Your mantra this year should be to work smart instead of working hard.
Luckily, advancements in technology allow you to do just that. And you can leverage them to help you implement your marketing strategies in the most efficient way possible this year. Moreso if you own an eCommerce business!
Understanding eCommerce Automation
It is common for business owners to focus on selling more. However, a high volume of sales can be counterproductive for an e-commerce business.
Without a streamlined process, being able to receive a lot of orders can compromise your eCommerce order fulfillment. This is where eCommerce automation can help scale your business.
So who can benefit from eCommerce automation?
Customer Support
It can be overwhelming for customer support to manually tag every customer based on the purchase behavior. Not to mention that they are also tasked to respond to every customer query.
With the help of eCommerce automation, they can automatically tag warm leads (i.e. customers who put an item on their cart) and then send a templated email to compel customers to proceed with the purchase.
Marketing and Advertising
Marketing and advertising play a crucial role in ensuring that an eCommerce business has a steady stream of paying customers. Fortunately, their campaigns can be streamlined with the help of eCommerce automation.
For instance, they can receive automated notifications whenever a new product is added to the online store. This allows them to run advertising and marketing campaigns immediately.
Operations Managers
eCommerce automation allows OMs to standardize their process, allowing them to easily implement visual merchandising tactics.
For instance, when stocks get low, an automation tool can inform the OM to replenish it immediately.
Web Development and Design
Aside from the operations manager, web developers can gain the most from eCommerce automation.
That’s because it allows them to customize theme changes, merchandising opportunities, out-of-stock email captures, promos on selected items, available payment options, and more. Therefore, there is no need to code and recode repetitive processes.
eCommerce Automation Tools You Should Know
eCommerce automation is any software built to help you save precious time so that you can focus on more important tasks about your business. The beauty of automation, in general, is that it allows you to automatically implement a process based on a set parameter the moment it is needed.
A great example is automatically sending an email or text notification to a customer as soon as the product is out for delivery.
As a result, you get to reduce manual tasks while filling the gap in your system.
That said, we have listed nine marketing automation tools to help you streamline and automate your eCommerce marketing efforts:
1. Wigzo
Wigzo is complete marketing automation and analytics suite, with a special focus on Browser/Web Notifications and Email, allowing brands to Send 1:1 personalized communication tailored to each individual user across all channels. Wigzo allows marketers to target these users, through an intuitive dashboard.
Wigzo is a comprehensive automation solution, with the ability to send triggered, and segmented notifications, emails, and SMS.
It provides clients with dynamic content, customizable CTA’s, and granular segmentation. The platform is a smart ROI and visitor tracker as well. And we suggest companies marketing to mass users, should move over and take help of Wigzo’s personalized marketing, the new frontier of marketing automation.
2. Hubspot
If you want to bring your content marketing game to the next level this year, then Hubspot is what you need.
Sure, it is inbound marketing software. But it also offers a user-friendly visual board that you can use to create a conditional workflow.
Hubspot also comes with a handful of features that could come in handy when creating search engine-friendly content. Plus, you can use the software to manage your email and social media campaigns.
Hubspot’s CRM is 100% free, while the marketing, sales, and service hubs are available for as low as $50 per month. Additionally, pricing for the Hubspot CMS starts at $300 monthly.
It might sound hefty, but believe us when we say that Hubspot is the quintessential, all-in-one automation tool that gives you basic marketing functionalities.
3. Maropost
Named as the leader in marketing automation and personalization, Maropost offers a unified customer engagement solution for brands and retailers. Therefore, this tool could come in handy if you have an online store.
Some of its advanced features include multi-channel customer engagement, AI-powered recommendations, and eCommerce optimization. It can also integrate with multiple platforms via API. The platform also offers custom integration for third-party tools.
Another reason Maropost is ideal for eCommerce businesses is the fact that it is scalable. Meaning, the tool can grow as your business expands.
4. Marketo
Ideal for large companies with more than 100 employees, Marketo is a multi-functional marketing automation tool. That’s because it provides customer engagement marketing, real-time personalization, and marketing management functionalities.
