The Keys to Customer Retention

Keys on a table

Every strong business wants to continue growing, and for many owners that means more customers. While every business will value new customers, studies show that in the long run, investing in customer loyalty and retention is far more profitable than attracting new customers in the short term. According to a study at Harvard Business School, increasing customer retention by just 5% can increase your long-term profits from 25% to as much as 95%. You can’t argue with numbers like that! So, how do you retain customers? Here are five easy tips to create and keep customer loyalty for your business. 

1. Giving Your Customers the Perfect First Experience

Give your customers a five-star experience!

The old familiar saying tells us we never get a second chance to make a first impression. In the digital age that has never been more true. The sheer number of choices the internet offers guarantees that a lackluster website will be left behind. Is it slow to load? Close it. Is the store hard to search? Find another. Customer service can’t help? Move along.  

Pairing the power of Logicblock with a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) program like Zendesk Sell will guarantee customers a positive first experience. 7cart ecommerce and customer service tools combine to create an intuitive, satisfying customer experience.  

2. Listen to What Your Customers Are Saying

Person listening.

Giving your customers the opportunity to be heard is a straightforward way to foster trusting relationships with your business. We all appreciate when someone takes the time to just listen. The feeling of being heard promotes trust, communication, and faith that you are in the right hands.  

We’ve already mentioned what a powerful tool a good CRM like Zendesk Sell can be for your business. Using it to integrate your online business with surveys, star rankings, and community forums gives customers the opportunity to provide feedback, express interests in new products and services, and connect with your business. Pair that feedback with Logicblock’s flexible storefront and you’ll always be ready to adapt to your customer’s needs. 

3. Keep in Touch 

Imaginary "Keep in touch" key on keyboard.

It’s never been easier to communicate with your customers. Are you adding new products to your online store? Make sure to send an email to your customers letting them know what you’re offering and where to find it. Busy day at the office? Post about it on social media. Having a flash sale? Give your loyal customers a head-start on their way to savings with text message alerts. Want to know what your customers are up to? Post a poll and let the replies pour in. Customers are like family. You wouldn’t leave your family out of the loop when making a change or celebrating a milestone. Keep in touch with your customers and keep them coming back for more. 

4. Reward Loyalty

Person handing gift to someone.

At first, they might not sound quite right for your business, but customer rewards programs can be much more than just punch cards and free sandwiches. Businesses that reward repeat customers also attract new ones by using the same systems. A simple system (“For every X purchased, each customer receives a Y”) with plenty of options built in (chose between discounted services, free upgrades, new products, etc.) will have your customers looking for more opportunities to do business with you and earn future rewards.  

5. Be the Best You Can Be

More than any one strategy or gimmick, the real keys to customer retention is being the best version of your business you can be and always putting  your best foot forward. Is the key to your business your peerless customer service? Are you known for being the only one who offers your service in the area? Do you have the best prices around? Is your stockroom full of the latest industry technology? Logicblock helps bring your company values online, so your customers are always looking at “the real you.”  Focus on what makes you you, lead with that strength, and those customers will surely be back soon. 

Learn more about how to Establish the Human Connection and keep your customers coming back.

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Use Zendesk to Optimize Your Business’s Customer Service

Zendesk logo

Customer relationships are the cornerstone on which all successful businesses are built. Make customer service a business priority by coupling your Logicblock website with Zendesk’s Customer Relationship Management software, Zendesk Sell. Zendesk creates customer service solutions for online businesses like yours. With customizable software that works out of the box and scales with your business, Zendesk Sell “gives your team what they need so your customers get what they want.” If you use Logicblock to optimize your website, then use Zendesk to maximize your Customer Relationship Management.  

Support Customers Through Multiple Touchpoints

A successful business offers customers many ways to get in touch. Whether through your website, email, phone, or social media, Zendesk tracks all your communication together, making it easy to stay on top of customer requests. Zendesk Sell will even take social media comments and turn them into customer service tickets automatically, streamlining your workload and maximizing your response rate. Wherever they are, your customers will always be able to get in touch. 

