Post-COVID era: Strategies for your eCommerce business

Some of you are loving it, others don’t. Some of you can’t wait to be back at their office, with a proper desk and a proper coffee break –others are enjoying the more flexible schedule and the time optimisation.

Who, in this lockdown period, has not used a 15 minutes break to start the dishwasher, do laundry or chop the veggies for dinner?

Surely, the COVID-19 global health crisis has obliged all kind of businesses to explore remote work more in-depth. What before was just an option, almost a privilege offered by the most open-minded working places, today is becoming more and more “the new normal”. The lockdown has forced us in our houses, having to manage our workflow with several tools – some more innovative, but mostly the same old and already well known – and to find a better balance between our professional and private lives, given that everything is now happening in the same space and the separation of the dedicated hours during the day is indeed less evident.

But flexibility is not the only advantage: let’s think about carbon footprint, for example (the number of cars on the street, the use of air conditioning in the offices, etc.).

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All that glitters is not gold

If not having to commute is, in most cases, a blessing, it is true, though, that all that glitters is not gold, and remote working presents some challenges too. Maybe you are spending even more time in getting things sorted, as face-to-face talks have been replaced by numerous, and endless, calls per day. Or, because you get caught by family or house chores, you end up sitting in front of your laptop until late at night to actual finish the items you have on the to-do-list.

If you own an e-commerce, you may have also other worrying elements in this period: lower revenues, difficulty to sell your products if they are related to outdoor events or other activities that are being cancelled, etc.

At Bezos.ai, we are well-aware of the difficulties that this unprecedented situation may be carrying for your business; but we want to be there for you, sharing some tips about strategies and tools which may ease your life in this period.

Tips and tricks for your e-commerce in remote working

1.       First of all, choose a dedicated area, room or corner in your house, and set up your home-office. You do not necessarily need professional tools, office chairs etc.; this space will help you to separate working hours from family or relax time. Productivity will increase if you find your balance instead of sitting on the couch with your laptop or bringing it with you in the kitchen while you start cooking. Create your own routine and you will see that taking actual breaks and changing the setting will make you more efficient in getting your working stuff done!

2.      Rely on your team and communicate. Clear, effective communication is always important, but it becomes essential in times like this. Have regular catch-ups, be transparent and discuss openly any issue you may have. You are in this together, and solutions will be found faster if many heads are on it!

3.      Calls and meetings are a need to stay up-to-date of what your team is busy with and have an overview of the business, but try to keep them short and sweet. Nobody wants to lose two hours (or more) per day talking instead of taking action. Before setting up a call, ask yourself; can this be said in an email?If the answer is yes, well… you know what to do!

4.      Get creative in exploring alternatives you had not considered before. Maybe it is the perfect moment to change your marketing strategy and present your products from a different angle, or to spend some time trying to engage further with your customers. Launch a survey, collect their feedbacks and don’t be afraid to be transparent, as this will be surely appreciated.

5.      Rely on digital more than ever, and try to get the most out of it. Dig deeper into SEO, focus on growing your traffic, boost your social media. Think of it as a long-term investment, that will surely pay off in the future.

6.     Again… budget! Look at your cash flow and try to cut costs as you can. Each saving is a step forward to come out of this pandemic without major issues. Check the software and licences you are paying for and, for the moment, only spend if it will be profitable.

7.      Use all the tools at your disposal to ensure quick, efficient and effective communications between your team. You have a wide pool to choose from: video communication platforms such as Zoom, communication hubs like Slack, GoogleMeet if you need to host larger video calls and to have it synchronised with your Google Calendars, the more recent Microsoft Teams for instantaneous messaging, video conferencing and on top of that, allows collaboration onExcel, Word, and PowerPoint documents. It’s the perfect hub if you prefer Microsoft Office tools over G Suite.

8.      Don’t forget the cooperation tools too! Management is a huge part of running an e-commerce, so take advantage of technology that can help you in a remote setting. G Suite and all the Google tools (Gmail, Google Drive, GoogleDocs, Google Sheets, etc), Office 365, Trello, Notion, Monday.Com: you are really spoiled for choice!

Let’s wrap it up

Bezos.ai hopes that this short guide will help you to shift seamlessly to a remote work setting. Of course, we don’t forget that a big part of every e-commerce business is its fulfilment partner. We are here to ensure you full support and we remain available to have a chat and find the best solution to grow your business.

No matter where you are working from, rest assured that, if you partner with Bezos.ai, your logistics will be top quality!

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