It’s more common than ever to have an online presence as opposed to just a brick-and-mortar business. With customers expecting a contactless shopping experience, as well as quick access to products, a lot more is being asked of eCommerce solutions than ever before.
What Your eCommerce Software Should Do For You
You know the importance of having wholesale distribution software in Utah’s competitive eCommerce market. But, how do your eCommerce solutions measure up? What should your software be doing for you to help you succeed in your niche?
Customizations
You need to have complete control over your product listings, services, and how each is priced. If you cannot easily promote what you sell, and easily adjust pricing for promotional periods, your platform isn’t working hard enough for you.
Other customizations that should be available to you include your website design. You, or your web designer, should be able to customize your website without being hindered by a clunky eCommerce platform. The right software streamlines not just your backend experience, but the user experience as well.
The software you implement should accept various forms of payment so you can appeal to different clients. When customers see how convenient it is to pay with their preferred method, it can increase conversion rates. Long gone are the days of only paying via credit or debit cards.
Popular Forms of Payment:
- Apple Wallet
- Google Pay
- PayPal
- Klarna
Per PR Newswire, when your business offers more than one type of payment option, this feature can increase revenue by 29%, making it worth looking into.
Accessibility
Both your employees and your customers want to be able to access your platform from anywhere. Additionally, within the platform, it should be easy to track every step of a transaction, whether it’s inventory you’ve ordered or something a customer has purchased.
Analytics
Your wholesale distribution software should allow you to analyze how your business is performing. At a glance, you should see things such as click-through rates, conversion rates, and how long customers/clients are spending on your site. Understanding client behavior is vital to the success of your business, and your software should deliver.
These analytics can help you determine pricing, marketing campaigns, and what products to roll out next.
Important Metrics to Measure
Before you commit to a software solution, consider what metrics you need to understand in order to support your business in its current state, and as it grows. This list, while not exhaustive, provides a snapshot of some important metrics to measure in business.
- Website Analytics
- Impressions
- Click-through rate (for emails, website links, etc…)
- Time on site/pageviews per visit
- Bounce rate
- Subscription rate
- Email open rate
- Unsubscribe rate (or how often your communications are marked as spam)
- List growth rate
- Conversion rate
- Add-to-Cart rate
- Average order value
- Revenue per visitor
- Cart abandonment rate
- Average profit margin
- Customer acquisition cost
- Retention rate (repeat customer rate)
- Customer lifetime value
- Refund/return rate
- Best performing products/offerings
Also, ask how easy it is to upgrade or downgrade your software as needed. Are the fees you pay flat, or do they fluctuate based on the amount of business you conduct? How well does the software work on desktop and mobile devices? Many clients do their shopping from a phone or tablet, and not all solutions translate well to mobile use.
Taxes
if you do businesses locally, then your taxes probably aren’t very complicated. But as soon as you expand to a national or global market, you need a software package that helps you follow varying tax laws.
Secure Data
In an age when we conduct so much business online, safely storing data is essential. Whether you invest in physical servers or cloud storage, your wholesale management software needs to protect your information and the information provided by your vendors and clients. Regular scans for vulnerabilities are key to preventing cyber-attacks and protecting sensitive data.
How to Tell if Your Distribution Management Software Is Pulling Its Weight
First and foremost, is it easy to use? If it’s bogged down by unnecessary apps or widgets, it may be time to ditch your current wholesale distribution software and explore new 3PL management.
As your business grows, you need to be able to scale your platform. Increased use and functions should come naturally for your software so you can keep up with client demand seamlessly. If your site crashes when there’s a surge of users, it’s probably time to upgrade.
Speaking of demand, your management software should be there for you. Yes, your clients need support, but so do you. If you can’t get IT assistance when you need it, what good is your software? You should be able to submit support tickets and prioritize your concerns.
If you’re finding it difficult to customize your software, meet client demands, or get the assistance you need to make your management solutions work seamlessly for you, consult with the experts at Sequoia Group. We’re here to provide customized enhancements and connections for your business.
