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The Power of People-Focused Businesses

Posted on by Eleanor Hecks

In today’s fast-paced business world, it can be easy to get caught up in pursuing profits and growth at all costs. However, an increasing number of successful companies are shifting their focus towards prioritizing their people—whether it is their employees, customers, or the wider community.

You would think this is likely a feel-good trend, but it has been proven that people-focused businesses can reap many tangible benefits. Here’s why it’s crucial to always put people first in business.

Why Businesses Should Put People First

A people-focused business highly values its customers’ and employees’ satisfaction. Companies like these prioritize human interactions and relationships over profits, recognizing that a positive work environment and customer experience are critical to long-term success.

Businesses that take a people-centric approach do this for several reasons. For one, a people-focused company leads to increased employee motivation and satisfaction. Employees are more likely to be productive and committed to their company’s success because they feel cared for and valued.

Putting people first also means customer relationships improve. Businesses prioritizing their customers’ needs create a positive customer experience, leading to repeat business in the long run.

Additionally, a people-focused culture presents a positive impact on the business itself. It’s the right thing to do because when you take care of your employees, they care for the customers. As a result, companies perform better financially and have the power to make a positive impact on society.

What You Need to Build a People-Focused Business

Building a people-focused business requires a deliberate approach. Here are the key elements you need to prioritize a people-centric culture.

A Clear Purpose and Values

In a McKinsey survey, about 82% of organizations stated that purpose is crucial, but only half said that pursuit led to impact. A clear goal aligning with the company’s core values is critical because it guides decision-making. It also shapes the overall direction of the business.

In the workplace, articulating the company’s purpose to stakeholders, investors, customers, and employees is crucial. That way, everyone is working towards the same goals.

Values are equally important when building a people-focused business. They should have a means of treating employees and customers respectfully, fairly, and compassionately. When developing company values to create a people-first culture, businesses should look for opportunities to put them into practice.

Overall, this allows everyone to have a system where you empower your people to participate in self-management. That way, employees put forth their best effort and energy into their productivity.

Strong Leadership

Company leaders are crucial to this aspect because they inspire and motivate employees to strive toward common goals. Therefore, strong leadership is essential for creating a people-first business culture. That’s because leaders can build trust and make tough decisions that prioritize long-term success over short-term profits.

Strong company leadership means leaders must lead by example, modeling the behavior they expect from others — and providing guidance and support to employees. Business leaders often forget these aspects because they focus too much on their overall responsibilities.

In fact, studies show that more responsibility changes the way you think, preventing you from paying attention to how your behavior can affect others. Yet, if you set goals for yourself, you can achieve higher greatness that leads you to make employees feel included.

By creating a culture of trust, respect, and collaboration, strong leaders can inspire workers to be productive and lead the company to ultimate success.

Customer and Employee-Centered Policies

A people-focused culture succeeds when businesses have policies centered around their customers and employees. Such policies should be grounded in all aspects of the company, from hiring practices to customer service.

With a customer-centered approach, companies must prioritize customer needs and satisfaction. They can achieve this by providing personalized attention, creating quality products or services and practicing business ethics. Placing the customer first means businesses build better customer relationships — increasing customer loyalty and positive word-of-mouth advertising.

When creating employee-centered policies, consider focusing on their well-being and growth. These should include fair compensation, development opportunities and a positive workplace environment. In turn, businesses can improve their employees’ satisfaction and retain more workers successfully.

An Example of a People-Focused Business

One example of a people-focused workplace is Patagonia, an outdoor clothing and gear company. Patagonia strongly focuses on sustainability and environmentalism, which is reflected in its business practices and product offerings. However, it is also known for its employee-centric approach.

Patagonia offers its employees a range of benefits and perks, including on-site childcare, paid time off for environmental activism, and flexible work arrangements. It also pays its employees a fair wage and provides them with career growth and development opportunities.

In addition to its employee-focused approach, Patagonia prioritizes its customers’ needs. It offers a lifetime warranty on all its products and encourages customers to repair and reuse their gear instead of buying new products.

