11 Game-Changing Ways to Automate Your Business and Save Time
Time is a precious commodity for small business owners — every second counts. Whether managing inventory or responding to customer inquiries, the hours can slip away before you’ve even had your morning coffee.
That’s where automation comes in.
Imagine a world where tedious tasks handle themselves, freeing you to focus on what truly matters — growing your business.
This article will guide you through proven strategies for automating various aspects of your online store, making it more efficient and profitable year-round.
No online store yet? Get started with Ecwid for free — it’s a breeze! (You can also migrate your existing online store to Ecwid.) Plus, it lets you effortlessly automate your online store tasks using all the methods described below.
Send Automated Marketing Emails
Automated marketing emails are like little reminders that keep your store at the top of your customers’ minds. Once set up, these emails work their magic by automatically sending out whenever a specific event occurs.
Imagine this: your customer adds a product to their cart but then abandons it… and bam! They get a friendly, personalized message that keeps them connected to your brand.
An example of an abandoned cart email you can send with Ecwid
Abandoned cart emails aren’t the only emails you can automate. From favorite item reminders to post-purchase thank-yous and related product recommendations, marketing automation keeps communication flowing smoothly and consistently.
Automated emails are timely and relevant to the recipient, so they help bring clients back to your store, generate sales, and increase customer loyalty. Think of it as having a virtual assistant ready to engage your customers at every stage of their buying journey.
Learn what automated marketing emails you can set up in your Ecwid store.
Schedule Sales to Start and End Automatically
Planning promotions is a vital part of retail strategy. The problem? It can be time-consuming to manage manually, especially when you have a lot of products in your online store.
Fortunately, some ecommerce platforms, like Ecwid by Lightspeed, make it easy for you to schedule sales to start and end automatically. This way, you ensure your discounts go live precisely when you want them to, without lifting a finger.
Scheduling a sale takes just a couple of clicks
This tool allows you to plan for peak seasons, holidays, or special events, giving you more time to prepare other aspects of your business.
Discover how to strategically schedule your promotions and explore additional tips to run a successful sale.
Run Automated Google Shopping Ads
You know the drill — Google is where people search for everything, including your products. Wouldn’t it be awesome to meet them right at that moment before they explore all the competitors down on the SERP?
It’s totally possible with Google Shopping ads. You can put photos and a short description of your products above search results, which makes them hard to miss. And yes, you can automate running ads, too.
With automated Google Shopping ads, you save time on setup and monitoring while maximizing your reach. Set your audience, select categories, and estimate your budget. The system handles the rest, bidding strategically to optimize your ad spend.
Shopping ads at the top of the Google Search tab
Automating this process means you can focus on creating great products instead of worrying about each ad campaign. It’s like having a dedicated marketing team working tirelessly to ensure your products stand out on Google, even while you sleep.
If you run an Ecwid store, here’s how to run automated ads on Google.
Launch Remarketing Ads on Social Media
Remarketing ads are designed to reach people who’ve previously interacted with your brand, for example, by visiting your website or adding products to their cart but not completing the purchase.
Automating this process on platforms like Facebook and Instagram lets you effortlessly remind past visitors of the value you offer with dynamic ads.
Dynamic ads customize product offerings based on a user’s previous interactions, making them more relevant and effective.
For example, if a customer was browsing your selection of shoes, they’ll see ads featuring those specific styles instead of generic advertisements, increasing the chance of conversion.
This retargeting ad is aimed at consumers who have previously shown interest in these specific products
Whether you’re running a seasonal sale or launching a new line, automated remarketing keeps your brand top of mind without requiring constant manual input from you.
With Ecwid, you can easily run remarketing ads wherever your target audience hangs out — whether on Facebook and Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, or Pinterest.
Automate Tax Calculations
Tax compliance might seem daunting, but it’s vital to any business.
Manually crunching numbers for various locations can be tedious and error-prone. Why not simplify your life? Automate your tax calculations and ensure you’re always spot-on with the right rates.
With automatic tax settings, your ecommerce platform keeps up with changes in tax legislation, applying the latest rates without requiring any action from you. It saves you time and eliminates the stress of manual updates.
This tool guarantees peace of mind, knowing you’re compliant with current tax laws, allowing you to focus on more strategic business initiatives.
Learn more about setting up automatic tax calculations in your Ecwid store.
Show Real-Time Shipping Rates in Your Online Store
Another critical aspect of running an online store is ensuring you charge customers the correct shipping costs. You certainly don’t want to cover extra shipping fees because your store’s rates were outdated.
