Earth Day reminds us that there are alternative ways to do things more efficiently as we influence the world around us. Whether it's about saving water or making your own coffee, there are many ways to trim expenses and do more with less time and less money. Retailers and brands can do the same for their ecommerce strategies.

We’ve compiled a few tips to help you evaluate your operational processes and systems.

Tip 1: Reduce operational inefficiencies and unnecessary expenses

Take time to reflect on your current platforms. Are you paying for too many softwares and tools to manage your business? Are your existing systems effective in accomplishing daily operations, or do you often encounter integration problems?

According to Oracle, 83% of businesses around the world suffer from operational inefficiencies because of poor integrations with disparate cloud-based systems.

The Oracle study found that “Among those who have attempted cloud app integration, 86% encountered negatives along the way. Alarmingly, 41% say their integration attempts were only partially successful and 18% say some were completely unsuccessful - indeed 55% of companies that tried did not have complete success with their integration attempts.”

Running an ecommerce business is a lot of work. Using a single ERP or all-in-one ecommerce platform will streamline your operations, so you wouldn’t have to juggle multiple management tools. Like switching to eco-friendly light bulbs or going paperless, you can save money in the long run by switching to a highly efficient and cost-effective solution.

Tip 2: Reuse and recycle successful promotions and marketing strategies

While it’s important to come up with new ways to innovate in a market, it’s equally important to analyze your past campaigns and find out what worked and why.

Did you run a successful Mother’s Day promotion last year? Find out why and consider reusing, repurposing or recycling those great ideas. This way you can save time by not reinventing the wheel and spend more energy on promoting what works.

Tip 3: Protect your prized products

Product demand can fluctuate with each passing season. It’s important to maintain the right amount of inventory without overstocking and tying up your cash flow. Always run reports on your products to determine which perform best in terms of sales and on which channel to maximize the return from your inventory.

A solid inventory management system gives you total visibility and control of your stock levels, so you can avoid overselling or understocking, which not only impacts your top and bottom line but delivers poor customer experience. It also helps you predict sales numbers and forecast next year’s product demand. Effective management of your inventory leads to accurate orders, faster fulfillment and shipping, and ultimately, happier customers.

Tip 4: Don’t let your products go extinct

Equally important is determining which products are performing poorly. Using powerful analytics and reporting tools allow you to drill down on which product details or attributes are tied to poor sales.

Once you identify which products aren’t selling, consider the reasons why. Perhaps you’re not promoting them well enough, or your product descriptions are unclear. Maybe it’s time to update your product images and fix broken links.

Tip 5: Refresh and renew your product descriptions

Product descriptions are very valuable to customers, whether you’re in the B2C or B2B market. Customers expect detailed descriptions in clear, simple language, in addition to rich content such as high-resolution images, audio and video.

According to a study by Informatica, "90% of all shopping cart abandonments happen because customers feel they don’t have enough information." Similarly, the report says that 40% of all ecommerce sales are returned, partly because consumers didn’t have the right information when ordering.

Your search traffic will suffer if your product descriptions and related content haven’t been refreshed in a long time. Often times, keywords that shoppers use to search an item can change over time. Not updating your content with the latest search terms can result in losing out on demand.

So start reviewing your keywords and update your content with the latest search terms. Throw out those old, canned, manufacturer-generated content and write your own product descriptions.

Tip 6: Declutter your pages to improve your site speed and ranking

Do a content audit of your entire site and evaluate which pages are still relevant. Is your old website too cluttered with outdated information?

According to Smoky Labs, a B2B inbound marketing firm, “Most websites are a goldmine of old, forgotten content that can be consolidated, updated, repurposed or even deleted to create a better user experience and actually boost your SEO rankings and on-site conversions.”

Slow loading times can kill your search rankings and turn off a lot of customers. How does your web store function under peak traffic conditions? Can your catalog database handle the physical number of SKUs you've added over the years?

Tip 7: Optimize your web store for desktop and mobile checkouts

With more customers shopping on mobile, an outdated, unresponsive website will likely cause your customers to abandon their shopping carts. A newer, cleaner platform can improve the customer experience and drive conversions.

It’s important to define a set path for users to follow when moving through your website. It should be easy to navigate and make a purchase. Tedious checkout processes can lead to shopping cart abandonment and hurt your sales.

Is your checkout form still asking for the customer's fax number? Try to reduce excessive fields from your checkout. Is your mobile checkout system easy to navigate through?

Consider simplifying your design and switching to an SEO- and mobile-optimized web store.

Bonus Tip: Find the right solution that fits your business

Every ecommerce business is different. You need to take the time to consider whether your current solutions are really working, and what areas need to be improved. You need a flexible, scalable solution that meets your unique business requirements.

Find out today if Jazva is the right solution that can boost your ecommerce efficiency and grow your business. Schedule a free demo!