Overall, Patagonia’s people-focused approach has helped it build a loyal customer base and a strong reputation for sustainability and social responsibility. By prioritizing its employees and customers, Patagonia has created a positive work environment and a brand that resonates with consumers who value ethical and sustainable business practices.

Creating a Positive Impact Through the Power of People-Focused Businesses

People-focused businesses are more than profit-making machines. They put people first by focusing on the development and well-being of their stakeholders, including employees and customers. By prioritizing people within and outside the organization, you can create a culture that leads to immense growth and success.

Too many businesses are criticized for putting profits before people. However, emphasizing people-first culture can make your company a beacon of hope. You show that it is possible to be successful while making positive changes—and that a business’s greatest asset is its people.

6 Handy eCommerce Tips To Help Boost Your Growing Business In 2023

Posted on by Juliette Anderson

eCommerce marketing is still a highly profitable niche in the digital world today. With the rise of online shopping, eCommerce businesses are seeing unprecedented growth and need effective marketing strategies to drive sales and increase customer loyalty.

eCommerce marketers must be well-versed in the latest trends and technologies to maximize their efforts and reach their target audiences. They must also understand how to optimize their campaigns for different platforms, such as search engine optimization (SEO) for Google or social media marketing for Facebook and Instagram.

By leveraging the right tools and techniques, eCommerce marketers can create effective campaigns that will help them attract more customers and boost sales. With a deep understanding of customer behavior, they can build strategies to help them succeed in this competitive industry.

Whether you’re an eCommerce marketer or in the eCommerce niche for your business and want to leverage marketing to help your business grow fast, this article can help you improve your eCommerce marketing strategies.

If you don’t know where to start or want a refresher on ideas for your eCommerce marketing strategy, here are a few tips that will be helpful to you.

1. Establish Your Target Audience

Identifying the target audience is an essential part of any successful marketing strategy. It involves understanding who your product or service is for and then crafting a message that resonates with your audience.

Knowing your target audience helps you create a marketing plan tailored to their needs and interests, which can lead to increased sales and customer loyalty. By understanding your target audience, you can ensure that your marketing efforts are focused on the right people and will be more effective in reaching them.

It helps you to create content that resonates with the right people and increases the chances of your message reaching them and getting an audience. You can identify your target audience based on age, gender, location, interests, and behaviors.

By understanding the target audience in marketing, you can create tailored campaigns that are more likely to succeed. Identifying your target audience can help you focus resources on people most likely to engage with your product or service. Additionally, it helps you better understand your customers and develop products or services that meet their needs.

Many beginners need to correct the mistake of targeting anybody and everybody for their marketing campaigns, but that is a waste of effort and resources. That’s why you should make sure that you clarify the target audience of your marketing efforts.

2. Optimize Your eCommerce SEO

When you start your own eCommerce website, you must incorporate SEO efforts into your marketing campaign as well as within the creation of the website itself.

SEO is an integral part of running a successful eCommerce business. Optimizing your eCommerce SEO can help you reach more potential customers, increase website traffic, and boost your sales. With proper SEO optimization, you can ensure that your website is visible on search engine results pages (SERPs), which will help you get more visibility and conversions.

eCommerce SEO optimization involves optimizing the content on your website so that it appears higher in the SERPs. It would be best if you also focused on other aspects such as link building, keyword research, and technical elements like page speed to ensure that your website will show up easier in search engines.

Optimizing your eCommerce SEO allows you to enjoy greater visibility and higher conversions from organic search traffic.

3. Create a Content Marketing Campaign

Content marketing is a powerful tool to help you reach your target audience, build trust with them, and increase your sales. It is a cost-effective way to promote your products or services, and you can create brand awareness, drive traffic, and generate leads.

Creating a content marketing campaign is essential to any eCommerce marketing strategy. It allows you to produce engaging content that will attract potential customers and keep them interested in your offer

One key way to create a successful content marketing campaign is to use After Effects templates to create visually-appealing videos, motion graphics, and other digital assets. You can find thousands of After Effects templates that are easily customizable and will help you create professional-looking content quickly and easily.

