Choosing an effective ecommerce platform is crucial for small- and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) to maintain operational efficiency, optimize workflow and deliver an effortless shopping experience that meets evolving consumer expectations.
Whether building a new online store or upgrading an existing one, here are three key strategies SMBs can use to optimize their ecommerce platforms for success.
1. Prioritize Essential Features
One of the most critical decisions for SMBs is selecting a platform with the right set of ecommerce features. While it may be tempting to focus on flashy functions, the foundation of a solid ecommerce platform is its capacity to manage daily operations efficiently. Some of the key features every SMB should look for include:
- Order Management: Efficient order tracking from placement to delivery ensures timely fulfillment and enhances customer satisfaction. A seamless order management system is vital for reducing errors and improving efficiency.
- Contract Pricing: If your business offers specific pricing tiers to various customer segments, you’ll need a platform that supports contract pricing. This allows you to provide personalized deals and maintain consistent pricing across channels.
- Customer Accounts and Order History: Empowering customers to manage their accounts, review past orders and pay their invoices improves their experience and builds long-term loyalty.
- Mobile Responsiveness: Ensuring a streamlined shopping experience across devices like smartphones and tablets can significantly expand your reach and drive conversions.
2. Leverage Integrations
One of the best ways to achieve the operational efficiency necessary for your SMB to scale is through smart integrations that connect your ecommerce platform with other business-critical systems, such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) and third-party services. Here’s how these integrations can streamline your business:
- ERP Integration: Integrating your ecommerce platform with your ERP system ensures that data like orders, pricing and customer accounts flow smoothly between systems. This reduces the need for manual data entry and minimizes errors. By centralizing your business operations, you can focus more on growth and less on administrative tasks.
- Third-Party Integrations: Ecommerce platforms that allow integration with third-party services, such as shipping providers or payment processors, are invaluable. These integrations create a more seamless shopping experience, allowing you to automate processes like order fulfillment and shipping updates.
- Live Inventory Management: Real-time inventory tracking is critical for ecommerce businesses, especially as customer expectations for fast, accurate shipping continue to rise. By integrating live inventory management, you can ensure customers always have up-to-date information on product availability while minimizing out-of-stock issues and increasing customer satisfaction.
3. Enhance Customer Experience
The customer experience is at the heart of ecommerce success. Premium features can set SMBs apart, making them more competitive in the market. These include:
- Personalized Recommendations: Today’s consumers expect personalized shopping experiences. By using data-driven insights and AI tools, you can offer tailored product recommendations based on customer preferences and behavior. This improves the customer experience and increases upselling opportunities that boost your revenue.
- Customizable Catalogs: If your business serves multiple customer segments or industries, you can you offer the most relevant products to each group by creating custom catalogs. This feature can improve targeting, letting you fine-tune your product offerings.
- Built-in Analytics: When making informed business decisions, data is king. By leveraging built-in analytics, you can gain insights into customer behavior, sales trends and marketing effectiveness. This allows you to optimize your product offerings, marketing efforts and customer experience.
Ecommerce platforms should be more than just functional—they should help businesses scale, adapt and thrive. SMBs that invest in the right technology today will be better positioned to meet future challenges and capitalize on new opportunities. Whether you’re a 10-employee organization or an enterprise business, getting your ecommerce platform tech-ready is a smart investment in your company’s future.
Dave Bent is the SVP of Operations within the Distribution Division of ECI Software Solutions, a global provider of cloud-based business management software and services. He has played a key role in the development and success of EvolutionX, ECI's industry-leading B2B ecommerce platform.