There’s no shortage of tools to scale an ecommerce business. There’s even a tool to identify tools. Insert a web address into Built With and discover the site’s tech stack, such as the ecommerce platform, content delivery network, host, analytics provider, plugins, and more.
I could list 50 apps to streamline ecommerce operations or drive conversions. Instead, I’ll highlight five must-haves that, in my experience, can make or break a business.
Insert a web address into Built With and discover the site’s tech stack.
Recover Chargebacks
Frivolous credit card chargebacks can decimate profits. But contesting those chargebacks is time-consuming, requiring evidence and compelling explanations. Luckily, solution providers can manage and automate the process.
The founder of Disputifier, an Austin, Texas-based chargeback-recovery provider, appeared on a recent Practical Ecommerce podcast. Chargeflow is another option, among many more.
Recovery providers typically receive alerts from payment platforms of chargeback claims and then automate the reply process with compelling evidence and, often, AI-driven responses. Many providers charge a fee only for successful recoveries.
Customer Support
Quick and reliable customer support is essential for conversions and repeat sales. Yet managing those queries can be overwhelming, occurring across multiple channels such as email, chat, social media, and phone.
That’s the purpose of customer support software — i.e., “help desks.” Gorgias is an example. It’s a customer support platform for ecommerce companies. It connects with leading platforms — Shopify, BigCommerce, Magento, WooCommerce, more — and Zapier.
Gorgias syncs all customer history and communications into one interface. Support personnel can view and adjust order info, refunds, loyalty points, and shipping details. Merchants can tag and automate rules based on this data.
Advertising Attribution
Attributing advertising to sales is seemingly a never-ending challenge for merchants. Many analytics platforms can help. Google Analytics, for example, has built-in “data-driven” attribution features.
Triple Whale is another (paid) provider, although it’s limited to Shopify stores. The app launched in 2021, shortly after Apple’s iOS 14.5 update. Shopify has since invested in the platform. Triple Whale centralizes ecommerce data into one easy-to-use dashboard, disclosing advertising spend versus revenue across all channels, such as Google, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and more.
Customer Retention
Acquiring customers is expensive. Long-term ecommerce success usually depends on retaining those buyers for repeat sales.
Beyond retention, however, is knowing which customers could drive the most lifetime value. RetentionX is an analytics platform to help merchants understand customer purchasing behavior, such as the frequency, category, and order value.
RetentionX can reveal, for example, if a customer buys marked-down items or premium goods. Does the customer purchase once yearly or monthly? Data from RetentionX enables sellers to develop data-driven strategies to not only retain customers but also focus on the most profitable.
Email and SMS Marketing
Scaling an ecommerce business requires more than quality products. It means building direct, first-party relationships with existing and would-be customers. That’s the value of an email or SMS subscriber list. It’s among the most important assets of any online business.
Direct access to customers eliminates intermediaries, enables relationship building, and facilitates marketing automation. Many email marketing platforms exist — Mailchimp, Constant Contact, MailUp, Sendlane, and many more.
But Klaviyo is purpose-built for ecommerce. Klaviyo focuses on Shopify stores, although it syncs with other platforms, too.
Klaviyo’s ecommerce integrations facilitate targeted email and SMS automation. Using Klaviyo, a merchant can send personalized, automated emails to shoppers based on their actions, such as browsing a product or buying specific categories.
Klaviyo’s pricing model is based on the number of contacts. It can get pricey. Some Shopify merchants choose Sendlane, which charges by sending volume.
Klaviyo went public on the New York Stock Exchange two months ago. Shopify is a longstanding investor.
via https://www.aiupnow.com
Andrew Broadbent, Khareem Sudlow