Content marketing also helps to build relationships with customers, develop customer loyalty, and increase conversions. With the right content strategy in place, you can reach more customers and increase revenue for your business.

4. Utilize Reviews On Product Pages

Reviews are an essential part of any eCommerce marketing strategy. They provide customers with valuable information about the product, which can help them make informed decisions when shopping online. Reviews also allow businesses to showcase their products in a positive light and build trust with their customers.

By utilizing reviews on product pages, businesses can boost sales, increase customer engagement, and gain insights into how customers perceive their products. Customer reviews can identify areas where improvements need to be made and highlight the features that customers value most.

It is an excellent way for businesses to show that they care about customer satisfaction and are willing to take feedback seriously.

5. Play With Different Pricing Strategies

Pricing strategies are essential for any eCommerce business. Trying different pricing strategies can give you an edge over your competitors and increase your sales. Different pricing strategies can attract customers, increase customer loyalty, and maximize profits.

You can determine what works best for your business and customers by experimenting with different pricing strategies. You can also use the data from these experiments to decide which pricing strategy to implement.

It is important to remember that there is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to pricing strategies. Every business has different needs and goals, so it is crucial to tailor your plan accordingly. With the right approach, you can get the most out of your eCommerce marketing strategies by playing with different pricing strategies.

6. Focus on the Distribution and Fulfillment Plan

Developing a comprehensive distribution and fulfillment plan is essential for any eCommerce business. It ensures that your products reach the right customers in the right place at the right time.

Distribution and fulfillment plans are essential not only for delivering products to customers but also for marketing strategies. Focusing on these plans ensures that your products reach the right audience and that your customers’ experience is smooth. It will help you build brand loyalty and increase sales.

An effective distribution and fulfillment plan (aka order management strategies) can help you maximize profits while satisfying your customers.

Conclusion

These eCommerce marketing strategies can help you grow fast this 2023 and for years to come because they comprise a solid foundation for any eCommerce marketing plan. If you haven’t yet, remember to apply these strategies to your project to improve your eCommerce business’s growth.

The Value of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) For Small and Growing Businesses

Posted on by Matt Bernot

What are Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)?

Key performance indicators are a formal way of categorizing, measuring, and analyzing the enormous amount of data that gets generated and flows non-stop through your business, every day, in every department, at all levels. Financial information, customer behavior, employee satisfaction, and asset tracking are some examples of the types of data points that are available for you to monitor.

The purpose of KPI reporting is to track the health of a company. This helps prevent companies from developing blind spots that could hinder company growth. Similar to how the human body consists of dozens of smaller systems working in harmony toward a shared goal, KPI reporting measures individual systems such as customer acquisition cost, net profit margin, cost of goods sold (COGS), etc. to communicate which systems and processes are working well and others that require polishing.

KPI reporting exists to aid businesses, so a crucial question becomes: which KPIs should I track? A broad array of KPIs could be beneficial to a variety of businesses in all industries, so it’s essential to know which ones will be the most beneficial for your business to track. But here are two pieces of good news: businesses of any size don’t have to track every KPI in existence, and the appropriate group of KPIs is determined by the unique nature of the business at hand. If a company were to attempt to track all KPIs, there would be a high chance that the business would be overwhelmed by the volume of information to track, interpret, and remedy. Fortunately, there are different elements to consider and questions to reflect on to ensure the most appropriate KPIs are chosen—the ones that are most closely tied to the success of your business.

How to Choose the Best KPIs for Your Small Business

Goal setting, especially for small and growing businesses, typically predicates success. With fewer than 10 percent of small business owners achieving their yearly goals, it’s essential to take the steps necessary to stand out among the crowd of other businesses that compete with yours in your industry and market. Here are three company pillars to review when choosing small business KPIs:

1. Business Goals

Understanding the current “health” of your company is crucial. The “health” of a business consists of several factors—financial health, process and technology health, and the emotional/physical health of your employees. All of these factors play a key role in the overall success of your business on a long-term time horizon. After evaluating each facet of your company’s health, establishing a vision for sustainable growth can transform into plans of action that lead to attainable goals.