Offering real-time shipping rates elevates the customer experience by providing precise costs right at checkout. With automation, your store can fetch live rates from carriers, taking into account package size, weight, and delivery distance.
Accurate real-time shipping rates are displayed at the checkout in an Ecwid store
This transparency builds trust with customers, who appreciate knowing the exact cost. It also prevents unexpected charges that could lead to cart abandonment. Plus, it helps you dodge those extra shipping charges from using the wrong rate.
Implementing real-time shipping automation ensures you offer competitive, accurate rates, keeping you and your customers happy. Here’s how to do that in your Ecwid store.
Get Automated Restock Reminders
Running out of stock on bestsellers or popular products and watching customers walk away is every business owner’s worst nightmare! Stay ahead of demand and stock those shelves to ensure your customers return for more.
Automated restock reminders ensure that you’re always stocked up on key products. Set alerts for when stock levels get too low, and you’ll receive timely notifications to reorder.
This proactive approach prevents lost sales and keeps your store well-stocked, maintaining your reputation for reliability.
In Ecwid, setting up automated restock alerts is as easy as clicking a couple of buttons — here’s how you can do it.
Automate Selling on Marketplaces and Social Media
Expanding your reach is a must for business growth. Today’s savvy consumers shop everywhere — from Amazon and eBay to Facebook and TikTok and beyond. Are you ready to meet them where they are?
With Instagram Shop, you can let customers buy your products right in the app
Selling on marketplaces and social media can really propel your business, but manually updating product info on each platform can be a time drain, taking away from all your hard work.
Syncing your product catalog with marketplaces and social media ensures your products are visible across multiple platforms without the need for manual updates.
This approach syncs product details, inventory levels, and pricing, ensuring consistency wherever your products appear. It also reduces the risk of errors that can arise from manual input.
Automating multichannel selling with Ecwid allows you to capture a wider audience and increase your sales potential. You can connect your Ecwid store to dozens of marketplaces and key social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
Automate Collecting Product Reviews
When did you last buy something online without checking the reviews? Chances are, your customers do the same!
Product reviews are a fantastic way to build trust and credibility. However, gathering them regularly often slips off busy business owners’ to-do lists.
Fortunately, gathering reviews is a breeze to automate — just a couple of clicks, and you’re set!
You can also offer a discount for a review as an incentive
Automating the review collection process allows you to invite customers to share their feedback without nudging them constantly.
In Ecwid, automatic review requests are sent post-purchase, prompting customers to rate their experience and share opinions. This process not only saves time but also builds a repository of testimonials that can influence future buyers.
Learn all about collecting customer reviews in your Ecwid store.
Implement Apple Wallet Order Tracking
One of the questions business owners often hear from customers is, "Where’s my order?" Responding to each inquiry can take time, especially during peak shopping seasons.
Minimize customer inquiries about order statuses and spare them the hassle of searching for and entering order numbers to track shipments. With Apple Wallet, customers can effortlessly track their orders in real-time on their iOS devices.
Viewing order details and current status in the Orders section of the Apple Wallet app
This tool elevates the shopping experience, reducing anxiety around shipping and enhancing overall customer service.
Here’s the best part: if you have an Ecwid store, you don’t need to lift a finger to enable Apple Wallet order tracking! As soon as customers place an order, they can start tracking it right from the order confirmation screen.
Sync Your Online Store with Other Tools
Think about how much time you spend on repetitive tasks each day. For instance, creating an invoice in your accounting software whenever a customer makes a purchase in your online store. Or, adding a customer’s email to your email platform.
Even the smallest tasks can add up, taking away hours of your time each week. But what if you could eliminate repetitive tasks completely?
That’s possible with automation platforms like Zapier. They connect your store with applications for accounting, email marketing, and more. This way, you can create a cohesive and efficient workflow ideally suited to your business needs.
If you run an Ecwid store, you can easily connect it to over 2,000 business tools via Zapier, all without any coding needed.
Get Started with Automation
Automation is the way forward for modern businesses. It not only saves time but also ensures consistency and reliability in your operations.
Investing in automation tools can also give a business a competitive edge, allowing it to focus on growth and providing exceptional customer experiences.
With Ecwid’s easy-to-use automation features, you can streamline your business and improve customer experiences without breaking a sweat. So why wait? Start automating today and see the difference it makes in your success.
If you still lack an online store, don’t get left behind — create one with Ecwid and take advantage of its automation options.
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