Having the right tools for your ecommerce store can make a significant difference and increase the chance of success, especially if it’s a startup. What are the tools you need and which platform should you use to build your ecommerce empire? In this guide, we will provide you with tools that will set your e-commerce startup on the path to success. Open up your Google Docs and start writing these down!
Why Choosing the Right Tools is Crucial for E-commerce Success
Efficiency and Automation
The right tools can automate tasks that would otherwise eat up hours of your day. You don’t want to spend hours on repetitive tasks such as manually entering orders, and responding to customer inquiries and complaints. Having the right e-commerce tools allows you to use your time more efficiently and help you grow your business.
Scalability
When you’re just starting out, manually processing a few orders a day might seem manageable. But what happens when you’re suddenly dealing with hundreds or even thousands of orders? You need to right tools to scale your business. And don’t leave it until it starts to grow, pick the right tool at the start so you are always ready for the transition.
9 Eccomerce Tools For Your Business
1. Website Builder and E-commerce Platform
First things first – you need to choose the right home for your online store. In 2024, many platforms can help you build a professional-looking, fully functional e-commerce site, without knowing how to code how to code.
Popular options include Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce. Each has its strengths and you want to pick the one that is most suitable for your business.
Here are some features you should be looking for:
- Ease of use: You want a platform that is easy to navigate and doesn’t require much skill, especially at the beginning of your business to facilitate the process of transitioning into a thriving business. After that, you can hire a web designer to enhance your website.
- Customization options: Your store should reflect your brand. You want to choose a platform that allows some degree of customization so it doesn’t look like just a carbon copy of another website.
- Mobile responsiveness: Most people are shopping on their phones now, therefore you must make sure that your site looks great on screens of all sizes.
- SEO features: You want to leverage all possible traffic sources. Using the right platform with SEO features to help your potential customers find you through organic searches and drive sales.
- Scalability: Choose a platform that can grow with you, from your first sale to your millionth.
2. Payment Gateway
Most ecommerce platforms will have integrated payment gateways that are ready to go on your site. However, if you are building your website on your own, you’re going to find a way to accept payments. A good payment gateway should be secure, fast, and virtually invisible to your customers.
Top contenders include Stripe, PayPal, and Square.
Here’s what to look for:
- Security: Payment card industry (PCI) compliance is non-negotiable. Make sure your customers’ financial data are protected from potential hackers.
- Multiple payment options: The more options it provides, the better. Credit cards, digital wallets, and maybe even cryptocurrency.
- Low fees: Transaction fees, monthly fees, and additional fees. They can eat up a huge portion of your profits, choose wisely.
- Easy integration: It should play nicely with your e-commerce platform.
Don’t choose a payment gateway based solely on low fees. Consider all factors and prioritize security so your business is well-protected.
3. Inventory Management System
A good inventory management system lets you know what’s in stock, what’s running low, and what’s collecting dust on your shelves. Most eccomerce platforms have in-built inventory management software, but they might not have all the features you need. So you might have to use additional plug-ins or other software.
If you need one, some options you can consider are Cin7, Zoho Inventory, and Katana.
Key features to look for:
- Real-time tracking: You don’t want to refund your customers and tell them it’s “out of stock” after they make a purchase. It’s a waste of your time and you could lose the customers forever.
- Multi-channel integration: If you’re selling on not just your website, but also other platforms like Amazon, and Etsy, you need a system that can keep track across all platforms.
- Automated reordering: Set minimum stock levels and let the system reorder for you.
- Reporting and forecasting: To help you make data-driven decisions about what to stock.
4. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software
CRM software is software that aims to improve customer experience. It helps to collect all the data about your prospects and customers in one place so you can access them easily when you have to.
Popular options include Salesforce, HubSpot, and Zoho.
Look for these features:
- Contact management: Keep all customer information in one place.
- Interaction tracking: Emails, phone calls, support tickets – all in one place.
- Segmentation: Group your customers based on behavior, preferences, or demographics.
- Integration with your e-commerce platform and email marketing tools.
With CRM software, you can see the entire customer journey, from first click to loyal repeat buyer so you can provide better customer service, increase sales, customer retention, and more.
5. Email Marketing Platform
Even with all the hype surrounding social media, email marketing still remains one of the most effective marketing strategies. That’s why you need a good email marketing platform.
Top choices include Mailchimp, Klaviyo, and Sender.
Key features to consider:
- Easy-to-use email builder: It should come with different templates you can use to create aesthetic emails without much time and effort
- Automation: Automation is a must so you set up welcome series, abandoned cart reminders, and post-purchase follow-ups on autopilot.
- Segmentation: Categorize different audiences into different segments and send targeted emails
- A/B testing: Test different captions and offers by sending them to different customers in the same category
- Analytics: To know what’s working and what’s not.
6. Social Media Management Tool
If you don’t have a team for your social media platforms, managing them can be a full-time job. A good social media management tool enables you to be consistent with social media posting so you can grow your audience and increase traffic to your store.
Popular options include Hootsuite, Buffer, and Sprout Social.
Look for:
- Multi-platform posting: Manage all your social accounts from one dashboard.
- Scheduling: Plan your content calendar in advance and post it at the right time
- Analytics: Track engagement, reach, and conversions across platforms.
- Team collaboration features: Allows your team to work together once you hire a team
With a social media management tool, you can plan your content in batches, ensure that you are still posting consistently during busy periods, and track the performance of each post.
7. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Tool
Apart from social media, emails, and ads, you should also leverage organic searches to drive traffic to your site. A good SEO tool helps rank on Google so your prospects can find you.
Top contenders include SEMrush, Ahrefs, and Moz.
Key features:
- Keyword research: Find out what your potential customers are searching for.
- Site audit: Identify and fix technical SEO issues.
- Competitor analysis: See what’s working for your competitors and do the same
- Rank tracking: Monitor your position in search results.
The right SEO can help you identify low-competition, high-volume keywords to increase organic traffic to your site.
8. Analytics Platform
Data is the lifeblood of e-commerce success. An analytics platform tells you about your customers, your stores, and what you are doing right and wrong. With data, you can take the right actions that lead your business toward success.
Google Analytics is the go-to for many, but tools like Hotjar are a good tool to complement what Google Analytics can’t do.
Key features to look for if you choose not to use Google Analytics:
- Real-time data: See what’s happening on your website right now.
- Conversion tracking: Understand your sales funnel and which one performs the best.
- Custom reports: Extract the important data you need for different purposes
- Integration with your e-commerce platform and marketing tools.
You can see exactly where customers are coming from, what they’re doing on your site, and where they’re dropping off. With Hotjar, you can study your customers’ behaviors and get an insight into what they are thinking when they are on your site.
9. Customer Service and Support Software
In e-commerce, great customer service can be your secret weapon to success. Good customer service software streamlines workflow and helps your team provide faster and more pleasing customer service.
Popular options include Zendesk, Intercom, and Freshdesk.
Key features:
- Omnichannel support: Handle queries from email, chat, social media, and phone in one place.
- Ticketing system: Ensure all queries are addressed
- Automation: Use chatbots and canned responses to provide more immediate service and reduce workload
Customer service and support software help you respond faster, track issues more effectively, and even proactively reach out to customers who seem to be struggling on your site.
Bottomline
The right tools can significantly accelerate your e-commerce store’s growth and momentum. You might not need all the tools, so focus on those that can address the problems you have currently. By investing in the right tools, you can build a sustainable system that is ready for growth.