Customer Self-Service Options

While your team may not always be available to customers, your business should be. Zendesk has the tools to help your customers, and even help customers learn from each other. To keep your customers in touch 24/7, Zendesk can create: 

Online Help Centers

Online Help Centers allow you to write and publish articles about your business directly to the platform. Then, Zendesk will recommend relevant articles to customers, giving them the tools to help themselves while freeing your agents to serve other customers.  

Community Forums 

While Help Centers allow customers to help themselves, Community Forums allow customers to help each other. A well-organized Forum enables customers to share tips, tools, recommendations, and individual experiences. 

AI Powered Chat Bots

Holding a phone

Zendesk’s AnswerBot, an AI Powered Chat Bot, can answer simple questions or redirect customers to relevant articles in the Help Center. AnswerBot also gathers information from customers, creating service tickets for agents so they can help answer the big questions. Learn more about how Logicblock sites support chatbots and how we can help you create an engaging user experience with chatbots

Analytics

Analyzing data does not have to be complicated. With Zendesk Sell’s prebuilt dashboards you can simply and easily track industry standards, identify gaps in service, and discover the patterns of your customer’s needs. From your customer satisfaction rating to your busiest time of day, Zendesk will help you track and analyze the data that keeps your business rolling.  

Apps and Integrations

On its own Zendesk Sell is a powerful customer service tool, but Zendesk’s app marketplace allows you to customize and link to over 1200 apps and prebuilt integrations. Zendesk works seamlessly with your favorite:  

  • IT Tools  
  • Sales CRMs 
  • Marketing Automation Systems 
  • Payment Platforms 

From Slack and Shopify to Mailchimp and Salesforce, Zendesk effortlessly integrates your favorite third-party software. 

Open-Source Platform

If you can’t find the program you are looking for in the App Marketplace, or just want a more hands-on approach, Zendesk’s internal engine Sunshine is an open-source program that allows for an enormous level of customization. With built-in Low Code and No Code tools, you don’t need a team of developers to make use of Zendesk’s open-source coding. Sunshine’s capacity for nearly limitless automation will streamline workflow even further. And with Zendesk’s built-in Data Security, Compliance, and Privacy Tools keeping your systems and data safe, you can focus on supporting your customers and agents.  

For Customers, Zendesk allows you to create interactive, personalized customer service experiences across all channels. 

For Agents, use Zendesk to create a clearer picture of your customer by analyzing siloed data, and maintain a lively workflow with integrated third-party applications. 

Zendesk & Logicblock: A Powerful Pair 

Zendesk’s flexible customer service software and Logicblock’s 7cart ecommerce tools are a powerful combination.  

Logicblock gives you the tools you need to reach customers, showcase your products, and manage your commercial business. Zendesk takes it a step further by empowering your customers and giving them the tools they need to learn about you, reach out to you, and do business with you. 

Together, Logicblock and Zendesk combine to form an irresistible online experience for your customers and your team. With enormous levels of customization and automation, Logicblock and Zendesk are dedicated to giving you, your customers, and your team exactly what you want. 

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Third-Party Payment Apps May Be Hurting your Business 

iphone showing payment apps.

After a night out on the town it isn’t unusual to spend some time the next day sending and requesting money from your friends. Apps like Venmo and Square are convenient and popular, particularly when it comes to sending and receiving money from friends and family. But a full-fledged business like yours needs more support and customization than a simple, third-party app can provide.  

The requirements of a business go well beyond what an individual needs to buy an order of fries for the table. Logicblock’s 7cart ecommerce provides you with all the tools you need to build and maintain your online store. While apps like Venmo and Square are certainly capable of providing basic point-of-sale support, Logicblock offers Catalog and Inventory Management, Order and Purchasing Integrations, Content Services, and Fraud Prevention

Third-Party Apps Confuse Your Customers 

Man looking at laptop.

