As a product business, you’re likely trying to attract customers, retain those customers, and turn a profit. Meeting these goals begins and ends with understanding what consumers want, and according to powerhouse e-commerce platform Shopify, consumers want “value, authenticity, and experiences.”
That’s pretty broad, but Shopify narrows it down, saying that consumers specifically want (among many things) deals, no-hassle returns, and shopping flexibility through multiple sales channels.
Right now we’ll explore best practices for multichannel sales management by highlighting strategies to streamline operations and enhance efficiency while also examining how Cin7 can help you bring it all together for a booming bottom line.
Effectively managing your diverse sales channels is crucial for ensuring a consistent customer experience and increased customer satisfaction. Here are some strategies to position your business for success.
You know that there are lots of sales channel options. Unfortunately, what each one offers isn’t universal, which means none of them are one-size-fits all. You’ll need to do your homework to find out which channels work better for you than others.
You’ll also need to think about how many sales channels you actually want to use. Overextending yourself can dilute your brand and strain your resources.
To ensure you’re giving customers your all, you need to focus on channels that you believe offer the best return on investment and that align with your business goals. Here are a few things to think about:
Pinpointing which sales channels work best for your business will allow you to focus your time, energy, and resources on channels your customers prefer and that give you a strong ROI.
A major success driver for your business is how you market your product. Marketing strategies are used to attract customers to your product or service, and should be customized for each channel.
The fact is that different channels attract different audiences, and the messages and promotions that draw some shoppers may miss the mark with others. Get to know your shopping channels’ user base and develop a strong value proposition that appeals to them. When you wholeheartedly market yourself to your unique demographics, you’ll interest customers who want and/or need your product, leading to a symbiotic relationship.
Wherever you’re selling your products, you must ensure that product information, including descriptions, pricing, and images, are consistent across all platforms. Inconsistencies can cause frustration and confusion, and frustration and confusion typically result in customers leaving you for your competitors.
You’ll need to regularly audit your listings and store pricing to maintain uniformity, ensure accuracy, and retain customers’ trust. For Lisa Shelley, founder of High Street Shoppe, keeping information up-to-date has been a breeze since implementing Cin7.
“Changes happen frequently to skincare items, such as ingredients, and if we had to push that information out manually, it wouldn’t happen. We can make the change in Cin7’s centralized platform, and it’s pushed to all our websites. It’s a big efficiency booster.”
Like consistent product information, synchronizing your inventory across your sales channels is vital. You must have exact, real-time inventory counts at your fingertips for each channel in order to prevent overselling or stockout situations. If there’s one thing shoppers dislike the most, it’s eagerly shopping for a product online or in a brick-and-mortar store and discovering that it’s not available. Even worse, being told that it’s in stock and then being told that your inventory was, in fact, incorrect.
The trust you build by offering multiple sales channels with consistent product information is instantly shaken when inventory errors occur. With accurate inventory management, you can increase customer satisfaction and reduce operational snafus.
When a customer orders a product, they expect that the product will arrive quickly and on time. Amazon’s speedy and reliable order fulfillment processes are (mostly) to blame. The e-commerce giant has trained consumers to assume that every business is just as speedy and reliable, and if they’re not, to wonder why. You must offer timely, accurate deliveries, which is possible when you automate order routing and integrate your sales channels with your fulfillment systems, expediting order processing and reducing errors in the process.
In today’s data-driven world, businesses are working hard to amass information about who they’re serving and how to serve them better. They understand that the right information is powerful, helping them improve performance (e.g., efficiency and effectiveness) and dial in the customer experience (e.g. faster response times, seamless returns, utilizing feedback, etc.).
By collecting and analyzing data from all sales channels, you can dive deep into customer behavior, product performance, and sales trends. Keep in mind that it should be a holistic process—one that delivers real-time insights into customer attitudes, interests, buying patterns, and expectations while also tightening costs, improving product quality, and evaluating operational performance.
Ultimately, a unified view of your sales data enables informed decision making and strategic planning.
Maximizing your multichannel sales operations through selecting the right sales channels, adapting your marketing to those channels, maintaining consistent product information and synchronizing your inventory across every channel, streamlining order fulfillment, and analyzing your sales data is truly the pathway to success, but is there a way to implement all six strategies simultaneously?
There is—with Cin7.
Cin7 is an Inventory Management Software (IMS) that offers a comprehensive suite of features to simplify and enhance multichannel sales operations. Take, for example, your ability to connect and manage sales channels, such as Shopify, Amazon, and eBay, from a single platform.
Cin7 provides real-time, automated, and accurate inventory for every sales channel you choose, preventing the overselling and stock discrepancies that are such turnoffs to your customers.
Cin7 also delivers:
Cin7’s flexible platform adapts to your growing multichannel needs. As a growing business, it’s critical to have a single, integrated management solution that can help you scale in a multi-faceted, highly competitive marketplace.
To learn more about how Cin7 can help you manage your sales channels, streamline your operations, and grow your business, request a free demo today.