Whether you sell keychains, custom company shirts, or tote bags, your business can benefit from automation. Automation lets you use technology to perform repeated tasks. It is essential if you have a print-on-demand business.
When you run a print-on-demand business, your computer functions as your office and retail store. The tools you have will keep everything running smoothly.
On-Demand Printers
Small fashion and novelty companies rely upon on-demand printing companies to make their business work properly. An on-demand company will allow a designer to upload original photographs or drawings to a website.
If you are not a visual artist but you have a great idea for a saying to put on a shirt, you can simply visit the on-demand printers site and type in a phrase using the site’s tools. You will then select the article of clothing or novelty item on which you want the design to appear.
Once your t-shirt is created, you will display it on your e-commerce store. You should select an e-commerce store with the most automation options possible.
When customers who are shopping in an online store want to order that product, they will press a buy button. That button connects the online store to the on-demand printing company. The on-demand company will print the item out and send it to the customer. The customer’s experience should be seamless.
The automation that the on-demand printer offers will save both the designer and the customer money. Before on-demand printers came along, a person with an idea for a t-shirt or hat would have to get a bunch of t-shirts printed and find a place to store them. After that, they would need to find a store willing to sell them. They would have to hope that they sold enough shirts for the store to order more of them. Nowadays, all you need is a computer and a great idea.
Using Automation to Stay Organized
It is important to any retail business to know which products are selling the best and which advertising campaigns are working. You also want to keep track of where you have posted each one of your items. You should have product descriptions for everything you sell and keep those descriptions on file so you do not have to rewrite them.
Marketing Automation
Marketing automation is critical to any online business. Some apps can help you contact customers with promotions that are curtailed into them. These apps can help you narrow in on specific groups of customers. For instance, if you have a t-shirt that Is designed to appeal to middle age women, you can arrange for an automated message to go out to them
several times a year. If you have a shirt designed for couples, you can arrange to have an email go out to them on Valentine’s Day. If you have shirts designed for fans of a certain movie franchise, you should email them with images of your new shirt when a film in that franchise is coming out.
You can also track the shopping preferences and behaviors of each customer. If you notice customers browsing certain products, you can send them emails that will incentivize them to purchase those products.
Data Analytics
Every e-commerce platform offers some form of data analysis. These facts can be as valuable as hiring a market research firm. You can look at the patterns customers and potential customers have when they visit your website. The data will let you see what products they like most and which ones are being ignored.
You can determine which advertising campaigns are working and which ones are not by using data analytics. It will show you where hits on your website are coming from.
Customer Service
There is nothing worse than buying something from an online store and never receiving your product or receiving a product that is damaged. Oftentimes, there is no customer service number to call. This can cause frustration and even reports to regulatory agencies. It is best to offer some form of customer service to your customers.
Tools such as Customer.io will allow you to use bots to chat with customers who have questions or who are frustrated. If the bot cannot resolve your problem, have the customer type in their contact information so you can contact them to chat personally.
Running an online store can be fun and profitable. The more automation you have, The easier it will be to attract customers and find out what will keep them coming back.
Cameron Dickerson is a seasoned journalist with nearly 10 years experience. While studying journalism at the University of Missouri, Cameron found a passion for finding engaging stories. As a contributor to Kev’s Best, Cameron mostly covers state and national developments.