Whenever you include third party applications, you introduce the potential to confuse and frustrate your costumers.  

Say you have a customer shopping in your online store. They have a cart full of goods that they found easily, thanks to your product uploads and integration, and are ready to pay. They click the Check Out button, but instead of reviewing their cart or moving to a confirmation page, your customer is told they must complete the transaction through a third-party app.  

A dozen questions pop into your customer’s head. Do I have to create an account? Will this add fees to my final cost? How long will it take the payment to process? Is it safe to share my information on this site? 

These questions and more may confuse and frustrate your customers and cause them to leave their cart without completing the purchase. Logicblock’s 7cart ecommerce ensures purchases stay in-house so there are never any confusing redirects, logins, or questions about where your money is going. Logicblock even integrates with PayPal Gateway, allowing customers to pay as they normally would without being redirected. 

Third-Party Apps Are Slow

Slow road signage

More than anything else, when it comes to online shopping, customers and businesses alike expect one thing: speed. It should take as few clicks as possible to make a purchase, track a sale, or transfer funds.  

Third party apps can slow everything down. They often redirect customers to their websites, requiring customers to log in to the app before allowing them to make the purchase on your page. This creates too many opportunities to lose your customer. Basic point of sales apps like Square and Venmo don’t have integrated inventory management, requiring you to track purchases elsewhere. And when it comes to money, third-party sites can take days to process and move money into your accounts. 

Logicblock keeps the purchasing process humming along with our integrated tools and financial data analytics. 

Logicblock Saves Money By Bundling Services

Every business wants to save money. One of the simplest and most effective ways to cut costs is to bundle services together. You bundle your cable and internet at home to save money, why not do the same with your business? Logicblock’s 7cart eCommerce integrated tools handle invoices, payment schedules, accounts payable, and more, all while providing point of sales services for your online store. Your business needs an eCommerce site. There’s no reason to spend money on a third-party service when Logicblock has everything you need. In fact, if your business uses Logicblock, you may already have these tools at your fingertips.  

Logicblock Automates Workflow to Save Time

No one ever sat at their desk and thought “How can I complicate my workflow?” but that’s exactly what using third-party apps can do to your online business. Clicking back and forth between windows, importing and uploading data, reformatting and editing are all time wasters and easy ways to make mistakes. Not only does Logicblock centralize your data, but our eCommerce tools are automated, streamlining your workflow and saving you time. 

Not Just for Big Business

Services like Square or Venmo may seem like the only options for a small business, but with Logicblock’s multiple pricing options you can find the plan that fits you best. Big or small, Logicblock will build the perfect storefront to meet your needs and grow your business. 

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Power From Knowledge: Site Search Analytics

Power from Knowledge: Site Search Analytics

Information is power. Search boxes can help your customers navigate your site, find what they want, and purchase it quickly. Not only does it help the user find what they’re looking for, but it can also help narrow down what you want to show them, as you are able to segment your products to cater to that specific customer.  

You can break down the site search analytics to show user search results: popular searches (what they want), filter usage (how they find it), and click through rate (what they do when they find it).  

The Numbers 

Up to 30% of site users use a search box when one is offered to them and that can count for up to 45% of revenue. Not only that, but 84% of users want to solve their own problem and one of the ways they can do that is by using a search box. And did you further know that as many as 68% of users will not return to the site if they did not have a satisfactory search box experience? Here’s how to use your analytics to improve that user experience. 

Learn What Your Customers Need 

Learning what your customers need and supplying it to them is Business 101. Having access to analytics is a straightforward way to both create a content strategy and restructure your inventory management and segmentation. If your customers or site users are consistently searching for “eco-friendly office paper”, you can take that as an opportunity to create a new Landing Page for all Sustainable Products.  

You can also craft an email for your lists that direct them on how to purchase those products or services. Having ease of access to what your customers want most is what will keep them coming back to you.  