To avoid the disappointment of not achieving a goal, there are four elements to consider when goal planning.

  1. 1. Goals must be measurable. Without objective measurement, companies can become lost in the subjective features of a goal. Subjective interpretation of data might make you feel good, but ultimately will not result in realistic goals.
  1. 2. Goals must be actionable. Brainstorming and idea boards may be helpful tools, but without a call of movement, no momentum will be harnessed by your business in order to move forward.
  1. 3. A time frame should be assigned to every goal. Due dates are not sheer stress inducers; they are also accountability holders. If you don’t assign set time frames for every goal, it becomes easy to push off important tasks and hinder overall growth.
  1. 4. Consider breaking down larger, more challenging goals into small yet manageable milestones that comprise the overall goal. For example, a hearth and fireplace services company may desire to triple their sales this winter relative to last year. . This statement would be the overall goal, but there are many smaller steps that must be taken to achieve the overarching goal. Some examples of smaller milestones would be to:
    • Research and formulate a comprehensive, SEO-oriented strategy
    • Generate a timeline for hiring new (perhaps seasonal) employees
    • Perform research on local competitors 
    • Develop internal documentation focusing on service metrics and ways to improve them

The number of tasks needed to accomplish a 300% YoY sales increase would be longer than this, but these are just some examples of smaller goals that companies can use as proactive steps to achieve bigger, longer term goals. Almost always, it’s the assemblage of several smaller goals being completed that helps a company achieve large goals.

2. Business Stage

It is essential for a company to recognize which unique business stage it is at because it will determine which small business KPIs would be best suited. A new and growing company may want to focus primarily on KPIs related to gross vs. net revenue, whereas a more seasoned small business may want to concentrate on future growth elements such as new customer acquisition cost or branding efforts.

3. Business Model

When evaluating key performance indicators for adoption into your own company, the type of business (and industry) you’re in can determine the most relevant KPIs to monitor. 

Brick-and-mortar service businesses (plumbing, hearth services, HVAC, etc.) will want to know how long the average service call lasts. Labor costs are typically high in service-oriented businesses. Critical KPIs for this business type might be Gross Revenue Per Employee, or Direct Cost of Services Performed, or Inventory Turnover Rate.

Online businesses, including traditional eCommerce sites, will be very interested in website analytics KPIs like these: 

  • How many unique users visit the site every day / week / month?
  • Bounce rate. How many seconds does the average visitor stay on the site?
  • Conversion rate. What percentage of unique visitors buy something?
  • Percentage of visitor shopping carts that are abandoned before checkout?

Whatever business type or industry you’re in, there are KPIs that are directly proportional to the measurement of success.

Small Business KPIs For Every Company To Consider

The dynamic nature of each small business is unique, thus there is no “perfect” list of KPIs a company should track. There are, however, commonly used KPIs among smaller businesses that have proven to be effective. Below are eight widely adopted small business KPIs in today’s business climate.

1. Revenue Growth

This financial KPI informs leadership how a company’s income and sales are increasing. Revenue growth is associated with a set time frame (usually monthly), and the rate (a percentage) can be found with the following formula:

Monthly Growth Rate = (Total Revenue For Current Month – Total Revenue From Previous Month) / Previous Month’s Revenue

Revenue growth will increase, decrease, or plateau. This small business KPI is important because it ultimately reveals whether a company is on the right track for economic growth or if there is a need to course-correct.

2. Customer Acquisition / Retention Cost

Customer acquisition notifies a company how much it costs to acquire a customer. To calculate customer acquisition cost (CAC), the following formula is used:

= (Sales Expense + Marketing Expense) / # of New Customers

On a quarterly review, let’s say your marketing and sales outlay totaled $10,000 and netted 25 new clients, the CAC would be $400. The other side of that coin is customer retention, which reveals how fast a customer decides to stop doing business with your company, aka “churn rate.” Acquisition and retention create a ratio together and can help determine if there is a problem with the sales funnel or a customer support system. 

