On the landscape of world’s commerce, the idea of an e-commerce store was revolutionary. It crossed the geographical limitations of trade. It also created golden opportunities for small-scale traders and home-based business owners to establish themselves.
Truly, running a home-based business is bliss. You can manage your working hours and set your production target. Moreover, you save a few bucks, as it eliminates the need of a fancy retail shop and salespersons.
In a nutshell, expansion of your business and work-life balance is totally in your control.
However, every coin has two sides and each is waiting for its turn!
Meeting product manufacturing goals is the biggest challenge of an online store. After all, demand-supply equilibrium is no easier than walking a tightrope!
While handling product inventory, WooCommerce store owners struggle with some common problems.
Let’s chalk out those difficulties.
The Challenges of Handling Product Inventory
In spite of growing product demand, they are unable to produce the required stock as:
- Limited storage space restricts bulk production
- Deficiency of funds pinches advance production
- Dealing with co-workers affects manufacturing time
- Hardships in gathering raw material or packaging accessories limits order dispatching
- Perishable products get spoilt if made in advance
Sounds like your problem? Trying to please overwhelmed customers?
Trust us you are not alone.
Every next-door WooCommerce store owner deals with these issues and tries to find a way out!
As Tony Robbins correctly said,
“Stay committed to your decisions but flexible about your approaches”
Get deeply involved in managing your WooCommerce store on a day-to-day basis. Ensure the products that are displayed on WooCommerce store are physically available in stock.
Because failed deliveries or discrepancies in product, results in unsatisfied customers.
Your customers won’t love you if you don’t meet their demands, but your competitors will. So, don’t let that happen. Instead, sync your WooCommerce store with your stock.
Here are 6 handy measures to gain customers’ attention and faith.
#1 Wish to sell for a limited period? Schedule product availability
Personal or family commitments create hassles while fulfilling customers’ demands. The time or resource crunch create hurdles in product manufacturing.
Owing to these issues, plan on selling your products during a certain period of the month. Schedule product availability accordingly and display it on your WooCommerce store.
If you plan a family vacation for a week, make it a point to declare unavailability during that week.
This way, you can run your store at your convenience, and keep your customers informed.
#2 Have limited stock? Flaunt it!
Convert your shortcomings into opportunities!
Creating awareness of limited stock and urgency to buy it before it vanishes, is an art. Flaunt limited stock on your website to grab customer’s attention.
The best-proven way is setting up Countdown Timers. A Ticking clock helps convert visitors into buyers.
Flashing messages like ‘Limited Edition’ or ‘Highly In Demand’ does the job as well.
#3 Product Unavailable? Announce Future Arrival
Receiving orders of unavailable products is embarrassing, right? Don’t let your reputation take a hit due to such lapses. Hold on to your customers using innovative approaches.
Use Ticking Timers to announce the future arrival of the product. This makes it easy for customers to keep an eye on the launch and order the product as soon as it’s available.
This certainly is a great way to keep customers posted efficiently.
#4 Product out of stock? Hide the Product
Having constant demand for your products is a jolly good feeling.
But, factors like manufacturing time or resource accessibility affect your manufacturing capability. Ultimately, you run out of stock!
In such a scenario, don’t lose your mind. Temporarily hide that product from the list and reintroduce it when you stock it back.
#5 Customers have Questions? Provide a link to Communicate
Well, you can’t afford losing orders once you’ve committed to your customers.
Even if you addressed all their problems, customers may still have questions to ask. In this case, replying to their queries personally is much more convenient and assuring!
Set up an ‘Enquiry’ button on each product. This will help interested customers send their requests and queries directly to you.
#6 Product back in Stock? Be Proactive! Send Notifications
It’s time to be proactive and straightforward when you are ready with your products once again.
Encourage your customers to add the product to their wishlist if it is unavailable.
Doing this will alert you to stock-up on your inventory.
And when the product is back in stock, send its availability notification to those customers. This way you can personally inform your customers about product availability.
Wrapping up
If limited inventory and unpleased customers are affecting your business, then it’s time to take some actions.
Analyze your product management difficulties and employ effective techniques to crack them down. Scheduling product availability, setting countdown timers, announcing product arrival can work wonders!
It’s all about applying the right strategies at the right time. It will strengthen your bond with customers and keep you going longer way!
