Efficiency and Automation Can Insulate Small Businesses From Uncertain Economic Times


Between inflation and economic uncertainty, small retail businesses are at particularly high risk.

[Some small to mid-sized eCommerce] companies are ready to enter the global marketplace. They work very hard to compete and have no time to waste in the processes of setting up a website, managing orders, inventory, payments, and customer experiences

Recession is in the news. Experts disagree on the potential timing and intensity of a recession, but many see it as inevitable.(1) Meanwhile, August retail sales rallied with a 0.3% rebound off of July’s 0.4% drop.(2) Between inflation and economic uncertainty, small retail businesses are at particularly high risk.(3) How can small businesses compete with larger corporations during difficult times? StoreConnect technology provides eCommerce 3.0 sales, customer support, and channel integration onto one pane of glass with customizable controls that support remote teams, so they can streamline otherwise complex operations and free up existing staff from repetitive tasks.

“[Some small to mid-sized eCommerce] companies are ready to enter the global marketplace. They work very hard to compete and have no time to waste in the processes of setting up a website, managing orders, inventory, payments, and customer experiences,” says Mikel Lindsaar, CEO and Founder of StoreConnect.

According to research reported by Deloitte and Google, digitally advanced small businesses earn two times the revenue per employee.(4)

“It’s about driving efficiency. It’s about automation. And so, despite all the uncertainty in the economy, the demand environment remains strong. People really want to invest in technology for top-line growth, for efficiency,” says Bret Taylor, CEO of Salesforce, as reported in Yahoo Finance.

Through a cloud-based system, Salesforce is a CRM software that provides applications to support sales, customer service, marketing automation, analytics, and application development. However, it is geared toward enterprise-level companies. Mikel Lindsaar had a software development company based in Australia and was a consulting partner for Salesforce. He noticed how small to medium-sized businesses weren’t able to access the tools to compete with the Goliaths in the eCommerce space.

eCommerce businesses were outgrowing their software solutions without viable alternatives. Mikel Lindsaar saw one eCommerce business with over 80 different websites that each had to be updated manually with individual logins, competing software applications overwriting updated client contact details with older information, and stores with multiple possible sales bundles that were unable to accurately track their inventory. Operations for many smaller but successful eCommerce operations were heavily time-intensive, requiring extra staff, in some cases around the clock.

Mikel Lindsaar became a Salesforce Independent Software Vendor and built StoreConnect. It is an eCommerce, point of sale and content management system built on top of Salesforce’s Sales Cloud and designed for companies who want to grow. Using StoreConnect, small businesses can consolidate all their marketing, sales, and support channels into one time-saving system.

Small to medium-sized eCommerce 3.0 businesses can get more done with fewer people in less time using StoreConnect. Salesforce is the World’s #1 CRM according to International Data Corporation (IDC) in its latest Worldwide Semiannual Software Tracker, and now smaller companies can have a fully integrated eCommerce, point-of-sale and website system based on top of the world’s most powerful CRM.

StoreConnect’s within the World’s #1 CRM allows small to medium-sized businesses to cost-effectively leverage the automation and efficiency available to enterprise-level companies. Using StoreConnect, a company can launch an online store in an afternoon, configure it within the week and give their customer service teams updated, and relevant data at their fingertips. The system can easily handle multiple eCommerce sites with complex coupon codes and discount options, even in multiple currencies.

In a competitive marketplace and facing economic uncertainty, leveraging available technological solutions can give small- to medium-sized businesses the advantage they need to weather any storm and emerge stronger than ever.

About StoreConnect

With an extensive background as a small business entrepreneur and technology developer of software-as-a-service companies, StoreConnect founder Mikel Lindsaar saw a need for the small business customer to compete with the Goliaths in the eCommerce space.

His software development company (reinteractive) was already a consulting partner with Salesforce, which was best suited to enterprise businesses. StoreConnect was designed to focus on companies with less revenue yet greater potential.

StoreConnect is an eCommerce integration, including a point of sale and content management system built on Salesforce. It allows small- to medium-size businesses to consolidate all their marketing, sales, and support channels into one system, saving time and avoiding double work and lost information. The program is subscription and usage-based and built on and within Salesforce. Find out more at https://getstoreconnect.com/.

References: 

1. Reid, Jenni. “Economists are divided on the risk of a U.S. recession. And the jobs data isn’t helping.” September 5, 2022, CNBC, cnbc.com/2022/09/05/economists-are-divided-on-the-risk-of-a-us-recession.html.

2. Mutikani, Lucia. “U.S. retail sales unexpectedly rise, but inflation hampering spending.” September 15, 2022, Reuters, reuters.com/markets/us/us-retail-sales-increase-august-weekly-jobless-claims-fall-2022-09-15/.

3. Cerullo, Megan; “For small businesses, looming recession brings plenty of uncertainty.” August 3, 2020, CBS News,.cbsnews.com/news/recession-inflation-small-business-us-economy/.

4. Deloitte & Google; “Small business technology trends.” Jan 17, 2018, Deloitte, www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/technology-media-and-telecommunications/articles/connected-small-businesses.html

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