2a. Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

Though not a part of the original eight recommendations, a KPI that relates closely to customer retention and acquisition is the lifetime value of a customer. Understanding the CLV of any given customer allows your business to maximize every customer relationship. The following formula, which draws from other important small business KPIs, is used to calculate customer lifetime value:

= Average Order Size x Average Number of Purchases Per Year x Customer Retention Rate

3. Net Profit Margin

Net profit margin refers to how profitable your business is from the revenue it generates. One of the reasons why it is a common small business KPI is because it reflects how well a company is using its revenue. The following formula is used to find the net profit margin:

= Net Profit / Gross Revenue

4. Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)

The cost to deliver a single product or service (that is not connected to payroll) is known as the cost of goods sold (COGS). This small business KPI is critical to track because it allows you to monitor cash flow and bottom-line profitability.

5. Return On Investment (ROI)

To ensure that a company’s financial investments are generating both internal and external growth, the return on investment KPI compares a company’s revenue to the investment costs. Investments take on several forms such as individual marketing campaigns, business management software migration projects, employee education programs, etc. Where a small business tends to focus on customers and internal processes, a bigger enterprise is likely to focus on the entire supply chain.

6. Employee Productivity Investment / Turnover

Hiring and training employees is expensive! Including the employee productivity investment/turnover on a KPI report helps educate companies on how to improve employee satisfaction. If an employee stays at a company for a long time and works efficiently, there is a higher return on investment. It’s important not just to focus on hiring employees, but hiring employees who stick and stay. Improving the retention rate of valuable, skilled employees will improve the overall value of your business. The more you can automate your internal hiring processes, the less you’ll spend on employee acquisition.

7. Web Traffic and Conversion Rates

Incorporating an online presence comes with the responsibility of monitoring the influx or decline of web traffic. This small business KPI finds a company’s conversion rates by comparing the total number of sales to its web traffic.

This part of the KPI report can be impacted by trying new marketing campaigns or changing the design of a website. Does a simpler layout improve the ability to understand the product and find answers? Is a campaign working or does it result in flatline growth?

8. Social Media Engagement and Reach

Let’s face it. Social media is becoming more commercialized with a growing number of businesses—large and small—using social media platforms to increase brand awareness and influence new customers that may not be reached through traditional marketing channels. 

The social media engagement and reach KPI measures how effective a company’s social presence is on different platforms. The importance of staying connected to your customers cannot be overstated.  By tuning into this data, companies may find which social platforms are worth the time and monetary investment, as well as what kind of content their audience responds best to.

Though not an all-inclusive list of relevant KPIs, these small business KPIs and others have proved to be indispensable.

Using KPIs In Your Daily Decision Making

Once you’ve identified those performance metrics that best relate to the success of your business, you’ll want to stay on top of the information in real time. Generating, reviewing, and sharing an increasing number of individual reports can become cumbersome over time. 

Instead, consider business management software that allows you to customize a KPI dashboard. A KPI dashboard processes the raw data and presents a visual, at-a-glance layout of meaningful charts, graphs, facts, and figures that allow you to make more data-driven decisions and fewer gut-driven reactions in response to incomplete information.

Small Business KPIs Are Crucial To Success

An effective KPI report for small businesses will be action-driven, measured with accuracy, timely, and help you achieve your company goals. With the help of an all-in-one business software platform, KPI reporting for small businesses becomes an invaluable tool for any business to drill down and bring into focus the most meaningful success metrics, easy to interpret and communicate to others for the good of a company’s long-term health and prosperity.

Top Software Features to Manage Your Small Business

Posted on by John Fay

It’s no secret our post-COVID economy is troubled, and this growing uncertainty in the marketplace may feel like huge dark waves threatening to overtake the ship of your small business. Fortunately, there is a light in the dark: a rich array of business management software platforms designed to help you organize every facet of your small business, filled with advanced productivity features designed to herd the many cats that make up your business. But which software to pick?