Learn What Your Customers Can’t Find

When you go to a site and are unsure of how to find what you want, you may go to the search box, hoping to get guidance. If you are noticing that customers are searching for something that may be somewhat tough to find on your site, it may also be an opportunity to restructure and re-segment your site for more ease of access.  

Acquire More Conversions

Having a site search option can help your business acquire almost twice as many conversions as without. Being able to search a site optimizes user experience which will increase not only conversion rates but also sales rates. This can help you create more meaningful content and website changes to appeal to your client base.  

How to Find Search Queries in 7cart 

7-cart E-commerce

To view your search queries within 7cart, go to your store admin. Go to the top navigation bar and select Reports -> Misc -> Keyword Searches. You will then see a list of query phrases, which are the keywords that your customers are using. “Count” means how many times that query was searched for. Product count will give you how many products are generated within the search results for the query phrase.  

What to Do Next 

Learning what your users need and want is important to your growth as a business. Use these strategies to create conversions and content that will appeal to your client base. Those clients will be the ones who help your company acquire more clients and ultimately achieve more success. 

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Tips On How To Fight Online Fraud

Encrypting Payment Information

When purchasing something online or logging into a new site, having your payment information available leaves you susceptible to fraud. Incorporating seller protection is a strong step towards protecting the personal information of your costumers. Systems such as Paypal Express Checkout handles data protection of credit card information. With 7cart sites, credit card information is secured behind three walls for protection. You can also check out Logicblock’s IP range check tool for more ways to manage multiple addresses, as all sites are designed to PCI certification and vulnerability scans.  

Perform Site Backups  

Backing up your site is a crucial tool to ensure safety from fraud. Setting up regularly scheduled backups with your host provider is recommended for information security. If you have not already submitted a ticket to run a backup, it is essential to do so. Contact your hosting provider immediately if you don’t have site backups already installed.  

SSL Certificate Implementation  

Source: Thwate.com

An SSL certificate (secure sockets layer) ensures data is secure between your site and its servers. Having this certificate in the site footer lets visitors know of your site is secure. If you have yet to establish an SSL, you can do so with programs such as Thwate can get you started. SSLs are very effective tools toward navigating fraud. For all Logicblock plans, full website SSL is included! 

CAPTCHA on all Forms  

If you’ve browsed around the internet before, you have run into CAPTCHAs plenty of times. CAPTCHAs are designed to prevent scrappers from stealing e-mail addresses, mitigate comment spam, and monitor bots to ensure which web pages they should and should not be on. You can implement CAPTCHAs in three different methods: reCaptcha, SQUIGL-PIX, and ESP-PIX. Having your CAPTCHAs in place will help maintain confidential information remains on the proper pages.  

A Strong Password 

It may seem obvious, but having a strong password is a simple yet effective way to combat fraud. Recommended passwords are those with a mix of characters, both upper- and lower-case letters, and numbers. It is also encouraged for users to have a longer password to increase their protection against hackers. A strong password is one of the easiest and most sure-fire ways to keep your credentials safe.

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Why Are eCommerce Wish Lists & Favorites Important?

Why Are eCommerce Wish Lists & Favorites Important?

Why Are eCommerce Wish Lists & Favorites Important?

In today’s scatter-brained world, every minor convenience adds up. Offering wishlists and favorites allows your customers to quickly and easily recall their chosen purchases without the hassle of having to sift through your website. 

Why Do You Need Product Lists? 

logicblock website product list overview

According to a report on online shopping cart abandonment rate in 2020, over 88% of online carts are abandoned. That means most people who choose products on your site will not buy them

Just imagine that in a brick & mortar store: you would scarcely be able to move around with all the shopping carts filled with items left in the middle of the aisles. It would look like something out of a disaster movie. This is what’s happening with your store right now.

In addition to choosing cart recovery software, using wish lists & favorites makes it easier for customers to “remember” purchases they intended to make.

