You have the perfect idea for a business, but you are technologically challenged. Fortunately, there are online platforms that make it easy to set up and run an online store. Most E-commerce platforms will have several themes to choose from, and you will be able to set up a basic store easily enough.
There are a few apps and integrations that you can add to your online store that will make things easier for both you and your customers. Some of them are even free.
Slack
Does your store feature a variety of different products from different sellers? Do you have bloggers or SEO writers with whom you need to stay in touch? Maybe you just want an easy way to deal with customer service requests.
Slack lets you create chat groups for you and your team to reach them any time you want. If they want to turn off the group’s notifications they can, so they do not feel tethered to the job.
If you sell products for people all over the country, you can use the Slack app to communicate with them right through the online store. You can create one chat room for all of them or contact them separately in a private message.
You can also solve customer service issues when you integrate Slack with an app such as ZenDesk. You can take customer suggestions and solve their problems when you use this versatile app.
Paypal
Once you set up your store, you will need a way to let customers pay you. Many online platforms will already have several payment apps to choose from. Some platforms may include a certain payment app with each of the packages they offer.
PayPal is considered to be among the best payment apps. People use it to give money to family and friends as well as to pay for services. It offers your customers an extra added level of security when they buy something on your website. It also works for customers who do not have credit cards but still want to patronize your business.
ShippingEasy
A shipping integration will be necessary to let your customers select the way they want to receive products. ShippingEasy is known for being very simple to set up. They also have low fees, which is always helpful when you are starting a business.
It lets you set up shipping labels that make things more uniform for you and your customers. It even has a system of letting people track their packages.
People who use the BigCommerce platform have raved about this app, saying that they never have a problem getting their products out to the public.
Printful
T-shirts and mugs are two of the most popular things to sell online. Everyone has a good idea for a t-shirt or mug, but some people will never make their vision a reality because they think it would be too much trouble to print the shirts, warehouse them, and sell them.
Printful is a full-service printing and drop shipping company that can be integrated into your online store. Their warehouse is stocked with t-shirts, sweatshirts, and every type of novelty item you can imagine.
They will let you create your design on their site using their online tools. You can select from many different sizes and colors of apparel. They also have blankets, socks, tote bags, and mugs on which you can put a design and sell on your online store. When a customer orders your product, Printful will ship it and send it out to them. You never have to maintain inventory or worry about shipping. Starting an online store should be fun and profitable. But, with the right apps and integrations, it should also be easy to run. Click here to learn more.
Promo.com
If your E-commerce store is on Shopify, you will want to get Promo Video Maker to advertise your products. This app lets you use videos for advertising your products. All you have to do is put a bunch of pictures of the product onto Shopify and the app will do the rest. It is one of the easiest ways for a Shopify store owner to display their wares.
Shogun Page Builder
When a person walks into a brick-and-mortar store, one of the first things they will notice is the layout of the space. Most people would never shop in a store where there were clothes all over the floor or where random duds were on random racks with no rhyme or reason.
The same is true of your E-Commerce store. You need to have a neat and clean-looking layout and people should be able to easily find the products they want. Shogun Page Builder lets you drag and drop your way to the ideal store design.
This app will help you to build both landing pages and individual product pages. It has a very easy-to-use editor.
It also allows you to do your own A and B market research. A and B research involves letting you test two similar advertising campaigns or product descriptions to find out which one works better. This can give you insight into what links your customers will click on, what descriptions are the easiest to understand and the most appealing, and what social media platforms are the best for advertising your products.
MailChimp
You should never underestimate the power of Email. Although people tend to use social media more often nowadays, people still check their email every day.
Sending out emails to your customers is a great way to alert them to specials and to remind them that you are around. You should always give them the option of unsubscribing if they so desire.
It would take forever to send marketing emails to each of your customers, and if you try to BCC them, the email you worked so hard to write is likely to end up in their spam folder.
The MailChimp app automates your email marketing. It can send automatic emails to lapsed customers and also to those customers who have abandon carts. You can even send receipts to customers via email, which would be a nightmare if you tried to do it manually.
BetterReplay
Big companies will spend millions of dollars trying to understand the shopping habits of their customers. This wonderful Shopify app will help you see how shoppers are interacting with your online store.
You will be able to see what products they are looking at and at what point they decide to buy something or leave. It can give you a good idea of whether or not your prices are commensurate with their perceived value. It can also give you an idea if the pictures and descriptions of your products are working.
If you know what products people are looking at but not buying, you can offer them a discount or send out a survey asking them why they made the decision that they did.