Any business management software has a dizzying host of capabilities such as finance management, scheduling tools, remote work solutions, and a sweep of data analytics to assist your daily decision-making process. However, only the best business software can synergize and optimize its features into something you and your employees can work with day in and day out. We’ll take a quick glance at some of these features to explain why your business needs them. 

Small Business Management Software Features To Look For

Money, Money, Money

Business revenue, expenses, and cash flow need continuous oversight, and you need software tools that have your back in those areas. To date, the majority of small businesses still trust their accounting to Intuit’s QuickBooks accounting software. It’s no secret that QuickBooks enjoys the lion’s share of the accounting software market among small businesses across all industries. As a result of that dominance, the evolution of Intuit’s software development has become “one size fits most,” which means you must adjust your accounting processes—and reporting requirements—to fit their framework, regardless of your own business’ growth requirements.

Now, a thought about cash flow. No matter the size of your business, or which accounting software you employ, EVERY business will benefit from a speedier collection of its receivables. (Thank you, Captain Obvious!) One of the best tools out there is a customer payment portal. Think of this as an immediate, 24/7 window into your system that’s available anywhere, on any device. This level of accessibility makes it more timely for customers to receive, approve, and pay invoices.

Custom(er) Relationship Management

Customers are the lifeblood of any business, and you naturally want to keep the client-facing side of your business organized and professional. Customer Relationship Management software is more than just a spreadsheet database of your customers. Today’s CRM is the cornerstone of integrated business management software that allows you to make more informed decisions throughout the entire lead generation, sales, and customer retention pipeline.

Look for services that help streamline quoting and billing to better facilitate the customer’s and/or vendor’s experience with your company. By connecting sales and accounting data, you’ll streamline your back-end processes and get all team members on the same page. Utilize sales marketing tools like automated email workflows to create opportunities and increase your response rate.

A Better Customer Experience

I don’t know about you, but I’ve come to have low expectations of today’s customer service experience. So many large businesses have outsourced their customer service overseas. Credit cards, telecomm, broadband providers—it’s a big list. I have learned to expect long wait times, sub-par language skills, and infuriating dropped calls. Lackluster customer service has become the “new normal.”

It’s said there are only two things that employees may be struggling with: (#1) change, and (#2) the way things are. So, once you’ve resolved that your business will benefit from business management software, please exercise your due diligence with respect to the total cost of the solution. Perhaps you’ll find (as I did) that many ERP software vendors charge an additional fee for implementation. Many have a separate fee structure for subsequent support. Some, like NetSuite, Microsoft, and Salesforce, have outsourced implementation and support to independent, 3rd-party implementation specialists. Do you see a pattern here?

All Together, Now

Finally, and most importantly, you’ll want to look for integrated business management software that combines all of your business operations requirements into a single, easy-to-manage platform. Using outdated, unconnected, or limited software inhibits your growth, decision-making ability, and workforce productivity. If you’re looking for a remarkably useful list of signs that your business needs integrated business management software, look no further than checking out this comprehensive breakdown.

Whatever your industry, business elements such as Accounting, CRM, HR, Operations, Task Management, Reporting, Inventory, Supply Chain Management, and Remote Work Productivity—every aspect of your business—are vital and require equal oversight. Ideally, look for software that balances a universe of features and digital options with something that helps you cater to the specifics of what your business needs. 

Continue to shape your precise vision of how you want your business to operate, while at the same time making it easy for yourself and your employees. 

How To Use Fulfillment Centers When Scaling Up Your Growing Ecommerce Business

Posted on by Jenny Han

You handled everything from home when you first launched your eCommerce business, starting it all independently. But eventually, you’ll need to scale up because your company will outgrow your house. Utilizing fulfillment centers is a positive action you can take. Here is a guide on what they are and how to take advantage of them.

