Katarina White November 19, 2021 
With the end of the year looming and many marketers looking to next year already. I’ve summarized three of the most recent expert guests’ suggestions from the eCommerce podcast I host on how to improve your online store.
The common theme from each of these thought leaders in the space is to think holistically. If you get too bogged down in your day-to-day and in the minor details, you won’t be able to scale as effectively.
Here are their tips for what you can do in the coming months to ensure your business is set up for maximum growth.
1. Do your research
This might seem pretty obvious, but you’d be surprised how often this crucial step is overlooked in “go, go, go” sectors.
In the period between the big rush of the holiday season and before things start to pick up again around Presidents’ Day, take some time to evaluate new tools and solutions. There are innovative platforms and technologies constantly being developed. The earlier you adopt the solution the more cost-effective they tend to be as well.
Daniel Lipinski, CEO of Outfund, stresses the importance of exploring all the options available to small, growing businesses, “There’s a whole community directed towards eCommerce and online businesses for them to succeed.”
However, Daniel points out, not all solutions are equal and you need to spend time evaluating which ones work for your unique business situation.
2. Implement a business operating system
The down period at the very end of Q4 is the perfect time to start reevaluating your internal processes and procedures. No reason why “new year, new me” can’t apply to companies too!
Chase Clymer, the co-founder of Electric Eye, says Gino Wickman’s book Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business really changed how he approached running his small agency. “Understanding when things are actually issues, how to plan appropriately, and how to make true business decisions for your North Stars are things that some people don’t realize they need help with until they understand the impact they can have.”
Spend a bit of time getting your ducks in a row, so when things pick up, you and your team are firing efficiently on all cylinders!
3. “There is no secret sauce”
Echoing the need for a regular internal review and preparation, Robert Rand, Director of Partnerships and Alliances at JetRails, stresses the importance of focusing on the long game. “It is really about having that strategic plan for the next few years, understanding where you want to be, and reverse engineering what that’s going to take.”
A big part of that is risk assessment and what you can do to mitigate the effects now and prepare for the future. For example, if your goal is to keep increasing traffic to your website quarter over quarter, will your eCommerce platform be able to handle your predicted high levels of traffic for the next big holiday blowout sale? If not, then it might be time to migrate to a more robust solution than wait until it’s too late and you’re already having problems.
Looking for more expert advice to help you scale?
We’ve got all 16 episodes of the first season of Optily Radio: Accelerate eCommerce Marketing available with amazing tactics and insights from thought leaders across the marketing and online retail space. The show will be back in 2022 with all-new experts and more predictions for what small businesses in online retail should be prepared to face.
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