What features should your D2C store include? 4 types of tools worth using

Introduction

As we re-emerge into a post-COVID world, a quick survey of the 2021 business landscape reveals that E-Commerce has endured and thrived throughout this modern reckoning. In 2020 alone, US consumers spent a staggering $860 billion in online purchases, representing an impressive 44% increase over 2019.  

Never before was setting up a digital online store easier than today, driven by essential tools and features available to aspiring D2C business warriors with ambitions of launching successful ventures on E-commerce platforms like Shopify.

4 essential E-store tools and features that drive success

While setting up an online store has become a simple process, finding success is by no means easy. According to Forbes, between 80 and 90% of new small online enterprises fail within their first 120 days.  

Yet, while it may be difficult to pin down the exact reasons for their struggles, your E-store will be thriving in no time by focusing on a few crucial elements. Marketing, communication, reporting, and management form the central pillars of online success. Thankfully, there is a myriad of tools that will equip you in the pursuit of achieving your goals.

We have chosen some of the most popular apps available to D2C sellers, which boost conversion rates and streamline your online business. Remember, though, that there are hundreds more out there, so ensure that the tools you choose can integrate with your business solutions before making use of them.

1. Reporting and E-commerce Analytics Tools

A business needs to track and manage its activities in a succinct, effective way. No, you won't need a chartered accountant or a master's degree in economics to take care of this. But, you still need to be able to gather data about your performance to refine your activities in the pursuit of optimizing sales.

Handy Reporting and E-commerce Analytics Tools to Consider:

• ‍Product Filter & Search (by Boost Commerce) – perfect for those looking to boost conversion rates and improve the shopping experience. Over 9000 online stores use this app, according to Shopify. It allows shoppers to find your products at light speed while offering you crucial, data-driven feedback.

• Better Reports – advanced reporting made easy! This essential tool allows you to track business metrics, customize your reports, and share results, managing your data sets seamlessly.

Session Recordings are also a handy feature that shows how much time people spend on your website, where they click, and how they behave when visiting your digital store. Hotjar and Freshworks are tools that will let you see how visitors interact with your website while collecting critical user feedback.

2. Promotions and Discount Tools

In the competitive online marketplace, clever promotion draws customers in, while offering discounts keeps them coming back. Quick payment options also make for a smooth transaction. This builds loyalty - an essential ingredient for success.

Promotions & Discount Tools That Build Loyalty:

Promotions and discount codes direct customers to your E-store while keeping them happy by rewarding them for their patronage.

• Sale & Discount Manager By HeartCoding – lets you manage product discounts, sales campaigns, and promotions with ease. Never forget to correct your prices or update timeframes on promotions with this helpful app.  

• Gift Cards & Loyalty Program by Rise.ai – set your online store up with a well-managed loyalty program offering. This tool integrates many other features, including gift card options and store credit capabilities that rake in new clients.

Boost your Cash Register with these Payment Tools:

Why restrict the number of ways that people can give you their money? Offering alternative payment methods will ensure that every customer can make payments on multiple available transaction platforms.

• PayPal – accounts for 22% of all online transactions in the US. The largest digital payment provider in the world.

• PayWhirl Subscription Payments – lets you set up a subscription payment module. Perfect for month-to-month models, featuring automatic billing and a user-friendly interface.

• Stripe – offers flexibility and customization to suit your business and customer needs.

3. Communications Tools

Gone are the days of knocking on doors or calling a hundred clients per day. Effective communication goes beyond simply chatting to your customers. By improving the UX, managing information, and staying in touch with your customers, they'll never be left frustrated or in the dark.

Building a robust communications ecosystem will allow you to monitor, manage and control your customer engagements, keeping your loyal clients happy. The right communication tools must serve your specific needs, so carefully consider which ones are right for you.

Growing your Business with Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Tools:

CRM allows you to oversee all of your customer activities while informing you how to streamline processes, build customer relationships, increase sales, improve customer service, and boost profitability.