What Are Fulfillment Centers?

What is a fulfilment center? They are a warehouse or storefront that stores and ships out stock to customers. They allow stores to have their stock stored and handled elsewhere, rather than the owners handling them all themselves.

Is that not the same thing as a warehouse? You may use the terms interchangeably, but they are very different. 

“A warehouse is set up simply to house inventory,” says Simon Turner, an eCommerce writer from Paper Fellows and UK Writings. “It may not be holding stock to be sent directly to customers, but to be sent to other retailers too.”

The fulfilment center, on the other hand, is set up to move inventory directly to the customer. Unlike a warehouse, the longer the stock sits on the shelf in a fulfilment center, the more money is lost. As such, they aim to move stock as quickly as they can. 

There’s also a distinction to be made from distribution centers. A distribution center aims to move stock quickly as well, but they send stock to other retailers and businesses rather than customers directly.

Types Of Fulfillment Centers

There are actually different types of fulfilment centers, so you can find one that suits you best. These include:

  • Warehouse fulfilment centers: These centers are run out of warehouses, so your stock is held there rather than in your home or garage.
  • 3PL fulfilment center: These centers have all fulfilment of orders handled by a third party, rather than you. 
  • Order fulfilment center: This refers to any place where fulfilment happens, run by anyone and of any size.

Why Use A Fulfillment Center?

Now that you know the basics, you need to know why using a fulfilment center is the next step in scaling up your business. Here’s why you’ll want to consider them:

You don’t need to own a warehouse: If you’re going to move your business out of your home, you’d think the next step would be to get a warehouse. However, it costs money to rent, pay staff, insurance, etc. Instead, you can use a fulfilment center, as you’ll have much lower overhead costs to deal with. 

Automate the process: Improving the processes of your business is important, as you want to be faster and more efficient. This is where using a fulfillment center becomes important. You can use them to automate a large part of the order process, such as the ‘pick and pack’ process and stock updates. 

Implement fast shipping: Picking the right fulfilment centers is key to getting the most out of them. “Having selection centers across the US can benefit your business” says Fiona Layman, a business blogger from Write My Paper and OXEssays. “As such, you can get goods to your customers much more quickly.”

No need for training: If you were to set up your own warehouse, you’d have to hire and train staff. That’s going to take up a lot of time and energy, not to mention money, and that’s something you may not want to deal with. Instead, you can let the fulfilment center handle all of this for you. 

Faster processing: When it’s just you processing orders, it’s always going to be slower than outsourcing the work. You have to handle everything, and picking and packing orders is time consuming. Having a fulfilment center makes the process much faster, as staff will be there handling all of that for you. 

There are lots of reasons why you’ll want to look into fulfilment centers for your eCommerce business. Having access to these centers frees you up, and enables you to offer a faster and more efficient shipping service. 

5 Important Management Software Features You Need To Start an Online Business

Posted on by Irene Luong

Setting up an online business doesn’t have many barriers, but maintaining the business requires substantial effort, especially if you want to scale up. To deal with the complexities of business management, you can embrace technology that streamlines workflows and improve your operational efficiency. Investing in good software will help you save time on repetitive tasks and push your business to go faster. Let’s explore the benefits and the 5 most important management software features that help online business owners achieve their goals.

Why Do You Need A Management Software?

Business management software can support you in various aspects of both internal and customer-facing work. It can be a system for retail store management, inventory management, content and social media management, employee scheduling, analytics, and accounting.

Controlling the full spectrum of the business on 1 platform provides you with data centralization and consistency. Here’re the benefits of management system: 

  • Ensure alignment for different teams: Since all data and documents are synced in 1 place, your employees can get access to the latest data and avoid discrepancies.
  • Standardized processes: Software is the digital solution to control business. It simplifies processes, makes sure people know their jobs and can access the resources they need.
  • Automate tasks to save time and money: Automation is the best way to scale up with minimized human resources. It eliminates human errors and saves time on manual tasks, thus freeing up your employees for more important tasks that improve the products and customer experience. 