Make Wish Lists & Favorites Work For You 

These types of product lists have multiple benefits, including: 

  • They engage people who are already interested in your products 
  • Providing useful data about how people interact with items and their buying habits. For example, if customers are continuously favoriting an item but not buying, your pricing or description might be off.  
  • They improve the user experience, allowing people to quickly and easily find the products they already know they want

How To Use & Manage Product Lists 

Logicblock makes it easy to use and manage product lists. Follow the below steps to set up and use product lists on your site in a few, simple clicks:


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How To Price Products On Your Ecommerce Site

How To Price Products On Your Ecommerce Site

Product Pricing Guide

There’s a lot to think through when managing an eCommerce site. Once you’ve learned how to attract visitors to your online store, you’ll need to make sure it’s well set up to convert them to customers. Having your products priced at the right amount will be one of the key factors that help you to start making sales.  

Read through these pricing strategies to learn how to price your products and then, how to use Logicblock to implement them.


Run A Market Comparison

If you’re brand new to your industry or product, the first thing you’ll want to know is your competitor’s pricing.  

After you run an analysis and determine who’s selling and for how much, then you can make an educated guess at what the product should be priced at. 

As a bonus to you and your customers, we have an integration with item411 which allows customers to display competitor’s pricing against yours. How does this help you? 

Let’s say you had a physical brick and mortar store down the street who sells the same items as you. As a customer, what would you do? You’d walk down the street and compare both costs before making a purchase.  

This is exactly what item411 does: create pricing that beats your competitors but never goes below a set cost. Item411 is included with Logicblock’s Essentials and Professional Packages

Learn how to execute a product price comparison with item411 here.


Item411 will highlight product comparison as shown above
item411 will highlight product comparison as shown above

Analyze Your Customers

The best source of information you have is already on your website.

You can use google analytics (Note to design: please link to new post “How To Use Google Analytics) to determine how customers are getting to your site, what they buy when they get there and how much they’re spending.

Learn everything you can about your customers: where they live, what they do and who they are, and then price your products for them.


Price For Profit

At the end of the day, you’re pricing your products for one reason: to make money. If your product pricing is not producing a profit for you, it’s time to make a change. 


Remember, People Get This Wrong All The Time 

Here’s the thing. When it comes to setting a price for your product, you’re ultimately going to be making a guess. Some people are better at this than others and building up your knowledge of the pricing and market will certainly help, but at the end of the day, you don’t know how much people will pay!

This is a perfectly normal part of running an eCommerce store. There will be moments when it will feel like you’re reading your customers minds you priced so well and times when you realize you inflated a product price 10X what you should have. That’s all a part of the job, and it happens to everyone. Accept the “mistake” and move on to the next one.


Read To Set Your Price?

Logicblock has documents to help you get started.

Create sitewide or customer specific pricing by setting up a “price rule” in Logicblock. The below articles walk you through the different steps to set up your price rules and how to use them.

  1. Price Rules (to modify the selling price of products)
  2. Importing a Price File for a Contract List Rule 
  3. How to give customers special pricing

If you would like to create pricing based on item411 data, submit a ticket via our support site



 

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Is Covid-19 Shifting Consumer Spending to eCommerce?

The onset of COVID-19 has felt like the wild, wild west in just about every aspect of business (and life, for that matter). There’s no telling what the future will hold, but for right now, the lockdown has caused consumers to shift their spending over to eCommerce considerably. 
 

While many consumers were choosing to shop online before the coronavirus hit, the pandemic forced others to switch to online purchasing seemingly overnight. Customers who were used to buying in stores were suddenly plunged into the eCommerce world for the first time, and now, it’s possible that many of them won’t go back. 


eCommerce Is Growing

Ever since lockdown, eCommerce sales have seen a spike. One study showed that 21% of people increased online shopping as compared to before the pandemic. 

Unsurprisingly, businesses that sold essential goods saw the highest and most immediate increase. Online grocery sales, for example, skyrocketed during March and April. However, sales increased in other eCommerce categories as well. 