• E-drone – prioritizes automation and AI in translating customer behaviour. Edrone lets you refine your engagement activities by offering advanced marketing automation solutions.

• Pipedrive – allows you to proactively manage your sales pipeline in real-time, maximising your ability to get the most out of every engagement. It’s best suited for the companies operating in the subscription-based model.  

Staying in Touch with Live Chat Tools & Chatbots:

Most customers expect an answer from an online business within an hour, according to research conducted by SuperOffice. Most businesses – large and small – only get back to them after 12 hours, if at all. Live Chat and Chatbot tools allow your clients to get in touch quickly and easily without emailing, posting on Social Media, calling, or sending a carrier pigeon.  

• LiveChat – offers various AI-powered chatbot options, capable of scheduling appointments, answering FAQ's or transferring customers to live agents. Integrates with multiple other tools like Slack and Magneto.

• Shopify Chat – one of the best apps for Shopify, it boasts many great features, including collecting customer information, offering direct discounts, or making product recommendations.

• Messenger – ranks among the most popular chat portals, allowing you to streamline the Shopify-Facebook communications channel more efficiently.  

While real people often staff these helpful little messengers, automated chatbots are getting smarter and better at interacting with customers, helping them get answers or resolve issues more efficiently.

Automation Tools for Email Marketing:  

As your business grows, staying in touch with customers via email becomes more complex and arduous. Before becoming a victim of your own success, ensure you’re using the right email automation tools.

• Spently Email Marketing – lets you get emails to your customers about their purchases without requiring them to opt-in. Recover abandoned checkouts, send promotions and gain valuable insight through Spently's in-app analytics.

• Omnisend Email Marketing – is an excellent omnichannel email automation solution. Ideal for growth-focused online businesses. Solid analytics allows for advanced customization and engagement.

Customer satisfaction tools are another tool worth considering. By its very nature, client satisfaction can be difficult to measure. According to Reputation Refinery, as much as 96% of unhappy customers don't complain, with each of them telling around 15 people about their experience. Customer Feedback tools such as NPS or CSAT surveys give customers the ability to give you honest feedback about their experience of your E-store.

Remember, your live chat, automation, and communication tools all feed crucial information into your CRM systems, giving you that vital snapshot of your customer base. These tools allow you to collect and store critical customer information and data, from their contact details to purchase histories. With this information, you will considerably improve your UX, making life as easy as possible for your clients.

4. Inventory Management Tools

Amazon sells over 12 million products – yes, that's one product for every 27 people in the US. As you may imagine, keeping track of this inventory is no easy task. The same goes for online stores. As your business grows, you'll need tools that help you keep tabs on your stock, shipping activities, and returns, especially if you're selling a limited number of items across multiple channels.

Keep an Eye on Things with these Inventory Management Tools:

Well-integrated inventory management tools will timeously alert you to low stock levels, synchronize your stock movements with your other sales channels, and let customers know if something has sold out.

• Syncio – lets you sync up your inventory across many Shopify stores while showcasing your products' attributes. Stay on top of urgent orders by pushing requests to your source stores.

• Wiio – is the ultimate dropshipping tool! This one-stop app takes your inventory from source to delivery, keeping you informed every step of the way.

Summary

D2C stores are fast becoming major players in the retail industry. So, ensuring that you are armed with the right tools for the job is crucial in keeping you competitive.

Stay on top of trends, customer behavior, and your performance by putting sales-optimizing reporting and E-analytics tools in place. Ensure that your special offers are reaching your customer base and make it easy for them to pay. Build an effective CRM infrastructure that keeps you growing, and install the right communications tools that work together with your CRM communications network, integrating your live chat, and email automation functions. Finally, don't get swamped by inventory challenges. Good stock management tools will keep your customers happy and your finger on the pulse of things.

Remember – your online store is already primed for success. You just need to use the right tools that work together in ensuring that your sales goals are well within reach.

Looking for a helping hand in choosing the best tools for your E-store? At New Gravity, we’ll happily advise you on how you can grow your ecosystem and integrate external tech into your existing systems.