5 Features To Expect In A Business Management Software

As an online business owner, you need to control your remote teams and offer outstanding services to customers. To do that, here are the 5 management system features you need:

1. A simple and secure payment process

When customers place an online order, simplicity and security are their foremost requirements. To attract more online shoppers, you must provide a seamless payment process for your site. People want a safe and simple way to make purchases. Here’re some ideas you can implement:

  • Accepting multiple payment methods to give convenience for customers, such as debit card, credit card, mobile payment, buy-now-pay-later, etc. 
  • Attach a checkout button that is easily accessible to take customers straight to their cart with order details, delivery information, and point of sale. 
  • Show the real-time availability of each product during customer browsing.
  • Display a confirmation page when customers have placed the order successfully.

You can easily set up and manage these options with a point-of-sale feature inside the management software. It helps you process payments smoothly and control other actions, such as order returns or exchanges.

2. Customer relationship management (CRM)

Managing customer data is essential to understand their behaviors and preferences, improve your products and services, and retain existing customers. To record and analyze customer data, you need a CRM feature in your management software package. An effective CRM allows you to find insights about customers, such as your main targets, their pain points, what they like and dislike, etc. From there, you can design suitable products and marketing programs that boost sales and foster customer trust and loyalty. 

CRM helps you stay connected with customers via many functions like audience segmentation, scheduled messaging, and customer service channels (ticketing systems or live chats). In this way, you can maintain your customer contacts, plan regular messaging to customers, and keep them engaged.

3. Project Management

For startups and small businesses, the project management feature is essential to organize and control a multitasking team. This system allows you to set up detailed objectives, assign tasks suitable for each employee’s workload, and track their progress in real time. It makes the workflows more dynamic, creates an agile working approach, and prevents bottlenecks in teamwork. This is especially useful if you have multiple projects at the same time, or if you have different teams overlap in their tasks.

For instance, the marketing has to secure qualified leads for the sales team to proceed with their work. A project management system can offer tools to assign, re-assign, add resources, and close projects without confusion.

4. Inventory Management

If you’re an online merchant, inventory management is your business backbone. With the right software to control stock, you can solve many problems and open up sales opportunities as well. Here are some aspects that a good system is capable of: 

  • SKUs management: You should be able to add, edit, and sync product information with sales and vendor data. Although being a startup, think about if the system can scale with you if you expand. Ideally, it should allow you to easily add unlimited SKUs and control them.
  • Real-time stock tracking: The system can give you visibility on your inventory level and any stock allocations or movements. It means sales orders are synced with stock data, and goods purchased from suppliers are added once they’re scanned in the warehouse. Any stock returns and exchanges must reflect in the inventory position as well.
  • Low stock alerts and reorder points: The system should let you set automatic alerts when your stock reaches a specific level, and assist you to quickly generate a PO for that alert.
  • Procurement and supplier management: Controlling your purchasing is an important aspect of stock management. This feature digitizes various procurement activities, such as:
    • Create and autofill your purchase orders, and add any quantity discounts
    • Centralize all supplier details and track their performance based on product quality, price, delivery speed, and customer support.
    • View your purchase history with each vendor

5. Performance Metric Monitor

When you open your online store, tracking key performance metrics from the start is critical. The management software should make it easy for you to measure your results, such as site traffic, conversion rate, average order value, inventory turnover rate, and many more. 

These metrics help you understand how you are performing and give you insights into different aspects that need improvement. Therefore, you should look for software that has a built-in analytics dashboard that allows you to create customized reports to investigate deeper. Filter by criteria to help you identify the data you need and address any trends or issues. Analyzing data is the key to understanding your business and customers to make the right decisions for your startup growth.

In Conclusion

Business management software is essential for online businesses to organize teams, save time, reduce costs, and boost morale. Adopting the modern technology solution can help you operate your store smoothly, and quickly determine any threats or opportunities for improvement across all aspects: customer experience, inventory management, employee retention, and vendor relationships.