Electronics sales were up for the first time in years as shoppers scrambled to set up their home offices. Computer prices surged as the demand put pressure on the supply chain. With fewer reasons to leave home, lifestyle items like leisure apparel and beer and wine accessories also grew.


What Will The Reopening Of Stores Mean For eCommerce? 

Stores are slowly beginning to re-open, but fear and uncertainty are still keeping many people at home. It’s hard to know when, or if, this will shift, and the market will return to in-person shopping. 

Will in-stores sales increase as customers venture back out? Maybe. But it’s also possible that many of those newly converted eCommerce customers won’t want to give up the convenience and safety of shopping from home, and the online marketplace will continue to grow. 


What Does This Mean For Your eCommerce Business? 

Retention will become really important in the coming months. Many of you are seeing an increase in new customers and sales, and converting visitors to customers may have been easier over the past few months than it ever was before. 
 

Now, you have to keep it that way. Keep those customers alive and engaged in your business even when they are allowed back into stores. Make sure your user experience is better than your competitors and that your website is optimized
 

Your sales might be booming through this eCommerce surge and you might not have the bandwidth to think through any of this right now. That’s why we offer our site design package, which provides an all-inclusive service to craft your site into an organized, efficient, and well-designed eCommerce site.  
 

Don’t wait for things to slow down to focus on your site design, stay ahead of the game (and ahead of your competitors) with our custom design and development services. 


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Make the Most of the Holidays: How to Avoid Some Common Mistakes

Make the Most of the Holidays: How to Avoid Some Common Mistakes

Do Not Let Simple Mistakes Trip You Up

To say the holiday shopping season is important for online sellers would be an understatement. Millions of people will be shopping online to get presents and take advantage of sales, so you have the potential to make big profits. This is why you must start preparing as soon as possible. 

You will be getting a lot of traffic, especially on Black Friday, and you are expected to keep your customers happy. A few simple miscalculations can make you miss out on a lot of profits. Use the following tips to avoid common mistakes, and make sure your sales go off without any hitches. 

 Focus on Inventory Management

Inventory Management Software Helps During Holidays

A common misstep that fledgling sellers make is not having enough stock for holiday shoppers. You could lose out on thousands of potential sales if you run out of stock while demand is high. It also makes your company look unprofessional, and could lead to your public image being damaged. 

You should be working on inventory management well before the shopping season begins. If you have inventory management software, use it to see what you need to restock now. Keep tabs on your highest selling products so you know what should take priority. If you know there are products that are not as popular, do not spend as much money stocking them. 

Never Underestimate the Importance of Keywords 

Optimize Your Content to Improve Traffic Pull

Another common mistake that online sellers make is not utilizing keywords. You should always take some time to update your product pages. Optimizing your content with fresh keywords will help your website stand out on search engines like Google. When you are competing with thousands of other companies online, this is crucial.

General phrases like “Black Friday deals” and “gifts under $30” can help you stand out to Black Friday shoppers. You should also opt for specific keywords tailored around your products and business. This will make it easier to attract the right customers to your website.

Without these keywords, you will have a hard time standing out amongst your competitors.

Do Not Wait to Develop Your Social Media Plan

Plan Your Social Media Schedule Well in Advance

You should never underestimate the power of a good social media marketing plan. With social media, you can let people know about your sales long before they go live. Make sure you develop your social media plan well in advance so you can launch it as soon as your sales are ready to go live.

Create your posts early so you have enough time to make them presentable and eye-catching. Take some time to make a schedule so you know exactly when each announcement should go out. Finally, determine which channels your posts should go on.

By planning early, you have time to tweak the content to perfection before the holiday shopping season begins.

Do Not Discount Products Too Much

Huge Discount You Should Not be Aiming For

On shopping days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, it can be tempting to go for heavy discounts on your products. As the price goes down, however, you need to sell more items to make a profit. Try to be careful with how much you are discounting items during holiday sales.

