pros & Cons
No matter what choice you make, no platform can automatically shape up your business. To make it efficient, you need to understand what business goals you want to reach with it, drilling into specific flows. And here are some of them.
E-Commerce Automation Examples
We've asked Twistellar's consultants to tell us what flows they have automated for the e-commerce industry, and here's what they've told us:
1. Inventory, Order Management, and Accounting
Challenge: An e-commerce company that sells custom-made products produced in various factories wanted to automate inventory and order management, provide customers with different shipping options, and calculate the pricing accordingly.
Results:
- Having configured B2B Commerce Cloud, we have automated the calculation of price lists, the determination of the production factory, as well as the timing of order fulfillment based on dozens of parameters so that getting all the necessary data took no more than 2-3 seconds
- Customers automatically received the receipt of the cost of delivery, as well as the receipt of offers from various courier services for this delivery with different speeds and prices, so that to choose the most convenient service
- Orders were created based on the client's data that was automatically filled in earlier and provided the opportunity to change them if necessary. The data was sent to other client systems to automatically generate an invoice and send it to the client. The order was transferred to production status only after payment. At the same time, the order was automatically redirected to the manufacturer's factory to start working on it
- The system itself tracked errors with price lists, unavailability of material, or errors in data and offered the client to create a support case in one click. The client does not have to fill in a lot of data, the system itself sees where the problem is and alerts the Support team, which significantly accelerates the resolution time for cases
2. Loyalty Management
Challenge: A company is engaged in the sale of various goods via the Internet and offline with a loyalty program for all users and wanted to automate the delivery process and program membership with Sales Cloud and B2C Commerce Cloud.
Results:
- We have automated the system for creating Customers in B2C commerce when creating a Contact of a certain type in Salesforce Sales Cloud
- The system automatically generated an authentication for the client and sent an invitation letter to join the loyalty program. After going to the site and adding the loyalty product to the basket, the client automatically received discounts and benefits as a member of the program
- Orders were sent from B2C to Sales Cloud which triggered the creation of an invoice, a contract, and all necessary records upon request. Thus, the order made on B2C Commerce was completely processed and ready for delivery in SF
3. Managing Customer Feedback
Challenge: An e-commerce company was facing difficulty in managing customer feedback efficiently. They established a customer rating system to gather feedback but needed an automated workflow to handle it on Salesforce.
Results:
- An automated email workflow was created to send out follow-up emails after a specific time following the purchase, prompting customers to rate the service
- Customers who rated the service positively (4+ out of 5) were sent another email with a link for leaving a review on the company's website. This approach helped amplify the company's positive image and fostered trust among potential customers
- The negative feedback triggered the creation of a new Case in Salesforce, which was automatically assigned to a service representative who could deal with the issue. This streamlined process ensured prompt attention to customer concerns and contributed to improving overall customer satisfaction
4. Creating Personalized Recommendations
Challenge: A company wanted to track customer interactions on their website to show them relevant recommendations according to their purchase history.
Results:
- Content Zones were defined and scripts were embedded on the website to let Interaction Studio catch on to important areas on the pages of the website and use Interaction Studio's AI-powered predictive intelligence to create product recommendations for each customer: e.g., if they looked for specific items, other recommendations in this category appeared at the next visit
- We used advanced scripts to manage customer's engagement data and facilitate session data layer consistency
- A push notification was automatically sent an hour after the website visit to re-engage customers
- Interaction Studio implementation allowed the company to create personalized experiences for each customer, resulting in higher levels of engagement and loyalty.
5. Introducing Incentives
Challenge: A company has implemented Marketing Cloud and Commerce Cloud for customer interactions and wanted to incorporate issuing coupons for seasonal incentives.
Check out another amazing blog by Twistellar here: Balancing Human & Ai-Powered Customer ServiceResults:
- All new registrations for a seasonal promotion had to receive a welcome email with embedded verification
- Commerce Cloud was configured to enable MC to use the data during the authoring of email templates, and creation of journeys: when a user meets the needed criteria, they had to get a coupon
- As a result of the implementation, the company saw a 25% increase in sales during the incentives period. The company was also able to gain valuable insights into customer behavior and preferences, allowing them to create more targeted marketing campaigns in the future
Of course, the number of e-commerce automation examples is not limited to the five provided in this article. If you plan to save time and money, improve the overall customer experience, and make data-driven decisions, make sure to prioritize digitization and partner with an experienced consulting company to help you work out the best strategy for its implementation.
This article was originally published at Twistellar.com
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