Magento eCommerce automation is software integrated into online stores to help merchants improve their business performance. Its purpose is to automate a wide range of business activities, from order management to marketing and sales. Magento offers users a variety of built-in automated functions. Among them, the 5 most widely used features are email triggers, demographic information collection, social media management, ad targeting, and sales point optimization.
However, this native function might not cover all business situations. If you want to implement more advanced possibilities, you can go further and integrate a third-party app. One way to find out the most suitable software for your store is through the Magento Community and Magento Marketplace. There you can find a lot of free and paid extensions that help pursue specific objectives and fill the missing functionality gap.
But before you go on a hunt, you should have a detailed action plan. This article will show you 5 tips to successfully implement an automation platform in your store.
1. Define your goals and requirements
Before you start, conduct a full-scale audit of your business activities. Ask yourself, which part of your business procedure needs improvement? What is the most important thing to refactor at the moment? What are the requirements for automation software?
It is highly necessary that your answer is data-driven. In many cases, eCommerce automation in Magento 2 helps merchants save time and reduce costs. It is ensured by replacing repetitive manual tasks with all-in-one automated solutions. Yet the most important element is that the app is compatible with your existing features and business scope.
2. Think through the budget
The budget related to the implementation of an automation platform includes:
- Regular cost: What are the available plans according to the developers? Do you have to pay monthly or yearly? Can you customize the budget?
- Human resources: Does your staff have the knowledge and skills needed to use the app? How much training is required?
- Other expenses related to hiring, outsourcing, and setting up the automation schemes.
Most of the apps require recurring costs. However, some vendors are selling their products at a one-time payment. Look at the mandatory cost upfront and calculate the recurring charges during a certain time to see which pricing model suits you best.
3. Start simple
The biggest benefit of an eCommerce automation tool is that it releases the team from repeating the same routine tasks on Magento. However, it often takes time for people to get used to an adjustment. You might want to document some instruction papers to tell the team what is going on. This might include:
- Setting up admins, users, and permissions
- Redefining the job duties: you should specify which tasks to be automated and which should be done manually as well as the overall workflow
4. Test, test, test
For workflow automation like Atom8, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. It takes time to figure out which workflow is the most suitable for your business activities. You need to keep an eye on all the processes to ensure the automated activity chain works as smoothly as they are supposed to be.
Try different versions of a workflow with the same goal. Collect internal and external feedback. Make changes. And start testing all over again.
When the logic is clear and there is no major error related to the customer identities, start with a part of your business activities to see how they resonate with the existing tasks.
5. Analyze the results
Making business decisions based on gut feelings is no longer effective. We are living in a data-driven era where every action should be based on numbers.
Start collecting data as soon as you implement the first workflow automation.
Compare the figure with that from the previous period. Do you see an improvement? Is this due to the employment of your eCommerce automation platform or an external factor? Is the increase as large as you expect? How does it affect the rest of your business process?
Depending on the workflow you introduce, make sure to track all the relevant data. It will help you make the most out of the obtained feature, pay off the invested expense rapidly, and most importantly, scale up profit.
Implement Magento eCommerce automation
Magento eCommerce automation can accelerate your business performance significantly. Atom8 is an automation app that allows users to convert repetitive tasks into workflows that execute based on predetermined dates and times. Some of the app features are:
- Auto-categorize orders (based on value, locations, etc)
- Auto-segment customer (based on demographics, spending, the total number of orders, etc)
- Auto-tag customers on CRM, email marketing, and delivery platforms
- Auto-generate reports & lists on Google Sheet
- Auto-notify of low-stock items, abandoned cart, or high-value orders
- Auto-detect and halt high-risk orders
The app is about to release soon on Magento 2 Marketplace. Keep an eye on our website and stay tuned!