Here is a helpful tip: do not put your heaviest discounts on your top sellers. People are already willing to pay for these items, so focus on smaller discounts to entice tempted customers. Save your biggest discounts for products that are not quite as popular.

Relying on heavy discounts could cost your company millions in profits.

Never Ignore the Competition

Do you set aside some time each year to see what your competitors are doing for the holidays? If not, you are missing out on information that could help your business stand out. Your competitors are trying to entice people away from your website, so it would be wise to see what they are up to.

Check competitors’ websites to see what products they are focusing on this year. See if you have any products that they are not offering. Also, take some time to browse their social media pages to see if they have any sales coming up.

With this information, you can develop a unique angle that will help your business stand out.

Need more help getting ready for the holiday shopping season?

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eTail 101: The Importance of Efficient Inventory Control & Management

Keeping Tabs on Your Inventory

As an online business owner, you should always be thinking about inventory control and management. Inventory control is the process of making sure you have the right amount of stock to keep up with demand. You have to supervise the flow of products so you know which products are selling better than others.

Knowing how to do this is crucial if you want your business to succeed. Continue reading and learn why tracking and managing your inventory is important.

Why You Need to Control & Manage Your Inventory

Perform Inventory Control With Your Warehouses

Controlling your inventory is important is because it keeps you from understocking. There is nothing more frustrating than losing a sale because you did not have enough stock to fulfill an order. Inventory control also keeps you from cluttering up your warehouses with products that no one is buying.

Evaluating the flow of your products will prevent these issues from occurring. Through inventory management, you can learn which products are selling better than others. This will show you which items should take priority. You will also learn which products are not as popular, so you know what does not need to be restocked as often.

By making smarter decisions, you can save a lot of money in the long run.

Tips for Inventory Management & Control

Having trouble controlling and managing your inventory? Use these tips to get back on track.

Use Inventory Management Software

Using an Inventory Management System Online

Using an online inventory management system is an efficient way to keep tabs on your stock. The more your company grows, the harder it gets to manage your inventory manually. By investing in inventory management software, you will get an easier way to track your products.

Inventory management programs allow you to keep tabs on your inventory in real time. They also provide analytics, so you can see how your products are performing. The software does the work for you, giving you time to focus on other aspects of your business.

Need some software to use? When you sign up for Logicblock’s 7cart system, high-end inventory management software will be included.

Develop a Product Forecast

Review Sales Data to Make a Product Forecast

If you have been in business for a long time, you should try to develop a product forecast. To keep yourself from overstocking, take some time and predict when you think certain products are going to be the most popular. Pull up your old sales data and spend some time reviewing it.

By reviewing your sales data, you can find sales patterns that will help you develop an effective business plan. With a plan in place, you will know which items you should stock during specific points of the year. Having a forecast is great for all companies, especially ones that sell seasonal items.

Sort Using the ABC Method

Another common tactic for inventory control is the ABC method, or the selective method. Some products need more focus than others, and you need to figure out which items should

be prioritized. With the ABC plan, you can split products up into three categories based on financial value.

Category A products are high value items that need your full attention. Products in Category B have moderate financial value that deserve a fair amount of control. Last, there are Category C products, which have low value and do not need your full attention.

This type of organization is helpful if you have a diverse catalog of items. Products in Category A need frequent restocks, since they are in high demand. It would be bad for business if these items went out of stock.

Set Par Levels

Setting par levels is another good way to manage your inventory more efficiently. A par level is the minimum quantity you must have for a product at any given time. Par levels can help you determine when you should resupply items in your inventory. When a product dips below the set amount, you have to order more so you do not run out.

Since certain products will be in higher demand, your par levels will be different for each product. Set your par levels based on an item’s demand and how long it takes to restock it. Market conditions will change, so you may need to make adjustments to these levels as time goes on.

Logicblock’s 7cart system offers more than just inventory management. Interested in learning more?

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