Another cool thing about this software is that it integrates with the CRM service provider Salesforce. Meaning, if you are in Salesforce and would be using Marketo for the first time, there is no need to manually sync your content.
But whether you are new to Marketo or you are migrating from another platform, this marketing automation tool is known for its ease of use and excellent customer support.
The downside though is that Marketo does not publish its pricing. However, some publications say that their Lead Management Solution bundle starts at $895 per month.
Nonetheless, you can call their sales representatives or watch a 4-minute demo to know.
5. ActiveCampaign
Another go-to choice for small businesses is ActiveCampaign.
This eCommerce marketing automation tool has all the basic functionalities including contacts and leads scoring, site and event tracking, SMS marketing, and more. No wonder it is used by more than 50,000 customers!
Aside from its robust automation services, Maropost can be integrated with multiple platforms. Not to mention that it is very affordable.
In fact, you can enjoy the basic functionalities of ActiveCampaign for as low as $9 per month.
6. Act-On
Serving over 4,800 businesses worldwide, Act-On is a lead nurturing platform that offers a wide range of automation-focused applications.
Included in the list are the following:
- Email marketing
- Website visitor tracking
- Lead management
- Social media management
- Event planning integrations
Other than that, you can also use Act-On to design a landing page, build and optimize marketing campaigns, monitor your inbound and outbound leads, and automate all of your marketing emails.
But the best thing about this platform is that it can integrate with virtually any CRM available.
If you want a cost-effective marketing automation tool that can give you a bang for your buck, you can sign up at Act-On for as low as $900 per month.
7. Contactually
Created with the real estate agents and brokers in mind, you could still use Contactually for your sales and marketing strategy.
You can use the client information from your inbox and social media profiles, plug it in the software and then use the platform to stay engaged with every part of your network. All you need to do is categorize your key contacts into buckets.
Contactually will take care of it from there. Meaning, you do not have to worry about following up with your leads. That way, you are assured that you keep your connections with your clients warm.
If you want a relationship-focused marketing automation tool, you can sign up for a Contactually plan for as low as $69 per month.
8. AutoPilot
If you are looking for an intuitive eCommerce marketing automation tool, AutoPilot is what you need.
It features a drag-and-drop interface that lets you manage your marketing campaign with ease. This includes capturing leads from various online sources, such as websites, blogs, and apps. From there, you can organize your contacts into different lists or folders.
Lastly, you can integrate AutoPilot with third-party applications like Salesforce CRM Segment, Twilio, Slack, Zapier, and more. Not to mention that this platform is one of the most affordable automation tools in our list.
You can make the most out of Autopilot’s features for as low as $49 per month.
9. Pardot
Powered by Salesforce, Pardot is a digital marketing automation software meant for B2B companies. They even support B2B analytics and account-based marketing solutions!
In fact, the platform features a user-friendly interface that allows you to have lead scoring, list building, and automated customer communication functionalities all in one place.
What’s cool about Pardot is that it can integrate with CRM, email marketing reports, and campaign ROI reports seamlessly.
But since it is designed for B2B companies, expect its subscription plan to be expensive. Prices start at $1,250 per month, which allows you to manage up to 10,000 contacts.
Take Advantage of eCommerce Automation
eCommerce marketing is dynamic and ever-changing. Thus, you will need a tool that can keep up with the times and help you automate some of the menial and repetitive tasks.
This includes publishing promotional social media content for your online business, offering product recommendations based on your customer’s behavior, tagging your high-value customers, and more.
These tasks may take only a few minutes to complete. But when you add up all of those minutes, it could be hours and hours you could have spent to scale your business and get ahead of the competition. You would not want your online business to be left behind, would you?
eCommerce automation allows you to win back time, energy, and resources that you can better use for experimentation, product iteration, skills and business upgrades, other creative endeavors, and more.
Sure, there are no shortcuts to success but eCommerce automation tools can help you get things done in the most efficient way possible.
