You probably know the problem professionally as well as from your everyday life: in addition to the actual to-do's, there are constantly new small tasks that need to be done. Most of them probably arise unconsciously and are completed in just a few minutes. In total, however, these little things cost us several hours - and other important points fall by the wayside.
But as we all know, time is money. Therefore, it is not surprising that companies are increasingly considering how to achieve more with less time. So how do you achieve more time for the business while still getting all the mundane small, yet important tasks done? The answer is automation.
Hit Autopilot
Automation increases efficiency. Time-consuming, repetitive tasks can be taken over here, thus relieving the team.
Time for the really important things! The focus is thus on the actual to-dos and the team works more effectively. Shopify already offers the Shopify Flow tool as part of the Plus solution. This way, time-consuming tasks can be minimized with the help of automation and processes in the company can be optimized.
What is Shopify Flow exactly?
Shopify Flow provides its users with effective methods to automate real-time alerts and business processes. Tasks and ideas in your store and apps can be easily automated and processes optimized through Flow.
Configuring the tool's workflows doesn't require an expensive developer or any kind of programming skills. Basically, you can start using it right away. The workflows can then be adapted exactly to your company using a visual builder. What needs to be set up:
- a simple trigger (inventory change, customer created, order created),
- the condition (not in stock, over $100, high risk).
- and an action (trigger outsourcing from store, mark customer as "VIP", cancel order).
What can be automated?
With Flow, you can create complex conditions to automate many of the existing Shopify Plus processes. Since the launch of Shopify Flow, hundreds of thousands of use cases have already been automated and standardized. Flow thus has almost unlimited potential and possibilities.
To give you some inspiration, we have summarized 8 examples of how Flow could already be integrated into stores:
Inventory management
Shopify Flow will take care of your inventory in the future. For example, Flow ensures that only in-stock items are displayed online. Automatically notify your customers when a sold-out item is available again. Or set a standardized marking of new products, so that your customers are always up to date.
Automate reorders
If the stock level falls below a certain threshold, Shopify Flow initiates automated reorders of the products from a supplier. This way, you can plan a specific promotion in advance and order the promotional items automatically with the help of the tool.
Tracking and reporting
An online store entails many different administrative tasks, such as documenting various operations and processes. To avoid the time-consuming reports as much as possible, inventory reports as well as for marketing and sales can be created automatically via Flow.
Personalized marketing
Know your customers and you know what they buy.
The more you know about your customers and the target group, the more targeted you can make your marketing and address each individual. With the help of Flow, your customers can be automatically divided into different target groups. Here, all customers from the store are precisely identified and segmented based on various criteria such as purchasing behavior, frequency of visits, location, the device used, and much more.
Based on segmentation and targeted customer information about needs, personalized marketing will be easier in the future. Customers can be addressed in a targeted manner and tied to the company. A handwritten card, a personalized greeting or a personal gift with an order ensure that customer loyalty remains strong.
Customer loyalty and retention
To further build customer loyalty, a loyalty program can also be set up and automated via Shopify Flow. At the same time, promotions are possible, such as a free gift with orders over a certain minimum order value.
Pricing
Adjust the prices and discounts to each customer! For example, customers with a high purchase volume will receive a discount as soon as the shopping cart exceeds a certain value. You can set this value individually. With Flow, you can add a "HV" tag to the account, which gives a discount to orders that meet certain criteria.
Shipping
Create rules and shipping options by having the tool apply tags to email addresses or billing information. In addition, different tags can be used to set up free shipping for so-called VIP customers or registered customers, for example.
Customer Management
If a customer is not satisfied with a product or the ordering process, targeted complaint management is indispensable. Flow also provides support in this case and creates an automatic support ticket when a customer rating is received. Customer ratings can be tracked precisely at this point.
Shopify Flow has only a few limits. The tool supports all processes related to administration and customer management. Even if these are often only small tasks, they add up to numerous hours that are saved and the focus can be directed to other tasks.