Scaling an eCommerce business is certainly challenging, but certainly, there are ways to do that with the right course of action. It is highly dependent on finding the right technology stack and a lot of businesses lack technological maturity in that aspect. A great tech stack helps ease your processes and works for you in the most efficient ways.
Finding the right tech stack is like finding the right dish on a huge menu. All the confusion, research, and time spent is worth it when the dish is super tasty! The best choices give you the best results! Similarly, one should spend time researching and understanding their requirements to choose the best tech stack. But, but, but! The most important thing to keep in mind is that you should always make sure that your tech stack is able to support your product as well as customer needs.
So without much ado, here are our chosen, the coolest, 9 technologies you should consider when building an eCommerce stack:
Product Information Management (PIM)
PIM is a software application that helps manage all the information related to the products of an eCommerce store and helps organize product data, inventory, and other product-related information like images or videos.
PIM helps in making the website more efficient and effective by providing a centralized location for managing all the product details and can be utilized to publish n number of catalogues to the site, allowing a faster time to market and giving you an edge over your competitors.
Order Management System
Order management system (OMS) is software that helps manage orders, inventory, and customers. It can be integrated with a payment gateway so you can take payments through the platform. In addition, OMS can be used to manage the inventory and shipping of products to customers as well as handle returns and exchanges.
The advantage of an OMS over other eCommerce platforms like Shopify or WooCommerce is that it provides more robust functionality than its competitors at lower costs than standalone solutions which require more technical know-how from users before they can start using them effectively.
Payment Gateways
Today, many eCommerce platforms already come with an in-built payment gateway and hence no complex integrations are required. A payment gateway is a third-party service that processes payments between the buyer and seller. It’s the most important tool for eCommerce businesses because it ensures that your customers can pay you with their preferred methods of payment like credit card or PayPal. A good payment gateway helps build trust for the brand and makes it convenient for the customers to have a smooth payment process while contributing to an increased customer experience.
Also, payment gateways help merchants integrate their online store with other services such as social media platforms or e-commerce platforms so they can accept various types of payments on one platform.
Customer Support tools
Customer support tools are an important part of your eCommerce business. They can help you improve customer experience and reduce customer service costs. After all, a happy customer is a goal of every business which ultimately leads to growth.
Here are examples of support tools that can be of great help to you and your customers alike:
Customer feedback and survey tools: A good platform will allow you to manage reviews, ratings, and comments from customers in real-time. Feedback and survey tools enable businesses to gather feedback from customers and measure customer satisfaction. Examples of feedback and survey tools include SurveyMonkey, Typeform, and Google Forms.
Helpdesk software: Helpdesk software is a platform that enables businesses to manage customer support requests from multiple channels, such as email, chat, and social media, in a centralized location. Examples of helpdesk software include Zendesk, Freshdesk, and Intercom.
Live chat software: Live chat software enables businesses to provide real-time support to customers via chat. This tool can help businesses quickly answer customer questions, resolve issues, and provide personalized support. They make the customers feel heard and that you are available to help them whenever they need you. Examples of live chat software include LiveChat, Olark, and Tawk.to.
Customer relationship management (CRM) software: CRM software helps businesses manage customer data, track interactions, and provide personalized customer experiences. Examples of CRM software include Salesforce, HubSpot, and Zoho CRM.
Knowledge base software: Knowledge base software allows businesses to create a self-service resource center for customers, where they can find answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) and troubleshoot issues on their own. Examples of knowledge base software include Helpjuice, Freshdesk, and Zendesk Guide.
Social media monitoring tools: Social media monitoring tools allow businesses to track mentions of their brand on social media platforms and respond to customer inquiries and complaints in a timely manner. Examples of social media monitoring tools include Hootsuite, Sprout Social, and Mention.
Business Intelligence tools
Business Intelligence (BI) tools are used to analyse data and hence help you make more efficient decisions. They can also be used to monitor the performance of your eCommerce business, predict future trends, and plan a better course of action.
BI tools help you understand how customers interact with your products or services in real-time, allowing you to identify any issues before they become problems for customers or employees.
The right BI tool will provide a holistic view of all aspects of your business’ performance: sales, marketing campaigns, website traffic etc. so that you know exactly what needs improving or optimizing next time around but don’t have time constraints stopping you from doing so!
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
ERP is a software system that integrates all the core business processes of a company, including accounting, inventory management, customer relationship management, and human resources, streamlining your business while providing more efficiency. When it comes to eCommerce, an ERP system can help businesses manage all their online sales channels, including their website, marketplaces, and social media platforms, in a single platform. It can also automate many time-consuming tasks such as order processing, inventory management, and shipping, allowing businesses to streamline their operations and focus on growing their eCommerce business. With an ERP system in place, eCommerce companies can improve their overall efficiency, reduce costs, and provide better customer service.
Analytics
Analytics is the process of collecting, analysing, and reporting data. It is used to understand your customers and business better, which helps you make better decisions on how to improve customer experience and ultimately your business.
Analytics can help you understand what’s working well and what isn’t in terms of conversion rates, customer satisfaction levels, or even costs associated with running a certain product/service online.
For example: if you want to sell something that costs $100 but only gets 10% results from consumers who buy it then it’s probably not worth selling at all! You’ll know more about what works for different products/services so that you can scale them accordingly (or avoid scaling altogether).
Content Management System
Content Management Systems (CMS) can greatly benefit e-commerce businesses by simplifying and streamlining the process of managing online content. CMS platforms provide e-commerce businesses with a range of tools to create, publish, and manage content on their websites. With a CMS, e-commerce businesses can easily add and update product listings, create landing pages for promotions and campaigns, and manage their blog and other content marketing efforts.
CMS platforms typically offer built-in SEO tools, making it easier for e-commerce businesses to optimize their website for search engines and improve their visibility in search results. Overall, a CMS can help e-commerce businesses save time and resources while improving their online presence and customer experience.
Marketing Automation
Automation allows you to scale your marketing efforts and saves you a lot of time that is otherwise wasted in monotonous, repetitive tasks. It helps you save money, while also allowing you to focus on what’s most important: growing your business. When it comes to scaling your eCommerce business, automation is a great way to streamline processes and leave all the laborious work to the machine while you get innovative with your growth ideas.
Conclusion
Scaling an eCommerce business requires the right technology stack to manage various business operations efficiently. The technology stack must meet both customer and product requirements to ensure smooth operations. It’s important that you choose a technology stack that will help you scale, but also one that fits your budget and time constraints.
Scaling gets really easy with the right technology and also saves you a lot of time and money in the long run.